-Do I have to be naked?

--Yes, you’ll have to be naked.

The biggest fear for most non-Japanese is the quasi-public nudity. Almost all baths are secluded from non-bathers too peep into and are gender separated so it is not at all like walking down Main Street completely naked.

It is very understandable that taking a bath for the first time in Japan can be difficult for people from cultures not so accustomed to quasi-public nudity. Japanese, in general, are exposed to nudity from a young age—expose themselves for that matter! Thanks to small houses and many people using the single bath in a house families use the baths together. Even in school from a young age changing is done in classrooms and school trips often include using a group bath—gender separated of course. It is good to think about this context when first confronting getting nude with strangers in Japan. The other people there have done this thousands of time before and nothing about the baths is new. It is a daily activity just like going to the supermarket. Even having a non-Japanese person there is not a brand new experience for most Japanese. If you consider it a normal activity that everyone does, it should make it much easier. Lastly, once you get in the bath and get relaxed your fears and worries will quickly disappear.

Nudity aside there are a few basic rules about how to use the bath. Those can be found in the Manners & Risks section.

_{⬆️ Me, completely naked, in a free mixed-gender public hot spring that is pretty much exposed to anyone who wants to see. Most baths are not like this. Your first sento most likely will not be like this. (Misasa Onsen, 2006)}