Naturally hot water ponds called onsen in Japanese
Tokyo … News Time
There are over 3,000 naturally hot water pools in Japan where people come for a shared bath. The shared bath is part of an old Japanese tradition that emphasizes equality among the masses. There is a small but transparent blue hot water pool next to the Kurobe River on the Japanese Mount Alps. Nearby are some of the blue-yellow buckets that are used for bathing before getting into the pool.
Naturally hot water ponds, called onsen in Japanese, have been an important part of life here for the past 1000 years. Japanese people think that both body and soul are cleansed. Japan has more than 3,000 hot water ponds, whose water is rich in minerals. From below ground, hot water comes up with bubbles. People come here and bathe together with their relatives, friends and neighbors. Some of these hot ponds are in cities where smart spa has now become. Some hot ponds are also in caves on the beaches of the sea. Everyone has their own specialty, but one pool is different.
Takamagahara Pond is located in the most remote area of Japan. It takes several days to get here. Onsen’s fans trek 40km through forests and rivers to reach this pond located in Chubu-Sangaku National Park. People spend the night in the deserted huts while climbing the hills. In addition to physical health, the journey also requires understanding of the weather. The composition of the minerals and stones found in each of Japan’s ponds is also different.
Bath under the open sky:
Under the open sky around the world, bathing in mineral-rich water is becoming popular. The Takamagahara pond surrounded by the trees of Mount Alps offers such a wonderful experience. The four-day journey through forests and mountains is difficult, but in Japan, people have been traveling for centuries. This was not the first trip to a bath in a hot pool in Japan, but it was certainly the most difficult.
Start of journey:
Catch a late-night bolt train from Tokyo to Toyama. The next morning, after traveling by bus for two hours, I arrived at a small village called rotate. From here the steep path begins. These paths are too narrow to cut stones. We were not alone on the way. Apart from the Japanese people, we also got a few European tourists. Moving a little further, the fog started to fade in the hills and mobile phone signals were gone. The rocky path soon ended, and instead a path made of wooden planks began. This path made of wooden planks looks pretty. This is what it looks like. Moving on, we also saw the last flowers of the season.
Surf on the hill:
Supplies are provided by helicopter. The people who work here live here. Because of this, passengers do not have to travel with heavy luggage. Homemade food is available here. Only the outside world can relate to them in this area. Travelers are also informed about the route and the weather ahead so that they do not get lost along the way. First we arrived in Yamagoya and ate Nepali food and filled our bottles with fresh water. The skeleton of the inn we were staying in was visible from 12 km away. The host, who led us to the hall where the gold was arranged, assured us that his wood was still very strong despite the weather being hit. All the people were very hungry. After dinner we sat down and talked to the tourists. People also sang songs.
Shared Bath:
Visitors believe that bathing together eliminates discrimination between friends and relatives and that people talk to each other openly. This idea is called Hadaka no Tsukiai (Naked Friendship). It is believed that bathing together makes everyone equal.
Three different pools:
Takamagahara has two different pools for men and women baths which are covered with bamboo roofs. There is also a third fully open pool where men and women bathe together. In Japan, it was common for men and women to bathe together until the 19th century, but now only a few ancient villages have such traditions in hot ponds. When we arrived, there were two elderly men already in the third, a shared bathing pool. One person said that he had taken an 8-day trip to Takamagahara for bathing because he liked to bathe under the open sky. During this trip, my partner went for a bath with my friends and I went for a bath in the women’s pool. There were rocks around the pond and a stall for changing clothes. On the other hand there was a veil in the middle of the bathrooms, but the distant trees and mountains were clearly visible. Before the start of the journey I thought that being with nature meant that you were alone. I never thought about shared baths. But am I fulfilling the purpose of bathing with Japanese traditions? Thinking of this, I got out of the pool and entered the third pool.
