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Getting Wet: Adventures in the Japanese Bath
Eric Talmadge takes a joyful, first-person plunge into the depths of Japan's bathing culture-joining the millions of Japanese who not only bathe every day, but find it a must to travel the country on a search for the perfect bathing experience.
From bathing "theme parks" which come complete with tubs for your pets, to the luxurious dinners served in the rarified atmosphere of the most expensive hot springs resorts, to the calming effects of an odorous sea-water bath carved from an isolated coastline, the author draws on his travels to
create a delightful, enlightening volume that goes beyond the scope of typical travel books on Japan.
Readers follow Talmadge on his skin-tingling (and sometime scalding) encounters as he reflects on the art of bathing in ancient times and the dos and don'ts of going au natural in contemporary Japan. The religious rites. The science of bathing-what hot water does to you and your skin, and why. The
truth behind the claims of healing powers. The unavoidable progression from simple nudity to the business of sex. And some reflections on how the bathing culture has changed and where it may be going.
Finally, the book offers sage advice, some guidelines, sample day trips and other practical matters for those who actually may be thinking of testing out the waters.
From bathing "theme parks" which come complete with tubs for your pets, to the luxurious dinners served in the rarified atmosphere of the most expensive hot springs resorts, to the calming effects of an odorous sea-water bath carved from an isolated coastline, the author draws on his travels to
create a delightful, enlightening volume that goes beyond the scope of typical travel books on Japan.
Readers follow Talmadge on his skin-tingling (and sometime scalding) encounters as he reflects on the art of bathing in ancient times and the dos and don'ts of going au natural in contemporary Japan. The religious rites. The science of bathing-what hot water does to you and your skin, and why. The
truth behind the claims of healing powers. The unavoidable progression from simple nudity to the business of sex. And some reflections on how the bathing culture has changed and where it may be going.
Finally, the book offers sage advice, some guidelines, sample day trips and other practical matters for those who actually may be thinking of testing out the waters.
255 pages, Hardcover
First published August 18, 2006
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
January 8, 2010
An excellent, hard to describe book that discusses the place of the bath is Japan, both past and present. It is a constant surprise, and it really made me want to go to Japan and take lots of hot baths with my fiance in the disappearing bathhouses. We could drink a cold yogurt afterward and then walk down the street in our yukata and clogs, gathering odd looks all the way. Only problem is we could not take the baths together in the bathhouses.
March 21, 2022
Onsen is big business in Japan. I like them, but with some reservations. For one thing, the full onsen experience can be off-puttingly expensive. One night's stay in a classy onsen hotel can easily set you back 30,000 - 50,000 yen per person. This includes two meals, but is still an outrageous price. If like most Japanese this one onsen weekend is all the traveling you do in the whole year, it may still be OK, but it can be a problem if you are traveling two or three weeks around Japan.
Next, not all onsen are that interesting. On the contrary, the large towns with huge hotels that cater to group tours are right-out garish. The high-rise hotels spoil the scenery and the noisy groups spoil your fun if you come as a couple or family. These places are more suitable to tours with colleagues from work than private visits - and that is indeed how most Japanese travel there (although such tours are not so popular anymore and many onsen towns are literally crumbling away).
My advice is therefore to search out the "hito," the so-called "hidden hot springs," the smaller and often rustic onsen of only a handful of modest hotels - or even only one single ryokan hidden away in the mountains. Often (but not always!) these hidden hot springs are less expensive - for example, 10,000 a person - , and on top of that, you are not bothered by noisy groups. In these smaller onsen, also the Japanese travel as families or couples.
When I start wondering if Japanese onsen culture is at all any fun, I often have recourse to "Getting Wet, Adventures in the Japanese Bath" by Eric Talmadge. Eric Talmadge is Tokyo news editor for the Associated Press who has lived longer in Japan than in his native country. In this book, he combines work and hobby by trying out the whole spectrum of Japanese bathing culture and serving that up in what can only be called an enjoyable read.
There are countless hot springs in Japan. Since very ancient times (say 10,000 years ago), it has been the biggest pleasure and pastime of the Japanese to sit in those sometimes scalding hot waters - provided for free by their extremely volcanic country. Visiting an onsen (as hot springs are called in Japanese) is not only the main idea the Japanese have of a holiday, it is also healthy thanks to the medicinal properties of thermal spring water.
In this enthusiastic account, Talmadge relates his adventures in various onsen around Japan and combines those tales with reflections on bathing-related subjects.
Sitting in the bug-lined tidal pools of far-away Shikine, one of the volcanic Izu islands SE of Tokyo, he studies the science of hot spring bathing and the different kinds of stuff you can find in all those tubs.
During a visit to the popular hot springs of Ikaho in Gunma Prefecture he realizes that the Japanese obsession with onsen may have led to a recent scandal where bath owners were caught tampering with the healing properties by mixing in ordinary tap water (for how else can you serve 5 million customers a year?).
Talmadge also ventures into his neighborhood sento (no mean feat, I can assure you, as your nakedness will be stared at by the locals) and survives the shock of a skin-tingling Hertz bath with low voltage electrical stimulation.
Next he joins the dense crowds in the new Disneyesque hot spring theme park in Tokyo Bay, the Oedo Onsen Monogatari (which uses "paleowater" drawn from 1400 meters underground), before contemplating the history of the Japanese bath in more traditional Arima, the oldest hot spring in Japan.
Invited to Kusatsu in the mountains of Gunma (to help promote onsen visits among foreign tourists), he makes the reader hungry by a detailed description of the gorgeous meal served him in an expensive ryokan, courtesy of the Japanese government. His justification: in the onsen experience, food is just as important as hot water.
In Yunessun, Hakone, another hot spring extravaganza where guests wear bathing suits in the mixed bathing area, he ruminates on the subject of nakedness and why Japan has so many onsen where people hop around stark naked, but virtually no nudists.
In Misasa Onsen, Tottori Pref., Talmadge challenges fate by sitting in a radioactive bath, although he could have been warned by the statue of Madame Curie that graces the village. He also describes the fancy for radon products in the Western world in the 1930s (low radiation was thought to be beneficial), which abruptly stopped when the jaw of one of the users of such products literally dropped off.
In one of the final chapters Talmadge adds an experience in one of the numerous Yoshiwara Soaplands to his list of bathing pleasures. The "soap girl" who washes him is a direct descendant of the age-old yuna, or "hot water girls," who for obvious reasons were instrumental in popularizing the bath in feudal times.
Onsen are one of Japan's greatest pleasures. After reading this highly appetizing book, you may be ready to jump right in.
But be warned before you try: Talmadge also lets us know that the number of Japanese who die in the bath each year rivals the number killed in traffic accidents!
So don't forget to read the author's advice on how to take the Perfect Bath and go slow on the alcohol (which can be dangerous in combination with a very hot bath)!
Next, not all onsen are that interesting. On the contrary, the large towns with huge hotels that cater to group tours are right-out garish. The high-rise hotels spoil the scenery and the noisy groups spoil your fun if you come as a couple or family. These places are more suitable to tours with colleagues from work than private visits - and that is indeed how most Japanese travel there (although such tours are not so popular anymore and many onsen towns are literally crumbling away).
My advice is therefore to search out the "hito," the so-called "hidden hot springs," the smaller and often rustic onsen of only a handful of modest hotels - or even only one single ryokan hidden away in the mountains. Often (but not always!) these hidden hot springs are less expensive - for example, 10,000 a person - , and on top of that, you are not bothered by noisy groups. In these smaller onsen, also the Japanese travel as families or couples.
When I start wondering if Japanese onsen culture is at all any fun, I often have recourse to "Getting Wet, Adventures in the Japanese Bath" by Eric Talmadge. Eric Talmadge is Tokyo news editor for the Associated Press who has lived longer in Japan than in his native country. In this book, he combines work and hobby by trying out the whole spectrum of Japanese bathing culture and serving that up in what can only be called an enjoyable read.
There are countless hot springs in Japan. Since very ancient times (say 10,000 years ago), it has been the biggest pleasure and pastime of the Japanese to sit in those sometimes scalding hot waters - provided for free by their extremely volcanic country. Visiting an onsen (as hot springs are called in Japanese) is not only the main idea the Japanese have of a holiday, it is also healthy thanks to the medicinal properties of thermal spring water.
In this enthusiastic account, Talmadge relates his adventures in various onsen around Japan and combines those tales with reflections on bathing-related subjects.
Sitting in the bug-lined tidal pools of far-away Shikine, one of the volcanic Izu islands SE of Tokyo, he studies the science of hot spring bathing and the different kinds of stuff you can find in all those tubs.
During a visit to the popular hot springs of Ikaho in Gunma Prefecture he realizes that the Japanese obsession with onsen may have led to a recent scandal where bath owners were caught tampering with the healing properties by mixing in ordinary tap water (for how else can you serve 5 million customers a year?).
Talmadge also ventures into his neighborhood sento (no mean feat, I can assure you, as your nakedness will be stared at by the locals) and survives the shock of a skin-tingling Hertz bath with low voltage electrical stimulation.
Next he joins the dense crowds in the new Disneyesque hot spring theme park in Tokyo Bay, the Oedo Onsen Monogatari (which uses "paleowater" drawn from 1400 meters underground), before contemplating the history of the Japanese bath in more traditional Arima, the oldest hot spring in Japan.
Invited to Kusatsu in the mountains of Gunma (to help promote onsen visits among foreign tourists), he makes the reader hungry by a detailed description of the gorgeous meal served him in an expensive ryokan, courtesy of the Japanese government. His justification: in the onsen experience, food is just as important as hot water.
In Yunessun, Hakone, another hot spring extravaganza where guests wear bathing suits in the mixed bathing area, he ruminates on the subject of nakedness and why Japan has so many onsen where people hop around stark naked, but virtually no nudists.
In Misasa Onsen, Tottori Pref., Talmadge challenges fate by sitting in a radioactive bath, although he could have been warned by the statue of Madame Curie that graces the village. He also describes the fancy for radon products in the Western world in the 1930s (low radiation was thought to be beneficial), which abruptly stopped when the jaw of one of the users of such products literally dropped off.
In one of the final chapters Talmadge adds an experience in one of the numerous Yoshiwara Soaplands to his list of bathing pleasures. The "soap girl" who washes him is a direct descendant of the age-old yuna, or "hot water girls," who for obvious reasons were instrumental in popularizing the bath in feudal times.
Onsen are one of Japan's greatest pleasures. After reading this highly appetizing book, you may be ready to jump right in.
But be warned before you try: Talmadge also lets us know that the number of Japanese who die in the bath each year rivals the number killed in traffic accidents!
So don't forget to read the author's advice on how to take the Perfect Bath and go slow on the alcohol (which can be dangerous in combination with a very hot bath)!
December 2, 2021
Just read this for a second time (hardly ever do that), in part because I remembered it so fondly from a 2008 reading, and partly because friends are going to Japan and I wondered if it's still relevant. It is, and I can even forgive its many typos (also unusual for me). Great in-depth understanding of the culture and the population's deep and abiding relationship to bathing. Photos are excellent.
August 31, 2025
Picked it up because it's a subject matter I don't normally read. Gave it five stars because the subject matter is so engrossing and fascinating.
February 1, 2008
Well the first half was was big bore, lots of facts and stats that weren't too interesting. He went back and forth a lot from trying to tell a story to reporting facts. So at times there seemed like a nice flow was building only to be interrupted witha plethora of facts. Plus there was one sentence that really bugged me, he talks about Hello Killy figurines smiling at him, and I'm like, "uh, hello...she has no mouth!" The second half picked up and got pretty interesting, the whole keeping foreigners out of certain onsens ordeal. I'm totally on the side of the Japanese I must say, although as the Asian Chameleon I doubt even as a foreigner I couldn't get into any onsen I wanted. Well, so long as it allowed women in it. This book neither decreased nor increased my love of onsens. But I really love onsens, so I guess it's a good thing. Read it, don't read it. If you decide to read it out of boredom, skip the first half.
November 23, 2007
The bath is something different in Japan than it is in the West. Getting clean isn't the point, you do that before you get in. It's about the soak, for 10-15 minutes in really hot water. Not surprisingly the Japanese are fanatical about it. This book relates that fanaticism from early history to recent hot springs scandals and it looks at the various forms bathing takes - traditional municipal baths, mineral spas that have been visited for over 1000 years, radioactive springs, modern theme park baths, "soaplands" and on.
The book reads like a series of articles or a group of columns from a magazine. Well written and interesting subject matter. It's 3 starts instead of 4 or more because I was hoping for something a little less disjointed.
The book reads like a series of articles or a group of columns from a magazine. Well written and interesting subject matter. It's 3 starts instead of 4 or more because I was hoping for something a little less disjointed.
October 28, 2011
Currently, I've been using the public transportation system and this book was perfect for filling the time. Plenty of history and data in book, at times it was a bit too much, yet knowing the back story made other parts of the book even more interesting. The chapter on radioactive hot springs fascinated me.
June 5, 2007
I knew nothing about Japanese baths or Japanese bathing habits. Talmedge (sp) took me on a historical and current tour of Japanese baths. Now, I wish I could partake! It was entertaining and interesting.
August 28, 2013
After visiting both onsens and sentos in Japan earlier this year, I really enjoyed Eric's book about bathing in Japan. He's given me a few places to put on the bucket list, although I may pass on the radon baths!
December 31, 2014
A unique non-fiction account of a Westerners obsession with Japanese onsen. Instructive. I'm tempted to try one out now.
January 5, 2015
fun read
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews