In decades past your humble blogger flew frequently to Japan, and one of the top-five pleasures (after food, cleanliness, public transportation, and absence of crime) was the hot-springs bath. The travel industry has spread the word, and
tourists are now a lucrative market for the bath industry. Except...[bold added]
the staff increasingly find themselves turning away tourists, too, [spa manager Yuichi Ohama] laments: “We’re surprised by how many have body art.”
In Japan tattoos are associated with criminals....the mere sight of a tattooed thug is enough to frighten other customers away, so many gyms, pools and onsen (hot springs) ban tattoos or at least insist they be covered up. Japan’s growing army of foreign visitors has inadvertently stumbled into this cultural minefield.
Despite the cultural overtones, it looks like the deciding factor is economics.
Foreign tourists have helped offset the long-term decline of the onsen industry, admits Masao Oyama of the Japan Spa Association. But government pleading cannot remove the deep taboo on tattoos, he says. “There are still many more Japanese customers than foreigners and their feelings must come first,” he says.
Look for the prejudice against skin coloring to change as the customers for traditional bathing decline.
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