Co-ed Onsen as a day trip from Tokyo with rural, picturesque view?

Can anyone recommend an Onsen that is:

* Co-ed (wife and I want to experience an Onsen together, so it has to be co-ed)

* Clothes-on (bathing suits); anything less, one suspects, would be lascivious and unwanted

* Could visit as part of a day trip from Tokyo (e.g. Hakone, Kamakura, etc)

* Is in a rural area with the Onsen having a picturesque view

* Is as traditional as possible, not being a "real" Onsen (sex-segrated, naked)

* Is accessible using the JR Pass, at least for the most of the journey

I was never a Spa Guy until my wife and I discovered the co-ed Cloud 9 Spa on the Carnival Dream. Had a week-long pass and visited the thermal suite rooms together daily. It wasn't at all unsavory. Of course the clothes-on requirement helps.

Perhaps there's no such thing as a co-ed Onsen in Japan. Certainly, co-ed spas seem difficult to find on-shore in the U.S., and even at sea. But if anyone would know, I guessed it would be someone out there on CruiseCritic. If there's no such animal as a co-ed Onsen near Tokyo or anywhere in Japan, what's the next best thing?

Can anyone recommend an Onsen that is:

 

* Co-ed (wife and I want to experience an Onsen together, so it has to be co-ed)

* Clothes-on (bathing suits); anything less, one suspects, would be lascivious and unwanted

* Could visit as part of a day trip from Tokyo (e.g. Hakone, Kamakura, etc)

* Is in a rural area with the Onsen having a picturesque view

* Is as traditional as possible, not being a "real" Onsen (sex-segrated, naked)

* Is accessible using the JR Pass, at least for the most of the journey

 

I was never a Spa Guy until my wife and I discovered the co-ed Cloud 9 Spa on the Carnival Dream. Had a week-long pass and visited the thermal suite rooms together daily. It wasn't at all unsavory. Of course the clothes-on requirement helps.

 

Perhaps there's no such thing as a co-ed Onsen in Japan. Certainly, co-ed spas seem difficult to find on-shore in the U.S., and even at sea. But if anyone would know, I guessed it would be someone out there on CruiseCritic. If there's no such animal as a co-ed Onsen near Tokyo or anywhere in Japan, what's the next best thing?

Have you considered spending one (or more?) nights at an Onsen Ryokan (traditional inn, with hot springs baths) so that you'd have your own smaller bath?

Some have the private baths on balconies, overlooking lovely scenery (but make sure what you are getting, and it's not a road, or such).

You could also try the single sex/not-clothed communal baths if you wished, while still sharing plenty of comfortable time together.

We are including two nights in Hakone in about a month, at one of these.

We chose 2 nights so we could relax there for one full day, rather than "arrive in the evening, dash off early the next day".

(We are also including two nights at a Buddhist Monastery for the same reason. The rest of the 2 weeks will be at carefully selected hotels, meaning... have some traditional Japanese ambiance/decor, rather than a "big hotel that once one is inside, could be in any city/any country, etc.)

Thanks GC. We considered staying at a Ryokan, but a few things:

1) I get you completely on the generic nature of Big City hotels. But we have only 5 nights in Japan, based out of Tokyo (we have free hotel stays in the city).

2) Read a little bit about Ryokans, and they sound too regimental / "military"-like for our tastes, e.g. do this at one time, do that at another time, etc. I'm sure it would be interesting if we had nights in Japan; but our flights are fixed and it is what it is.

I *love* that you're staying overnight at a Buddhist monastery. I'd like to visit one myself, perhaps do some mindfulness meditation on the premises, and have a typical Buddhist vegetarian meal. Preferably one located in a spectacularly beautiful setting.

Thanks again for your suggestions. I'm just afraid we don't have enough time for the Ryokan experience. Discussed with my wife and we don't want to use same-sex Onsen--just not appealing after getting to share co-ed thermal spa rooms on the Carnival Dream for a week. We often visited twice a day.

Have you considered spending one (or more?) nights at an Onsen Ryokan (traditional inn, with hot springs baths) so that you'd have your own smaller bath?

Some have the private baths on balconies, overlooking lovely scenery (but make sure what you are getting, and it's not a road, or such).

You could also try the single sex/not-clothed communal baths if you wished, while still sharing plenty of comfortable time together.

 

We are including two nights in Hakone in about a month, at one of these.

We chose 2 nights so we could relax there for one full day, rather than "arrive in the evening, dash off early the next day".

(We are also including two nights at a Buddhist Monastery for the same reason. The rest of the 2 weeks will be at carefully selected hotels, meaning... have some traditional Japanese ambiance/decor, rather than a "big hotel that once one is inside, could be in any city/any country, etc.)

* Co-ed (wife and I want to experience an Onsen together, so it has to be co-ed

All ryokans have private baths. Only you and your wife would be scheduled to use the bath at a certain hour.

Perhaps there's no such thing as a co-ed Onsen in Japan. ?

Not since US GIs showed up after WW2 and were scandalized.

All ryokans have private baths. Only you and your wife would be scheduled to use the bath at a certain hour.

 

 

 

Not since US GIs showed up after WW2 and were scandalized.

Thanks VNP. That's good news about the Ryokan and getting to use the bath privately at a certain hour. But would staying at a Ryokan consume all of a day (what check-in and check-out times are typical)? Since we have only 5 nights in Japan, I don't think the Ryokan experience would be a wise use of our time.

Really only have 4 nights in Japan when you consider we'll be flying into NRT "late" (~6 pm), won't get to our hotel until at least 7 or 8pm, and will be too pooped to do anything after such a long flight (with transfers) in economy class. Neither I or my wife can sleep on planes.

Could be interesting to stay in a Ryokan if we decided to overnight in Kyoto. Again, all our 5 nights in Tokyo are free using hotel points and certificates. We could simply keep the 5 nights at the Tokyo hotel, and pay for a Ryokan stay.

But here again, if you are essentially a well looked after "prisoner", the time to experience Kyoto, as short as it would be already, would be even shorter if confined to a Ryokan. Is there a way to both experience a Ryokan, yet optimize for time outside the Ryokan? Many say Kyoto is impossible to see in a day. Obviously one couldn't see much of it since the temples are spread out. But perhaps a person could see a few highlights to gauge whether they'd want to return for a longer stay on another trip. I've done some day trips no one would dream of for that very reason--to "sample" an area; gives me some of the experience; typically enough to know if I'd like to return.

I may be mistaken, but it seems from what I've read so far, ala the lyrics to Hotel California (very loosely): "You can check out any time you like; but you can never leave." :-(

Finally, do any Ryokans require a minimum # of nights per stay? Most hotels don't, but I know a lot of rental properties have a minimum 2 night stay.

We stayed in a Ryokan in Miyajima some years ago, for just one night. It was an amazing experience. We arrived mid-afternoon, checked in, did some sightseeing, went back to our room then went down to the baths (segregated, no clothes). Yukatas were provided by the ryokan so we wore those. Dinner was served, Japanese style, in our room. After dinner we were encouraged to go for a walk, dressed in yukata with a jacket (provided) over it, socks and wooden thong-style raised sandals. It was great fun. We slept on futons - when the young ladies came to make up our futon they laid out a double layer, looked at us, giggled, and put another two layers on top. We slept very well. I went down to the baths again in the morning but DH opted for a shower, and to finished the experience off we had a Japanese breakfast, although there was the option of a Western breakfast. We checked out around 10am and headed back to Hiroshima to catch the shinkensen back to Tokyo. I would happily do the ryokan experience again. I'm sure there would be some wonderful ryokan in Kyoto.

We had one night in a ryokan in Hakone between stays in Kyoto and Tokyo. We had planned to take the ropeway to see Mt. Fuji, but it was raining and very foggy the day we were there, so like many tourists we were not granted a view of the mountain. Even so, the ryokan stay was the highlight of our time in Japan. As a previous poster mentioned we dressed traditionally, ate traditional food for dinner and breakfast, tried an onsen (private) and slept on a futon. We are seniors and DH found it hard to get up from the floor in the morning, but we had a good night's sleep, although the pillows felt as if they were filled with dried peas! We arrived about three pm and left after breakfast, so it did not take up too much of our time, but was definitely worth it. We had four nights in Kyoto, one in Hakone and four in Tokyo after a cruise from Vancouver to Yokohama. We are going back to Japan later this year to explore more of the country because we enjoyed the experience. Japan is easy to explore independently. Help from TripAdvisor made the planning less intimidating.

Thanks everyone. Would love to hear more about ryokans in Hakone, having private Onsen access. Don't think we'll be able to squeeze this in as an actual overnight stay.

We decided we're staying one night in Kyoto, but at a fancy-shmancy place--the Ritz-Carlton Kyoto. I may email our concierge there to see if there are other options, e.g. can we pay to get private access to a ryokan's onsen. Only way I could afford to stay there was using points. Doesn't look like much on the outside, but gorgeous inside. It's designed like a ryokan, evidently, but obviously isn't.

I think the ryokan experience is great when you have more time to stick around and enjoy it more, vs. wanting to get out there and see a lot of the sights--or in our case, Unesco World Heritage *sites*. :-)

Just in case you happen to go to Taipei (Taiwan), Beitou Hot Springs (outdoor/public) might be what you are looking for.

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