Oedo Onsen

Tonight we went to Oedo Onsen. It is a traditional Japanese bathhouse recreated to look like an Edo Era town. The water comes from natural hot springs. First you get to choose your yukata and obi, robe & belt. This is what you wear while you walk around the stalls & restaurant area. There is a picturesque outdoor footbath where men and women can sit together but you have to get naked for real bathing which is strictly single sex. Strutting around in the nude from pool to pool seems a bit daunting for us repressed Brits especially since some of the pools are outside and you have to follow a wooden path in the freezing cold but after 5 minutes you forget you're naked & just relax and enjoy it. Some of the pools are sulphurous and milky white. For an extra charge you can put your feet into a pond full of tiny fish who will nibble your toes. we pass on this one but are thoroughly converted to the onsen experience. There are onsen all over Japan so hopefully we'll get to do this again.