Nudity Permitted - Some Exclusions Apply
It surprises some that in the six months I have been in Japan, I have not visited an onsen. If you are like me prior to moving here, then you have no idea what an onsen is. So, let me clarify. An onsen is a naturally occurring hot spring. The minerals in the water are said to improve everything from your skin to your attitude and can even improve your blood circulation and burn calories.
Traditionally, Japanese onsens were mixed gendered, meaning individuals of all sexes bathed together. Oh, did I mention that onsens are completely nude? Clothing and bathing suits are strictly prohibited.
I never thought of myself as a prude, but the idea of sitting, or standing, naked in an onsen in mixed company makes me want to put on a snowsuit and hide under the bed. These days, it is common to find onsens that are divided into separate areas for men and women. Although, being naked in front of a bunch of tiny beautiful Japanese women does not provide me comfort either.
I do not think the change from mixed gendered onsens to gendered ones is because the Japanese share my nudity hang ups. Unlike the United States, in Japan, nudity is not simultaneously taboo and fetishized. While it does not permeate media, there is definitely a more casual attitude around nudity generally. In complete earnest, I believe the Japanese have a much healthier and rational attitude about nudity than the United States, and me specifically.
Outside of the large Utsunomiya Train Station there is a statue featuring multiple men, women, and children standing in a circle all naked. While statues of naked people are not unusual in the West, Franny noticed it right away. To this day she calls it the “naked people statue” and asks why the people are naked every time she sees it. Interestingly, multiple Japanese women I have met, including one that grew up in Utsunomiya, commented that they never noticed the people in the statue were naked. They simply didn’t notice.
As I have mentioned, more than once, I have had a clear view - without trying - of men standing at urinals in public bathrooms. One weekend we went to a garden in Ibaraki to see the hydrangeas in bloom. There was also a stage in the garden where a young man performed a show with trained monkeys[1] at regular intervals throughout the day. In between shows, the young man would walk the monkeys around the garden, and the monkeys even followed the young man to the bathroom. Aaron and I really wanted a picture of these monkeys just hanging out in a public bathroom, but we realized any photo we took would accidentally feature men peeing in the background as the urinals were clearly visible from outside the bathroom.
At school, Franny uses the same bathroom at the same time as her male classmates. This is likely how she decided she wanted to try “peeing like a boy,” which she does on a regular basis now. Children in schools also change their clothes in front of each other in their classrooms under towels that hang on their shoulders and snap up the front. I heard that this practice may continue until the kids are 9 or even 10-years-old. At the beach, children that appear as old as eight are stripped out of their bathing suits at the outdoor public showers and dried off naked in front of God and everyone.
Just this morning, one of my elderly male neighbors came out the front of his house wearing, what I am going to call - a partial thong speedo. He was unbothered by Franny and I passing on our way to Franny’s school. Franny commented, “I saw half his bottom. Rude!”
Despite commenting on the nudity of statues and our neighbor, Franny seems to be totally comfortable with public nudity, at least her own. I mentioned before that most Japanese public bathrooms do not provide hand towels and many do not have soap. The women’s bathroom at the beach where we frequent provides neither.[2] After using the restroom, I walked out to see if Aaron had my hand sanitizer leaving Franny in her stall. Since Aaron didn’t have it, the conversation took longer than anticipated; and Franny decided to follow me out of the bathroom to tell me she was having trouble pulling up her wet swimsuit. Out of the bathroom she trotted totally naked with her bathing suit around her knees as traffic on the nearby busy road whizzed by. Franny was not bothered. I still have mixed feelings on whether I should adopt the Japanese more easy-going attitude towards nudity. However, I worry that when Franny returns to the United States, she will be the weird naked girl who pees like a boy at school.
The Japanese laissez-faire attitude about nudity does not extend to tattooed skin. Many onsens do not admit patrons with tattoos. Even some beaches, including the one we go to, have signs that say visible tattoos are prohibited. This rule has been obviously violated by many patrons, myself included. I am curious to see if the rule is more strictly enforced after the lifeguards start working on July 13th. [3]
The prohibition around tattoos in public spaces was established and has endured because tattoos are still associated with members of Japanese organized crime, called the Yakuza. That said, there are clearly many Japanese people who have tattoos who are not criminals. Personally, I imagined the Yakuza like the old fashion mafia in the United States from back in the days of Al Capone. My Japanese instructor found my ignorance hilarious when I exclaimed in surprise, “The Yakuza still exist?”
“They aren’t like ninjas!” she responded. I guess this is why the prohibitions around tattoos still exist…
Thus, if I am to visit an onsen, I must find a private one where the hot spring water is available in the patron’s room so that my tattoos will not be seen by others.
And, if I am being totally honest, my trip to the Japanese gynecologist, well actually the Googling I did afterwards, taught me that many in Japan have a more old-fashioned attitude around pubic area grooming compared to the West (think 1970’s porn). While they can do, or not do, whatever they want, between my tattoos and American hips, I do not need yet another reason to feel uncomfortable at the onsen.
Yes, I think a private onsen is best.
[1] Ok… I know they are not monkeys because they do not have tails, but I have no idea what these primates are called. Feel free to tell me in the comments.
[2] Ok, we have gone twice. But I love saying that I frequent a beach. I’m so boho!
[3] Despite many days with temperatures over 90 degrees Fahrenheit and humidity around 70% or more, the beach does not officially open until July 13th when the lifeguards will start working. Aaron’s coworkers even commented that it was kind of early in the season to be going to the beach. Memorial Day is the not official start to summer in Japan. Probably, in part, because they don’t have Memorial Day.