I stripped off to bathe naked with strangers in Japan — here’s how it went

From bowing to never eating on the street, Japan is a nation where deeply rooted observances mingle with modernity and tech advancements the UK might get to enjoy in a decade or two.

Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule. The country’s Love Hotels are enough to show that.

But I didn’t quite expect a deeply respected tradition that dates back centuries to be so…revealing.

I’m talking nude public bathing. Or, rather, onsen.

Traditional Japanese onsens are places of tranquility. Here, the water contains a multitude of minerals including sulfur, lithium and iron, and while most are found in mountain towns and resorts outside major cities, there is one in the middle of Tokyo I’m keen to dip my toe in.

I’m staying at Hoshinoya, a plush hotel within walking distance of Tokyo Station, and a welcome oasis high above the busy streets.

Sandwiched between grey office blocks, where you can see salarymen in their booths while you eat breakfast, the hotel is styled on a traditional Japanese inn, otherwise known as a ryokan. And right at the top, on the 17th floor, is its crowning glory: a sprawling open-air onsen.

Open exclusively to hotel guests, it’s ‘public’ only in the sense that it can be used by anyone in the hotel, not anyone walking in off the street.

This still meant, though, that while I may have been on my honeymoon with my husband, I was about to get starkers in front of strangers. Here’s how it went.

The art of onsen

Where other Tokyo hotels truck their onsen water from the mountain resorts of Hakone, Hoshinoya pumps its essence from 1500m under the foundation, where sea water and seaweed minerals are trapped deep in the ground.

This life-enhancing liquid is said to help ‘regulate the body’s autonomic, endocrine, and immune systems’, alleviating fatigue both in body and mind. The perfect cure for jetlag, I say.

Unsurprisingly, there is a routine to abide by before dipping your toe in: first, genders are separated to strip off and scrub in a communal showering area before going into a gender-based pool.

With shoes collected at the door and stored in delicate wooden crates, alongside the encouragement to wear the provided robes around the hotel’s communal areas, you’ve got a slim chance of dodging the strict rules of the onsen.

And think again if you reckon you can sneak into the welcoming waters in so much as a bikini bottom.

But then, why would you want to? Japan is all about cultural immersion, literally, even if it means pushing outside your comfort zone.

Being nude is considered part of the cultural practice, and wearing clothes is considered disrespectful and unhygienic. More eyes would be on you if you wore swimmers. Even tattoos are banned at lots of public onsens (due to their historical links to the criminal Yakuza gangs). Those inked often wear small, flesh-coloured plasters to cover up.

Know that if you’re feeling prudish, when the time comes to actually onsen, odds are you’re not going to run into anyone else.

There are only six rooms per floor of this hotel (84 rooms in total), meaning during our two-night stay, we only spotted fellow guests twice. Therefore, if you venture to the onsen, you won’t find a crammed soup of nude bodies jostling for space.

Plus, with the onsen open between the hours of 3pm and 11.30am, a midnight dip, when your fellow hotel guests are fast asleep, is always on the cards.

But you know what, after I got over my initial insecurities, the practice of onsen is blissfully relaxing. You’re a weightless nude baby in a pool of warm water. Go figure.

After stepping into the onsen, wade a little further in through a cotton partition, and you’ll find a bathing area with an open roof that captures a clipped glimpse of the Tokyo sky and its seasons. You’ll even feel the rain if the weather turns, but you’re wet anyway, so what’s the problem?

Exposure to the elements only makes it more magical, even if you can hear the traffic below.

Mel Evans was a guest of HOSHINOYA Tokyo; the current room rate is 182,000 JPY (£926) per room per night, on a room-only basis.