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Free taste · 3 of 47 places · Big in Japan

六 · Chapter Six

Rituals — Onsens, Tea & Matcha

The slow Tokyo. Hot water that has bubbled up from underground for a thousand years, a kettle whisked clockwise three times, a tea leaf rolled by hand in Kyoto and sold in Marunouchi. These are the small ceremonies the city quietly insists upon.

Onsens in Tokyo

Natural hot springs, inside the city

温泉

Most travellers think they have to leave Tokyo for a real onsen — they don't. The city sits on geothermal water that bubbles up in dozens of bathhouses, from minimalist hotel spas to all-night urban onsens. The rules are simple: wash thoroughly before entering the bath, no swimsuits, no phones, leave your tattoos at the door (or covered, depending on the venue).

🌙Luxury — A Quiet Splurge
  • Hoshinoya Tokyo map
    A natural onsen on the top floor of a tower-ryokan in Otemachi — open to the sky, water from 1,500 metres beneath the building. Hotel guests only, but the experience is the reason to book the room.
  • Solaniwa Onsen Tokyo Bay map
    A newly opened resort-onsen complex with garden baths, eight different pools, kaiseki dining. The closest you can get to a Hakone ryokan inside Tokyo.
  • Tokyo Somei Onsen Sakura map
    Refined and quiet, in a traditional Japanese building near Sugamo. The amber-coloured natural spring water is famous for skin. Date-night onsen.

That was 3 of 47 places in this chapter. The rest are in Big in Japan.

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Keep exploring

Tokyo, neighbourhood by neighbourhoodEbisu, Nakameguro, Shimokitazawa… where to stay in one and walk the next.Where to stayRyokan, design hotels and quiet bases, by area and budget.Eating in TokyoCounters, izakaya and the reachable top tables, area by area.After darkCocktail bars, standing bars and the small rooms worth the climb.Records and listening barsWhere to dig, and the rooms built around a sound system.Shopping and what to bring homeFrom the 100-yen shop to Japanese knives and fine stationery.Temples, shrines and gardensWhere the city goes quiet, and when to arrive.KyotoThe thousand-year capital: temples, kaiseki, the old streets.OsakaJapan's kitchen: street food, bars and the loud, warm city.Hakone, Fuji and IzuRyokan nights, Fuji at dawn and the Izu coast.What's on in JapanSumo, festivals, marathons, seasons: what falls on your dates.