On a recent concert tour in Japan, I had the chance to visit several thermal baths and to chat with people about the tradition of bathing. I was fascinated by their differences with American spas.

Making a creaking sound, the wooden entrance door opens, and Sumie Tamura is standing there with a friendly smile. "Irashaimase" - welcome - she says while bowing gracefully to greet me. Her ...

From onsens in Japan to high-altitude pools in Bolivia, the photographer Greta Rybus shares highlights from her search for thermal waters. Looking out from the simple changing room at a hot springs ...

Six hot spring resorts in the Tohoku region were among the top 10 of a major travel website’s list of “most recommended onsen ...

Soak in the three-Michelin-starred baths of Hyotan Onsen. Learn more about the craft of traditional bamboo weaving by taking a class at the Bamboo Cultural Center. Take a thermal sand bath while ...

The coronavirus pandemic has hit the tourism industry hard, including in Japan — ninety percent of ryokan inns in the famous Arima hot spring resort town have been closed since the prefecture of Hyogo ...

'Try on a kimono for fun,’ urges the Japanese guide, so I duly tuck in my tummy before I am tightly trussed into the Japanese national dress, feeling like a pantomime dame rather than any understudy ...

An increasing number of municipalities have raised the “bathing tax” rate on overnight visitors at “onsen” hot spring resorts ...