Last month, to celebrate my friend Leslie's birthday, we spent the day at Oedo Onsen, an onsen resort in Odaiba. Onsen is the Japanese word for "hot spring". Onsen are typically used for public bathing and are very relaxing. Japan is rather fond of onsen and onsen resorts are popular tourist attractions.

I know some of you may not be comfortable with the idea of public bathing, but it was my second time in an onsen, so it didn't bother me. It's really not as awkward as it might seem. The onsen are segregated by sex. Yes, you have to be naked to go in, but it's only a big deal if you make a big deal about it. There's really no need to be self-conscious because everyone else is naked, too.

Oedo Onsen is fun (if not slightly kitschy) becuase it's themed to look like something out of Japan's Edo period. When you enter the resort, you get to pick a yukata (a casual cotton version of a kimono) to wear during your stay. After you exit the changing rooms, you enter an area designed to look like a main street from the Edo period, with food, games, and souvenirs. There are separate hot springs bathing areas, foot baths (to dip your feet into), and spas.

We spent the day in a very relaxed way, going in and out of the onsen. Oedo Onsen has both indoor and outdoor hot springs. Outside it was quite cold (since it was February), but once you got into the onsen, it was nice and warm. There were several different kinds of indoor onsen too, with varying temperatures and containing different minerals for healthy skin.

We also spent a little bit of time at the foot baths. The foot baths are shallow outdoor hot springs. You don't have to get undressed to use them because you only dip your feet in. You were supposed to walk through the foot baths and the rocks built into the bottom were supposed to massage your feet. It wasn't very comfortable though, so we just sat on the edge and put our feet in the water.

When we weren't in the onsen, we wandered the "main street". We had sushi for dinner and I also had green tea flavored ice cream. Yummy.

All in all, it was a very relaxing day! Definitely something I'd do again. Here's a few pictures from the day. (Obviously, there are no pictures of the actual hot springs, just of the resort.)