“I want to get into a hot tub filled with warm water,” Satoshi Furukawa, Japanese surgeon and astronaut, said in an interview right after his return from the International Space Station in 2011. I can ...

Onsen are baths filled with geothermally heated, mineral-rich water. They’ve long been part of Japanese culture, but foreign travelers often struggle with the nudity aspect. - Boaz Rottem/Alamy Stock ...

Walk Japan offers travellers keen on experiencing spring in the country two fully-guided tour programmes that offer unique sights and activities for the season.

Soak in the three-Michelin-starred baths of Hyotan Onsen. Learn more about the craft of traditional bamboo weaving by taking a class at the Bamboo Cultural Center. Take a thermal sand bath while ...

WHITE STEAM rises from the waters of Okuhida Onsengo in snowy northern Japan. Each year thousands of bathers from across the country travel to soak in these hot springs. Down the road, meanwhile, the ...

It was a cold February day in northern Japan, snow piled high outside the onsen locker room windows as I slipped out of my clothes. Nervously, I stepped into the plumes of steam wafting from the next ...