Mar 19 (theguardian.com) - The unwelcome behaviour of some male customers is putting women off visits to hot springs, where both sexes have mingled for years
The rattle of someone sliding open the changing room door is the cue to execute a discreet turn of the head, gaze firmly directed at the steam rising towards the bathhouse’s intricate wooden rafters.
As it turns out, the precaution is unnecessary. The two bathers joining the Guardian in the restorative waters of a 140-year-old hot spring resort, or onsen, in the mountains of Japan’s Gunma prefecture were men.
Despite being open to male and female bathers for all but two hours each day – when access is restricted to women – the historical baths seemed to be mixed in name only. Over the course of four long soaks, all of my fellow bathers were male.
The absence of women seemed to confirm Japanese media reports that konyoku – mixed bathing – is at risk of becoming a cultural curiosity, especially when it requires participants to go naked.
Many blame the rising menace of wani (crocodiles) – the nickname given to men who spend long periods immersed in the water, their eyes constantly scanning the room for female bathers. ...continue reading
