On a recent concert tour in Japan, I had the chance to visit several thermal baths and to chat with people about the tradition of bathing. I was fascinated by their differences with American spas.

In Japan, bathing is more than just a way to get clean—it’s an ancient tradition elevated to an art form. Long regarded as both a physical and spiritual experience, communal bathing has historically ...

For many years after I experienced my first Japanese onsen, or public bath, and whenever I was in Japan on my annual trip, I found myself playing a variation of that game recommended to nervous public ...

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KANONJI, Kagawa Prefecture—Through several twists and turns, a company that supplied bricks for what is now the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima is now a hot spring facility with the most different ...

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 ...

TOKYO: In Japan, saunas suddenly seem everywhere. On Instagram, influencers and actors appeared to visit them daily, and the app was bombarding me with ads for mountain retreats with cold-plunge pools ...