Japan's “hot spring capital” is trying to find ways to make one of the country's most popular pastimes more inclusive for people who identify as LGBT, when most public baths are segregated according ...

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 ...

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. For many, sento are still a vital part of daily life in Japan, each governed by a strict set of customs. For ...

In Japan, bathing in the nude with strangers is just a regular part of onsen culture. But for many foreign visitors, taking that first plunge can be intimidating.

With the Rugby World Cup expected to draw about 500,000 visitors to Japan, attitudes have been split among public bath operators nationwide over whether to accept foreign customers with tattoos. Some ...