An unusual question about Onsen…..

26 comments

1. You’ll be fine (but coming from me who’s used to nude sauna’s, so it might more be your feeling than the reaction

2. The Japanese can have high beauty standards but I think they would recognize that your appearance is related to a health condition. That said if you are uncomfortable I recommend a private bath.

3. The onsen and sento are where judgments go to die. Please don’t worry, unfortunately breast cancer is something women experience and women with mastectomy scars use the baths too. People don’t worry about others (especially when they’re naked too!) at onsens and sentos. It will feel nerve wracking the first time – and so freeing after. Please enjoy ❤️

4. it won’t be an issue – people don’t really look at each other much and Japanese women have body differences, aging bodies, surgery scars etc too

5. Some Onsens have family areas where it is possible to reserve the space for private use for a time. Also, there is a special place in hell for anyone who would judge your scars.

6. I can only speak to the handful of onsen visits I have made, but in my experience no one is going to look at you. People mostly minded their own business and focused on their bath.

7. no one cares, bodies are just bodies. no one’s spending their time staring at naked people.

   i mean, sure, everywhere in the world there will be *some* people who are rude and tactless and might talk about you (for any reason – disability, surgery, being a foreigner, being bald, whatever) but that shouldn’t affect what *you* do.

   past threads on this which should provide extra reassurance:

   https://old.reddit.com/r/JapanTravel/comments/1r39x6p/insecure_about_trying_an_onsen_hopefully_my_story/

   https://old.reddit.com/r/JapanTravelTips/comments/1fgbnvp/visiting_onsen_with_surgical_scars/

   https://old.reddit.com/r/JapanTravelTips/comments/1blsfvs/onsens_and_the_postcancer_body/

8. Japanese people are very polite and I doubt they would say anything or even look at you.

9. We went to a few onsen/sento in our hotels in our 5 week trip. Not once did I feel judged. You will see all types of bodies there.

   To add: your scars show everyone that you are a fighter and a survivor! There is no reason to be ashamed of that!

10. There are special tops like this that you can purchase: https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%B7%E3%83%AD%E3%83%8F%E3%83%88-%E3%83%90%E3%82%B9%E3%82%BF%E3%82%A4%E3%83%A0%E3%82%AB%E3%83%90%E3%83%BC-%E3%83%96%E3%83%A9%E3%82%A4%E3%83%88%E3%82%A2%E3%82%A4%E3%82%BA-%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E5%88%9D%E3%81%AE%E5%85%A5%E6%B5%B4%E7%9D%80-%E2%88%92%E3%80%81%E5%B7%A6%E7%94%A8-M/dp/B0D3357D6G/ref=mp_s_a_1_3_sspa?dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.rxMpLzdLpmTpZVQl4HEZQFTDEx-D0Awk7FNMnL67fB7Wa7cxauOFChS2Ho8_LovJdgzCFbCB1qGpcbQWa5ydlrgtg-UQMqg2D4NPI-KflpC-BwMQeKZWFnIJmpWJcuVXVsgMzWJq5kTS2Gj4SkYEdVTkb9Wmy_wNvUBHbXeMSnr9oIPQsdm461TuJhr2U9jEoyo8v5aPaqPAdR-_EFMH5KA80p8fxkMzFKXeteiRER5bXHPa_4QtX6zB5YtisturqFZsIZL3GAhRGDQ1CK9lvTy_7k7PzxHsbSSmDKMIVro.zXfRzc6_qSVGHxivQlwukbP71FmQq8Tx1XqL5j5it6Y&dib_tag=se&keywords=%E3%83%90%E3%82%B9%E3%82%BF%E3%82%A4%E3%83%A0%E3%82%AB%E3%83%90%E3%83%BC+%E5%85%A5%E6%B5%B4%E7%9D%80&qid=1777214417&sr=8-3-spons&sp_csd=d2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRm&psc=1

    They come with a card written in Japanese that describe the function of the garment and that the material is hygienic. There is also a government page explaining why people might use it: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/0000213520.html

    I hope you have a great time here!

11. Absolutely not judgy & harsh in onsen!! Please don’t worry at all 🥰

    In high school, I was an exchange student in Tokyo for a year & went on an extended school trip to Kyushu where we stayed at Ryokan & went to onsen ~ even in HS, people didn’t snicker or comment or do anything remotely rude!
    I’ve since traveled all over Japan w my daughters and we never had a bad or weird onsen experience! The ladies are always kind & respectful. 💗

12. Fellow breast cancer survivor here. I recall at Dormy Inn (chain in Japan), they will provide you with a top for women who requests one for this very reason. However, no one goes to an onsen to judge, no one cares at all (unless maybe a fellow tourist).

13. The onsen / ryokan went to called Yumoto Ryokan 渋温泉 湯本旅館 is owned by a woman who survived breast cancer and has a discount room for breast cancer survivors.
    I highly recommend.
    It also is near the snow monkeys, and gives you access to 9 other onsens in town.

14. My experience (F45) with onsens in Japan, is that people mostly ignore each other. You might get some people sneaking glances, but from what I’ve heard its the men who tend to actually stare, lol. Trying to go at less busy times might help you feel more comfortable too – some of the hotel onsens I’ve been to have often been empty, which is such a treat. Hope you have a great trip

15. Don’t worry. People don’t look at others while in onsen. At least in my experience. I don’t look or stare at other people other than taking a glance to make sure I am not in anybody’s way. And I do not look at people below the shoulder level. That was how I was raised and I am Asian.

16. Hey OP, while onsens are usually filled with Japanese women, you may find that public baths in hotels (called sento) may have more foreigners in them than local Japanese.

    And I’m ngl, you will get more stares there. Not sure about judgey stares but definitely more blatant looks than normal.

    I say this as someone who adores public baths and onsen, and have gone to lots in various locations, so I can definitely feel the difference.

    I’m only saying this to hopefully set your expectations up so that you don’t get potentially turned off by your first experience in a hotel’s public bath and then not want to go any onsen thereafter. Especially because I love onsens so much that I feel it would be a shame if anyone gets turned off them for this reason

17. I probably am not the best person to comment here but I had my very first onsen experience a couple months back at Osaka and honestly, being really self conscious about my body, so far everyone is polite and minding their own business and NO ONE I repeat, no one, will be looking at your body and even if they do, they just look away at the split second and do whatever they are doing. No one cares and no one judges there, not even foreigners (if you spot any). I can tell you I went from anxious to being so completely comfortable that I would totally do it again in a heartbeat.

    Also, if you’re STILL worried and self conscious, they give you a cloth that you can cover your body with until you go down the water.

    But don’t worry, no one cares there and no one is looking.

18. People might judge you for not wiping off most of the water on your body before leaving the sauna and going into the locker/dressing room but they will not care about your body. The reality is more attention would probably be directed at your white skin (or whatever non-Asian you are) than your scars, but in 25 years of going to onsen every year I don’t even feel that. Nobody cares in the onsen. I go in and see old, young, fat, skinny, saggy, buff, etc… nobody cares. The only thing people will care about is that you behave appropriately and respectfully. Follow the etiquette. It’s a relaxing space for everyone. Good for you for winning that fight. My wife is a survivor too. Once again women showing they’ve got the real balls between the sexes.

    Also to add… lots of people in these subs when the idea of onsen/sento comes up they automatically throw in ‘well if you’re uncomfortable you could just get a private onsen’… I think that’s a misguided idea. An essential part of the experience to me is the community of it… this is something you’re doing with other people… likely strangers… and it’s very relaxing, peaceful, and humbling. I think the experience of being with other people is what the experience actually is, if that makes sense.

19. From my family’s experience the Japanese culture is one of respecting others boundaries no matter how busy the environment. My daughter suffers from severe social anxiety but strangely enough deals with Tokyo and huge busy stations like Shinjuku reasonably well and that’s in no small part to most Japanese going about their business and not intruding on yours. Even in an onsen. I think and hope you will be pleasantly surprised.

20. I’m not sure if it makes you feel better, but I’ll share that I’m a very overweight woman who went to Japan. I had zero negative experiences in the onsen, despite having the complete opposite of an attractive body in Japanese culture. No one said anything to me, no one stared at me, no one watched as I entered the water or got out. If they watched me wash before getting in, I had no idea.

    If someone looks as your chest, I think it’ll be apparent that you’ve been through something medically significant, and that’ll be the end of it in strangers minds.

21. Generally people keep their heads politely lowered and won’t stare long enough to notice. The onsens also tend to be low light with lots of steam so visibility is reduced. You do have a small towel that you can bring to the baths and perhaps sling from your shoulder to partially cover if you need to.

22. I’ve been going to onsens with my mom and aunts since I was a toddler. Lots of women, especially older women have surgery scars all over the place from various surgeries, hip replacement, knee replacement, c sections, etc.

23. Just from the point of view of your comfort (abd genuinely feeling relaxed) you could try a private onsen? Public baths often have a section which can be booked for private use and you can use it together as a couple.

    Alternatively you could book ryokans/hotel rooms with in room private onsen. I did this and enjoyed it a lot. Especially because it was in the room, I ended up using it most days and it did wonders for my joints.

24. No one will look at you, you’re overthinking it

25. Please don’t feel you have to miss out!

    You will not be judged for having what are quite obviously surgical scars.

    I am overweight and have belly folds, I was so paranoid about going in the size I am. I wasn’t being judged by my size, I was being looked at because I’m Asian (Indian) and everyone at the onsens I went to were Japanese, so I would get a momentary glance whilst gowned and then no one was interested in me after that.

    It seems there have been some excellent recommendations as well so I hope you feel more confident to go, have a wonderful trip!

26. I actually saw a poster about this in a osen in a business hotel. It said you could ask the the staff if you’d like little top to wear to cover up scars.

    I don’t think anyone will mind. You might just get stares from little children.

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