Getting Naked (or Not) With Strangers: When and Where to Take Your Clothes Off in Asia

Three countries, four different Asian wellness experiences to re-energize body and spirit

by Sandra Phillips

Some Asian countries consider hot soothing baths or massages as more of a social situation than the private, quiet, alone time one might be used to in North America. They can be found outdoors or indoors and are more communal. This might be a good way to immerse yourself in their customs and relax at the same time.

On trips to Japan, Thailand and China, I jumped into massage and bathing experiences and even made new friends. After all, how can you not become close buddies when you spend time naked together?

Getting naked at an outdoor hot spring in Japan

For centuries, the most popular area for bathing was in Hakone, due to the dozens of hot springs. Leaving from Tokyo, it isn’t difficult to book a short bus trip. And since Hakone is near Mount Fuji, it’s possible to tick off two must-sees at the same time. In fact, at the Hakone Green Plaza Hotel, the large rotemburo (outdoor baths) is situated so for views of Mount Fuji on clear days.

The bus is mostly full of Japanese people heading off to take in the healing mineral baths. There are only two other couples speaking English on board, so we become fast friends. The bus driver drops us off at a ‘spa’ hotel with no instructions – we have no idea where to go or what to do.

In each hotel room, there are two types of kimonos – short and long, and some flip flops. Which kimono is the correct dress for the baths? Do I put them on here and go to the spa area or take them with me? Are we naked under the kimonos? Do we leave valuables, passports, money in our room or are there lockers there? We run in and out of each other’s rooms, feeling like we are in an English farce, with each of us choosing a different costume.

When we ask the desk clerk for the spa, she points us to a shopping mall across a parking lot and then a large boulevard. So like ducklings walking to a pond, the six of us single-file across the parking lot, cross the street, walk through the mall and up an escalator – with the Japanese shoppers pointing and tittering away.

There are no attendants in the locker area to explain the procedures. There are no locks on the lockers. We leave our kimonos and slippers, take a towel and approach the next door. Inside a big room is a flurry of activity. Women are naked and doing their most intimate bathroom rituals in this communal setting – shaving, tweezing, cleaning nails, cleaning teeth, brushing hair, soaping, washing and hand showering while sitting on little stools.

The changing room has hair dryers, mirrored make-up areas and overhead ventilators to get you dry quickly. Sometimes, there is even a crib, so a Mom can sneak off for a bath during nap time.