Travel Photographer Mark Edward Harris Shows The Art of Bathing in Japan Through His Photographs Since The Early 1990s

“Given its geological and geothermal nature, Japan has a rich tradition of onsens (hot springs), counting some 20,000,” Harris says. “Over the centuries, they have come to signify a way of life. They are meccas, a place to bathe not only the body but also the soul.” Here, the photographer captured a lonesome bather in an onsen in Beppu, a town often shrouded in geothermal mist on the southern island of Kyushu. “I had my first Japanese bath experience here in the 1990s,” Harris recalls. “I still find the magical waters an endless source of both visual and visceral pleasure.”

A view of Kusatsu on Japan’s main island, Honshu. The town is famous for extremely hot water said to have great medicinal benefits. “In the centre of Kusatsu is the yubatake (hot spring field),” Harris says. “With more than 5,000 litres of water per minute flowing to the surface, it is Japan’s most productive hot spring source.”

A snow monkey warms up in a hot spring in Jigokudani, Nagano Prefecture

A woman in a yukata fans herself at Dogo Onsen in Matsuyama, Shikoku

Healing Properties “This is the first bath I experienced,” Harris says of this onsen in Beppu, “and the one that put me on a path to becoming a full-fledged ofuro (bath)-aholic.” The waters of some geothermal springs are believed to have healing power. Cascade bathing, too, is considered beneficial to the body.

The communal indoor bath at Chojukan Ryokan soothes bathers with spring water rich in calcium and magnesium, which is said to be good for those who suffer from bouts of hysteria, among other things. While some traditional baths still offer mixed bathing, most hot springs and baths have separate sections for the genders nowadays.

A woman in a yukata, a light cotton kimono, casts a shadow on a shoji screen at Nagasawa Heihachi Ryokan in Ginzan Onsen, Yamagata Prefecture

A woman enters the outdoor hot spring at the Kannawaen Ryokan in Beppu

A bath in a ryokan, a traditional inn, in Echigo Yuzawa, Gunma Prefecture, which is the setting for Kawabata Yasunari’s Nobel Prize-winning novel Yukiguni (Snow Country), a story about a love affair between a hot-spring geisha and her city-dwelling client

A sake tray floats alongside oranges, which are added to the water for their refreshing scent and to smooth the skin, at Sujiyu Onsen, Kyushu

A woman bathes in a tub made from a sake barrel at the hotel Dai Kogen on the southern island of Kyushu

A classic wooden bathhouse at the Chojukan Ryokan, also in Gunma Prefecture.

At Goshogake in Akita Prefecture, bathers often have a session in a steam-bath box before proceeding to an indoor hot-spring bath with a high sulphur content

Photo 1 of 14 A view of Kusatsu on Japan’s main island, Honshu. The town is famous for extremely hot water said to have great medicinal benefits. “In the centre of Kusatsu is the yubatake (hot spring field),” Harris says. “With more than 5,000 litres of water per minute flowing to the surface, it is Japan’s most productive hot spring source.”

Photo 2 of 14

Photo 3 of 14 A snow monkey warms up in a hot spring in Jigokudani, Nagano Prefecture

Photo 4 of 14

Photo 5 of 14 A woman in a yukata fans herself at Dogo Onsen in Matsuyama, Shikoku

Photo 6 of 14 Healing Properties “This is the first bath I experienced,” Harris says of this onsen in Beppu, “and the one that put me on a path to becoming a full-fledged ofuro (bath)-aholic.” The waters of some geothermal springs are believed to have healing power. Cascade bathing, too, is considered beneficial to the body.

Photo 7 of 14 The communal indoor bath at Chojukan Ryokan soothes bathers with spring water rich in calcium and magnesium, which is said to be good for those who suffer from bouts of hysteria, among other things. While some traditional baths still offer mixed bathing, most hot springs and baths have separate sections for the genders nowadays.

Photo 8 of 14 A woman in a yukata, a light cotton kimono, casts a shadow on a shoji screen at Nagasawa Heihachi Ryokan in Ginzan Onsen, Yamagata Prefecture

Photo 9 of 14 A woman enters the outdoor hot spring at the Kannawaen Ryokan in Beppu

Photo 10 of 14 A bath in a ryokan, a traditional inn, in Echigo Yuzawa, Gunma Prefecture, which is the setting for Kawabata Yasunari’s Nobel Prize-winning novel Yukiguni (Snow Country), a story about a love affair between a hot-spring geisha and her city-dwelling client

Photo 11 of 14 A sake tray floats alongside oranges, which are added to the water for their refreshing scent and to smooth the skin, at Sujiyu Onsen, Kyushu

Photo 12 of 14 A woman bathes in a tub made from a sake barrel at the hotel Dai Kogen on the southern island of Kyushu

Photo 13 of 14 A classic wooden bathhouse at the Chojukan Ryokan, also in Gunma Prefecture.

Photo 14 of 14 At Goshogake in Akita Prefecture, bathers often have a session in a steam-bath box before proceeding to an indoor hot-spring bath with a high sulphur content

Tatler Asia

Travel Photographer Mark Edward Harris Shows The Art of Bathing in Japan Through His Photographs Since The Early 1990s