Julia D’Orazio travels back to where Japan’s wellness trend began 3000 years ago by visiting the country’s oldest onsen: Dogo Onsen, in the city of Matsuyama. Two elderly naked ladies are slowly walking towards me. Talking in Japanese and giggling like schoolgirls, each holds a small towel slightly bigger than their petite body frames, only one covering her modesty.
What have I just stumbled across – should I also be naked? READ MORE: Where to go to (really) get off the beaten track in Japan Stripping off is customary at Dogo Onsen. The onsen resort village in Matsuyama, Shikoku – the smallest of Japan’s four main islands – is touted as the country’s oldest hot springs. It is here that Japan’s wellness trend took off roughly 3000 years ago with revered hot springs featured in ancient texts Kojiki – some parts considered sacred texts of the Shinto religion – and Manyoshu, an anthology of ancient Japanese poems.
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