Hiya! I lived in Sendai a while back, and really enjoyed the onsen experience. My friend and I are ditching the husbands at home, and travelling to Japan with our babies. My friend is extremely body shy, and won't go into an onsen without a swimsuit. Does anyone know of an onsen or rotemburo, which is relatively easy to get to, where they'll allow swimsuits?

Yes, I realise it's not 'normal' in Japan, and I know people don't stare, and I know it's a neat cultural experience, but she won't budge on it, and I'd really like to be able to go to an onsen!


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The Tohoku area is one of the most interesting for an onsen experience, since soaking there is really common and appreciated by locals. They also tend to be very traditional regarding onsen culture : there are for example more mixed baths than anywhere in Japan.

As a result, it is extremely unlikely to find any onsen accepting people with swimsuit there. The only reasonable option would be to find a ryokan with private baths, where you could share a bath only between you...