Onsen

27th November, 2014

There are some experiences in life that are supposed to define you. Getting a college acceptance letter, surviving a car crash, moving across countries. And then there are those experiences that millions of people have, but they really mean something to only a few. A communal bath in Japan, or "onsen" is one such experience. The idea of the bath as I understand it, is to break the mental barriers that people have about their bodies. All across the world, body image issues exist across various age groups. As confident as one may seem, they are always conscious about their body. Onsen exists to abolish those ideas. For while bathing in this hot water spring, you must be completely in the nude. Not a scrap of clothing can be used to cover yourself and therefore you have to embrace your body as it is, without any inhibitions, all the while with others around.

In psychology, there is something called 'exposure therapy' which is when one must overcome their fears by facing them. Onsen stands as an embodiment of this therapy, beckoning people all over the world to come and overcome a deep fear that lies inside them all. For me personally, not only did I have this ubiquitous fear, but I also came from a culture where bathing in the nude, or even in basic underwear was frowned upon. But I had come to a new country and was eager to imbibe its culture and learn from it. Little did I know how much it would teach me. When I went into the onsen, I was a quivering girl whose mind was shrouded by insecurity about her body and the voice of Indian values asking her what the hell she was doing. Ten minutes later, I came out, a woman with more self confidence, and more importantly, a liberated mind that heard no voice but her own. 

The onsen had a deep impact on me, because as unwilling as I was to admit it, body image issues had plagued me for a long time. But the ideas of my misshapen legs, bloated stomach and heavy thighs somehow just disappeared like the swirls of steam rising from the hot spring. I realised, being with the other girls who had bodies just like mine, but who were somehow far less inhibited than I was, that nobody is indeed perfect. The idea of beauty and acceptance comes from inside and it was then that I finally understood what it was like to be truly free. In addition to this, one of the fears that had plagued me was that I wouldn't be able to look at someone I had seen naked the same way ever again. The thought of how awkward the next encounter would be almost served as a deterrent for me to not go and bathe in the communal bath. However, I went for the onsen with one of my closest friends, who I see everyday, and it was a shocking but empowering post-bath realisation that there was nothing weird between us and the whole experience just made us a lot closer.

It's funny to think that millions of Japanese people go through this experience up to four times a week on average, and doing it only once liberated my in such an unprecedented way. I remember hesitating and double thinking my decision to go and do the onsen and in retrospect, I couldn't be more thankful that I finally did.