In recent months, I’ve found myself slipping into a new habit between reporting assignments: visiting hot springs. Japan’s onsen culture is wonderfully diverse. Each region has its own water, its own history, and its own atmosphere. Some springs are milky white, others crystal clear; some are steaming hot, others pleasantly lukewarm. And everywhere you go, you meet people who care deeply about these places.
On a recent trip, I met one such person: Mr. Kaoru Kitasawa, a volunteer hot spring guide in a small onsen town.
With a gentle smile and a voice as warm as the steam rising from the baths, Kaoru has spent years introducing visitors to the local springs. “Hot springs soften people,” he told me. “They loosen the body, and sometimes the mind too.”
When I asked if he had a favorite onsen, the answer was unexpected.
“There’s a wonderful one in central Tokyo,” he said. “A real hidden gem. Not many tourists know about it.”
A hot spring in the middle of Tokyo’s business district? Intrigued, I asked Kaoru to write an essay introducing this mysterious urban onsen.
What arrived in my inbox was… not quite what I expected.
Below is the essay, presented just as it was written.
Welcome to Japan’s Finest Lukewarm Bath Culture
By Kaoru Kitasawa, Volunteer Hot Spring Guide
Hello and welcome!
Today, I’d like to introduce a very special hot spring located in the heart of Tokyo’s business district. It is one of Japan’s most traditional baths, a place where the water never gets too hot, the atmosphere never changes, and your ambition slowly dissolves like bath salts.
This is Japan’s beloved “lukewarm workplace culture.”
To understand this onsen, it helps to know that in Japan, hot springs are often used as metaphors for ways of life.
Some baths are invigorating.
Some are healing.
And some… simply keep you comfortably warm, forever.
Perfectly Lukewarm: Always Around 38°C
The water here is maintained at a steady, soothing temperature. Warm enough to relax you, but never hot enough to stir you into action.
Adjusting the temperature is considered unnecessary. Instead, the management focuses on something else entirely: “raising awareness.”
Before Entering: The Ritual Greeting
Visitors are encouraged to recite a traditional phrase before entering the bath:
“I’m inexperienced, so I humbly ask for your guidance.”
This polite formula helps keep the water clear. Expressing honest opinions may cause cloudiness, so guests are advised to maintain a high level of surface harmony.
Feature: A Bath Protected by the Latest Buzzwords
Although the facility proudly displays signs about “DX,” “Digital Transformation,” “Zero Trust,” “Innovation,” and “Workstyle Reform,” the actual operations remain delightfully retro.
Every morning, cheerful announcements echo through the halls:
“Please return to the basics!”
“Maintain a high level of awareness!”
“Let’s promote digitalization!”
These slogans are recited with great enthusiasm, but much like steam rising into the air, they rarely affect the temperature of the bath.
The water stays at its dependable 38°C.
The slogans change; the bath does not.
Leaving the Bath: A Quiet Ceremony
Occasionally, a bather will stand up and say:
“I’d like to challenge myself elsewhere.”
This marks their graduation from the lukewarm bath, a traditional rite of passage.
Departing guests customarily say:
“I learned so much.”
“It was a valuable experience.”
No applause follows.
Everyone else is still soaking comfortably in the warm water.
Closing
Next time, I promise to introduce an actual hot spring, one with minerals, steam, and perhaps even a little heat.
Until then, I hope you enjoy exploring the many “bathing cultures” Japan has to offer.
