Trip to 1000 person ryokan. One of japans elusive co ed onsens

[swede]

So I've been living in Japan for a while. As a naturist it's a luxury having acsess to all these onsens around. A nice luxurious spa where I can chill in the buff.

But one a problem arises when you have a friend of another gender.

All these wonderful and plenty naturist havens are gender segregated. While I don't mind hanging out with naked old men it gets a bit boring to not be able to bathe with my GF.


She recently came to visit me here, and of course we went to an onsen. However, she got imensly bored bathing alone and I get it. Plus we love to hang out nude.

Anyways, I knew there were Co Ed onsens, but just not where. Apparently it's actually illegal for coed onsens in both Tokyo and Kanagawa (where I live).

After some googeling, the closest and most daytrip appropriate onsen seemed to be 1000man ryokan.

https://kanayaryokan.com/#modal_2

Now a ryokan is a onsen hotel, but you don't need to stay there to use the onsen.

The onsen was about three hours one way from my home. Straight out on the Shizuoka peninsula. The entire peninsula is beautiful and littered with beach towns. Would be a blast in the summer, too bad we went in January with rain pissing down and hale.

The train ride was magnificent but expensive, 3000¥. It goes along the coast and closer or Shimoda, more inland in the mountains.

The station to get off on is rednaji, one before the last, Shimoda.

From the station its a short walk to the onsen.

It was in a old building, what I belive is Edo period. The garden out front was cute and well maintained. You entered trough sliding doors. Everything was quite old and behind a small counter there was an old lady. She didn't speak any English, but with my miniscule Japanese I managed.

It was 1000¥ for entry. The men and women undressing rooms were separated.

Towels not included, 100¥ for towel.

The woman can enter the larger and original men's pool trough double doors with locks. So the woman can come into the men's area.

I stripped in the oddly shaped undressing room and put my stuff in a hamper. There was lockers, but why bother, it's Japan. I texted my GF and told her I'm heading in.

The showers were right by the pool, very traditional.

It was all wooden, everything including the pool.
It was very hot and extremely steamy, glasses wearer's be ware. It was really cool to see how old everything was. The wood looked like it had been there for hundreds of years.

There was one shallower section by the door, one deeper and one in the corner that was crowded. In the other end of the pool there was a door to the outside, to the outside pool.

One weird thing we noticed right when we got into the pool was that the other women in there wore some kind of a dress. Of course my Gf was naked, because it's a onsen. But she felt a bit awkward and maybe like she was offending by being nude. No one had said anything about a dress. But then later some younger women arrived and was nude so I guess it's fine.

It was all good and cool and all, but they had no space out of the water to chill really. And it was a bit boring. So after about one and a half hour we got tired of it and decided to leave.

We took tech train down to the last stop and looked a little, went back a few stops and had dinner at a lovely onsen beach town.

Spent some time at the beach in the dark, quite a cool vibe.

It was a nice experience, but too far from Tokyo and maybe not worth the trip just for the onsen. But I do love to be naked and it shucked having to be separated naked. I'm glad I went, but if I go as far another time I'll stay overnight.

[Johnny2023]

So I've been living in Japan for a while. As a naturist it's a luxury having acsess to all these onsens around. A nice luxurious spa where I can chill in the buff.

But one a problem arises when you have a friend of another gender.

All these wonderful and plenty naturist havens are gender segregated. While I don't mind hanging out with naked old men it gets a bit boring to not be able to bathe with my GF.


She recently came to visit me here, and of course we went to an onsen. However, she got imensly bored bathing alone and I get it. Plus we love to hang out nude.

Anyways, I knew there were Co Ed onsens, but just not where. Apparently it's actually illegal for coed onsens in both Tokyo and Kanagawa (where I live).

After some googeling, the closest and most daytrip appropriate onsen seemed to be 1000man ryokan.

https://kanayaryokan.com/#modal_2

Now a ryokan is a onsen hotel, but you don't need to stay there to use the onsen.

The onsen was about three hours one way from my home. Straight out on the Shizuoka peninsula. The entire peninsula is beautiful and littered with beach towns. Would be a blast in the summer, too bad we went in January with rain pissing down and hale.

The train ride was magnificent but expensive, 3000¥. It goes along the coast and closer or Shimoda, more inland in the mountains.

The station to get off on is rednaji, one before the last, Shimoda.

From the station its a short walk to the onsen.

It was in a old building, what I belive is Edo period. The garden out front was cute and well maintained. You entered trough sliding doors. Everything was quite old and behind a small counter there was an old lady. She didn't speak any English, but with my miniscule Japanese I managed.

It was 1000¥ for entry. The men and women undressing rooms were separated.

Towels not included, 100¥ for towel.

The woman can enter the larger and original men's pool trough double doors with locks. So the woman can come into the men's area.

I stripped in the oddly shaped undressing room and put my stuff in a hamper. There was lockers, but why bother, it's Japan. I texted my GF and told her I'm heading in.

The showers were right by the pool, very traditional.

It was all wooden, everything including the pool.
It was very hot and extremely steamy, glasses wearer's be ware. It was really cool to see how old everything was. The wood looked like it had been there for hundreds of years.

There was one shallower section by the door, one deeper and one in the corner that was crowded. In the other end of the pool there was a door to the outside, to the outside pool.

One weird thing we noticed right when we got into the pool was that the other women in there wore some kind of a dress. Of course my Gf was naked, because it's a onsen. But she felt a bit awkward and maybe like she was offending by being nude. No one had said anything about a dress. But then later some younger women arrived and was nude so I guess it's fine.

It was all good and cool and all, but they had no space out of the water to chill really. And it was a bit boring. So after about one and a half hour we got tired of it and decided to leave.

We took tech train down to the last stop and looked a little, went back a few stops and had dinner at a lovely onsen beach town.

Spent some time at the beach in the dark, quite a cool vibe.

It was a nice experience, but too far from Tokyo and maybe not worth the trip just for the onsen. But I do love to be naked and it shucked having to be separated naked. I'm glad I went, but if I go as far another time I'll stay overnight.

Hi @swede i am going to Tokyo in March 2024. Do you have any recommendations for Onsen’s with a nice outdoors indoors vibe? I’m keen on venturing to other parts of Japan too if you have a favourite.

Also, apart from Onsen’s, is there much of a nudist scene in Japan?

[katia]

I was by mountain around Nagano, it’s a simple ride of Shinkansen in direction of Kanazawa.
There are many onsen up there and in March I think still full of snow!
Nudity is obviously a must, gender segregation too, unless you rent a private onsen for yourself, I was in a ryokan having private onsen and we booked with my husband…was cool, else, was horribly hot! I almost fainted, but great experience, hot water, in the nature!

[swede]

Nice, I really wanted to go to Nagano and go snowboarding and stay in a Ryokan but unfortunately I was too poor at the moment and had to save money.

Definitely on my bucketlist.

Nice that you stayed at a ryokan. It really sucks that 99,9% of all onsen are segregated.

You're definitely right about the heat, I do sometimes feel like a pressure obe rmy chest from it.

[Johnny2023]

I was by mountain around Nagano, it’s a simple ride of Shinkansen in direction of Kanazawa.
There are many onsen up there and in March I think still full of snow!
Nudity is obviously a must, gender segregation too, unless you rent a private onsen for yourself, I was in a ryokan having private onsen and we booked with my husband…was cool, else, was horribly hot! I almost fainted, but great experience, hot water, in the nature!

OMG was the Onsen outdoors that you went to? Rolling in the snow, or at least walking on the snow naked is on my bucket list. Almost fainting sounds horrible. Hopefully I can tolerate it.

[Johnny2023]

Nice, I really wanted to go to Nagano and go snowboarding and stay in a Ryokan but unfortunately I was too poor at the moment and had to save money.

Definitely on my bucketlist.

Nice that you stayed at a ryokan. It really sucks that 99,9% of all onsen are segregated.

You're definitely right about the heat, I do sometimes feel like a pressure obe rmy chest from it.

Ryokan sounds like what I should book? I will be a solo traveller so single sex onsen will be fine but I know what you mean if you bring the opposite sex to you it can be strange to part ways.

Can I ask a random question - Of late I have been shaving my pubes as it's quite common on the nudist beaches in Australia, but I imagine Japanese people do not. Will I be out of place walking around clean-shaven?

[swede]

Ryokan sounds like what I should book? I will be a solo traveller so single sex onsen will be fine but I know what you mean if you bring the opposite sex to you it can be strange to part ways.

Can I ask a random question - Of late I have been shaving my pubes as it's quite common on the nudist beaches in Australia, but I imagine Japanese people do not. Will I be out of place walking around clean-shaven?

Yeah, book a ryokan.

And no, don't shave your pubes, let it grow out. I think it'll probably be seen as rude or sexual if you do.

[Johnny2023]

Ryokan sounds like what I should book? I will be a solo traveller so single sex onsen will be fine but I know what you mean if you bring the opposite sex to you it can be strange to part ways.

Can I ask a random question - Of late I have been shaving my pubes as it's quite common on the nudist beaches in Australia, but I imagine Japanese people do not. Will I be out of place walking around clean-shaven?

Yeah, book a ryokan.

And no, don't shave your pubes, let it grow out. I think it'll probably be seen as rude or sexual if you do.

Thanks I'll take your advice. Definitely do not want to often anyone.