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Public bathing

Bathe in the waters of a rare Japanese onsen temple steeped in over 1,000 years of history

Escape the crowds of tourists at Nikko with a visit to this hidden gem.

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How not to bathe at a public bathing facility in Japan

Four annoying behaviours commonly seen amongst men at the onsen and sento.

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Kyoto sightseeing tour: The most amazing old bathhouses in the city

Step back in time as we explore Kyoto’s hidden onsen culture. 

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Natural hot spring bathhouse in Tokyo’s Kabukicho is a super-cheap place to stay

Luxury spa facility is in the top 10 most booked wellness experiences in the world but not a lot of people know there’s a way you can spend the night there. 

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Tokyo likely to reduce age limit on kids in opposite-sex public baths, report says

Current age limit is well above the cutoff line for embarrassment, survey says.

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Five awesome hot springs in Taiwan (one of them has been on fire for 300 years!)

Japan is famous for being an onsen (hot spring) nation, so much so that a friend of mine preaches that “if you’ve never been to an onsen, then you’ve never been to Japan”. Quite the extremist, but you get the idea. Japanese hot springs come pretty close to “heaven on earth”.

But Japan’s neighboring country, Taiwan, also has some fabulous hot springs to boot! The fact that there are onsen-loving Japanese people who travel to Taiwan for a soak is sufficient to vouch for the quality of these bubbling hot baths. Here’s a list of five onsen hot spots you wouldn’t want to miss on your trip to Taiwan!

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