Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Joni Sweet is a journalist who covers travel, wellness, and adventure. A trip to an onsen is a quintessential part of a trip to ...

On the cusp of Kobe’s city limits is Arima Onsen, one of Japan’s oldest spa towns. Set amid mountains dotted with patches of green, Arima is where the gods would bathe, according to legend. In ...

Do I really have to get naked? Can I go even if I have a tattoo? Is the buffet really included in the package? Those are just some of the concerns first-time guests at I’M Onsen Spa at I’M Hotel have ...

Regular visitors to Japan will know all about onsen. Here in the West we'd call the nearest equivalent bathhouses or Turkish baths, both of which have rather fallen out of favour in recent times. Not ...

The manager of an 19th-century Japanese guesthouse has apologised after its 158-year-old spa bath was found to be teeming with poisonous bacteria. The Daimaru Besso guesthouse in Fukuoka Prefecture ...