"Wash thoroughly at the washing stations before you enter the bath." - this one can't be stressed enough to the foreigners 😂 there's a whole method how to do this properly
You are right😂 I could write a whole post just on the washing station alone. There's a real technique to it (where to sit, how much to rinse, not splashing your neighbor) that nobody explains to foreign visitors, and it shows.
Thanks for the nudge, I'll write that one up properly.
Onsens are one of my favorite things about living in Japan! I love them so much that I won’t get a tattoo 😂
I’m also curious about going to an onsen postpartum. I was told that in Japan you’re generally supposed to avoid soaking in a bath until after the one month postpartum. Is that still the recommendation/would an onsen be treated any differently from bathing at home?
And yes, that's still the standard advice, worth following for onsen specifically. The traditional one-month rule was about lochia, the cervix closing, and any tearing healing. Newer research actually found no extra infection risk from bathing earlier at home, so that part's being reconsidered.
Onsen is different, though, since you're sharing water with other bathers, and most facilities ask postpartum guests to wait for medical clearance anyway. So my honest answer: get the all-clear at your one-month checkup, and treat that as the real green light for onsen, even if home bathing turns out to be fine a bit sooner.
This is very helpful and makes sense! I actually didn't know about this rule until I toured a postpartum mother-baby hotel and they said moms can't use the onsen until one month postpartum. Thank you!
"Wash thoroughly at the washing stations before you enter the bath." - this one can't be stressed enough to the foreigners 😂 there's a whole method how to do this properly
You are right😂 I could write a whole post just on the washing station alone. There's a real technique to it (where to sit, how much to rinse, not splashing your neighbor) that nobody explains to foreign visitors, and it shows.
Thanks for the nudge, I'll write that one up properly.
Onsens are one of my favorite things about living in Japan! I love them so much that I won’t get a tattoo 😂
I’m also curious about going to an onsen postpartum. I was told that in Japan you’re generally supposed to avoid soaking in a bath until after the one month postpartum. Is that still the recommendation/would an onsen be treated any differently from bathing at home?
Thank you for your comment!
And yes, that's still the standard advice, worth following for onsen specifically. The traditional one-month rule was about lochia, the cervix closing, and any tearing healing. Newer research actually found no extra infection risk from bathing earlier at home, so that part's being reconsidered.
Onsen is different, though, since you're sharing water with other bathers, and most facilities ask postpartum guests to wait for medical clearance anyway. So my honest answer: get the all-clear at your one-month checkup, and treat that as the real green light for onsen, even if home bathing turns out to be fine a bit sooner.
This is very helpful and makes sense! I actually didn't know about this rule until I toured a postpartum mother-baby hotel and they said moms can't use the onsen until one month postpartum. Thank you!
No problem, thank you for asking!
Thank you for this! I dearly love onsen and love to soak in them!
Thank you for your comment! I’m so glad to hear that you love onsen too!