People enjoy the onsen in Japan’s Wakayama prefecture. - Photo: Universal Images Group via Getty Images - South China Morning Post
TOKYO: The price of a relaxing soak in one of Japan’s famous onsen is going up as towns across the country look to offset shrinking revenues from other sources and cover the costs of an ageing population.
Foreign visitors looking forward to sampling one of Japan’s must-try experiences need not worry, however, as the overnight “bathing tax” is only rising from typically 150 yen (99 US cents) to 300 yen, a figure that has virtually no effect on holiday spending as the yen is so weak against other currencies at present.
This tax has been raised in regions including Hokkaido, Beppu in Oita prefecture, and Shizuoka, according to local reports, to help fund conservation projects and protect hot spring resources.
Analysts agree that the hike in the tax is unlikely to make a serious dent in a traveller’s wallet, but are calling for the funds that are raised to be quickly ploughed back into the local travel sector to provide better facilities and services for visitors.
“As long as these local authorities are spending that money in the community where it was raised and that it is helping the tourism sector, then this makes perfectly good sense to me,” said Ashley Harvey, a travel marketing analyst who has worked in Japan’s travel sector for more than 15 years.
“I can imagine there might be some domestic pushback as local people also have to pay the new tax and they are not getting the advantage of the weak yen, but there are ways they can benefit,” Harvey told This Week in Asia. “Funds can be set aside, for example, for a free bus service to the local onsen for people over the age of 60.
“People would understand and support something like that,” he said, although he cautioned that there would not be the same degree of support for the funds being spent on junkets for local officials, even if they were described as research to improve a town’s tourism offerings.
Onsen are a popular form of recreation among locals and foreign visitors in Japan. - Photo: LightRocket via Getty Images - South China Morning Post
According to TheAsahi Shimbun, originally set at 150 yen (£0.8), the tax has been raised in several regions with some cities even increasing the tax to 300 yen (£1.5) or more.
In Japan, onsen tourism plays a crucial role in boosting local economies. Towns and resorts are centred around onsen (hot spring) facilities that draw millions of visitors, both domestic and international, annually. Onsen tourism also provides jobs in hotels, ryokan (traditional inns), restaurants, and various service sectors.
In Japan’s Shizuoka Prefecture, the Ito city will raise the bathing tax to 300 yen by October 2025 (up from 150 yen) due to a decline in onsen water levels. It was also reported that Higashi-Izu town will also raise its bathing tax to 300 yen starting March 2025.
In Hokkaido’s Kushiro city, the authorities raised the bathing tax to 250 yen for overnight stays at some resorts, with plans to increase it to 300 yen, the outlet reported.
In 2020, several cities like Noboribetsu city, Sobetsu town, Toyako town, and Date city raised their bathing tax to 300 yen. In Oita Prefecture, Beppu city raised the bathing tax in 2019 from 150 yen to 250 yen for stays with room and board between 6,001 yen (£31) and 50,000 yen (£259). The tax rate surged to 500 yen (£2.6) for stays exceeding 50,000 yen, the highest in Japan.
Onsens are natural geothermal water sources, rich in minerals, that have been utilised in Japan for centuries for their therapeutic health benefits.
A couple of years ago, Yutaka Seki of the Japan Onsen Association told The Japan Times that without proper management, the increased use of these natural resources in modern times will significantly impact the surrounding environment.
“It’s inevitable that the environment will be adversely affected if proper use isn’t taken into consideration.”
Japan’s estimated 27,000 onsen sources stem from volcanic activity, geothermal energy, and fossil seawater formations.
The 1948 Hot Spring Act defines an onsen as water, vapour, or gas (excluding hydrocarbon-based natural gas) that either meets specific chemical criteria or has a temperature of at least 25C.
