![My Onsen Experience - Bathing With 20 Japanese Men My Onsen Experience - Bathing With 20 Japanese Men](http://m5.paperblog.com/i/6/60831/my-onsen-experience-bathing-with-20-japanese--L-We46Y3.jpeg)
To me, this sounded like a great experience and something I absolutely had to try. So when I made it to Nikko shortly after my arrival to the country, I knew I had to check one out.
![Immolation Graveyard My Onsen Experience - Bathing With 20 Japanese Men](http://m5.paperblog.com/i/6/60831/my-onsen-experience-bathing-with-20-japanese--L-4VSbaN.jpeg)
![Jako Falls My Onsen Experience - Bathing With 20 Japanese Men](http://m5.paperblog.com/i/6/60831/my-onsen-experience-bathing-with-20-japanese--L-HFg1Ri.jpeg)
What happened next put me even further out of my comfort zone, especially when considering this was the second stop of my entire 5 month journey.
Once we arrived, the onsen was most welcoming on our sore bodies. The experience was a relatively affordable 500 yen for unlimited use, plus 250 for a small towel and 100 for locker rental (~$10 total). The euphoria of a cheap deal lasted only a brief while until one of the workers uttered a frightening phrase: No swim suits allowed.
Surrounded by 20 old Japanese men I let go of all my shame and entered the bath house. The fear was quickly eliminated as no one seems to care that everyone is minus all clothes except for a 3 ft by 1 ft towel that doesnt quite cover all. The spa itself was most rewarding as three different spas, including one located outside, felt most amazing even when the feed water was a scorching 40°C (104°F). The sauna was even more hot at an ambient tempurature of 57°C (135°F).
Sweaty, but satisfying.
For me, the experience was priceless and made the preceding 3 hour hike well worth it. After all the excitement and fear, and since you cannot take pictures inside the onsen's for obvious reasons, I now have an incredibly tiny towel as proof that, yes, I have no shame.
![Compared to a beach towel... My Onsen Experience - Bathing With 20 Japanese Men](http://m5.paperblog.com/i/6/60831/my-onsen-experience-bathing-with-20-japanese--L-kWA_OL.jpeg)