JAPAN'S BEST-DESIGNED SAUNASHow to use a sauna in Japan
Most saunas in Japan sit inside a bathhouse: a sentō, a large bathing complex or a hot spring. The rules are simple once you know them. These are the general customs; each facility has its own rules, so check its website or the signs inside.
Before you go
- Tattoos. Many Japanese baths limit or refuse people with tattoos, while others allow them or ask you to cover small ones. Where a facility's official website states its rule, we show it on that facility's page. If it does not, ask before you go.
- What to bring. Many large bathing complexes include towels and loungewear in the entry fee; many sentō rent or sell them. Each page says what the official website states.
- Booking. Private saunas usually need an advance booking, often on a Japanese-language page. Large bathing complexes are usually walk-in.
Inside the bath
- Shoes and lockers. Take off your shoes at the entrance and put them in a shoe locker. Men's and women's changing rooms are separate, marked 男 (men) and 女 (women), often with blue and red curtains.
- Wash first. Sit at a washing station and wash your body and hair before you get into any bath or sauna.
- No swimwear in single-sex baths. You bathe naked in the men's or women's area. Swimwear is worn only in mixed areas that say so, and some private saunas.
- Keep towels out of the water. Take a small towel with you, but do not put it in the baths. Wipe yourself down before going back to the changing room.
- Rinse off sweat before the cold bath. Pour water over yourself or shower before you get into the cold bath.
The sauna cycle
The usual cycle is sauna, cold bath, then rest — often outdoors — repeated two or three times. Japanese sauna fans call the calm, light feeling it brings totonou. Take it at your own pace and drink water between rounds.
Words you will see
| サウナ | Sauna |
|---|---|
| 水風呂 | Cold bath (mizuburo) |
| 外気浴 | Outdoor rest (gaikiyoku) |
| 露天風呂 | Outdoor bath (rotenburo) |
| ロウリュ | Löyly — water poured on the stones |
| 熱波 / アウフグース | Heat wave / Aufguss — staff fan the heat to you |
| 貸切 | Private booking (kashikiri) |
| 男湯 / 女湯 | Men's bath / women's bath |
