Hi. I'm trying to cobble together a 1 week itinerary in Japan. I leave on May 29 (although I'm going to Hong Kong for business first). I'd like to visit Hakone, ideally as a day trip from Tokyo. I've tried thermal baths in Chile and thought it a lot of fun. I'll be traveling with my husband and want to find a private onsen, ideally traditional and outdoors. Can anyone help?

Other stops are Tokyo, Nikko, and Kyoto.

Thank you!

Do you mean private for just the two of you? If so, you have a couple of options to look into. One is staying in a fancy onsen hotel or ryokan which has rooms with private rotenburo (outdoor baths) and/or private baths. A place with a private outdoor bath, dinner and breakfast included, runs 20,000 yen or more, per person, per night (about US $400.00/night for 2).

A less pricey option is to go to a public bath, of which there are many, and request a kazoku buro (family bath), which is a private room with one or two soaking tubs, a shower area and a changing area. You pay for these rooms by the hour and there is generally a wait to use them. We've used these rooms for our family when our daughter was younger, and in Kanazawa they cost around 2000 yen/hour. I'd guess Hakone is similar. These places are not tourist spots, but kind of relaxation spots for locals. They are common. Within a 10 minute drive of my house in Kanazawa, there are 4 or 5 sentos (public baths) that also have family rooms on offer.

For the onsen/ryokan experience you'd be best trying to reserve through a Japanese agency. There are loads of places that just don't have anything in English at all. In Japanese, there are seasonal magazines of ryokan/onsen hotels by region, probably over 1000 places in each book. JTB might best be able to help you find something suitable.

For the public bath route, you'd be best to wait until you actually get there, then ask at tourist information. This kind of question will be unusual for the staff at info so be patient and ask if they can look in the phone book...make a couple of phone calls.

There are also places that are like bath amusement parks. In our town, there are three big complexes of "recreational bathing" which have lots of different soaking pools, showers, swimming areas, movie theaters, restaurants...they are actually pretty neat and very popular. Some have pirvate rooms, some don't. Some have outdoor baths, some don't. They are all a bit different, but have the same theme...water. Might be worth investigating. JTB would be able to help with this type of place as well, as the biggest, best ones are destinations for Japanese tour groups on occasion.

If you are going to Hakone on a day trip, then I'd recommend a really nice onsen across the street from the Fujiya Hotel in the Miyanoshita area of Hakone. It's a nice day onsen, with both separate male and female bathing areas, as well as some private baths for couples or families. I think there are three private baths and you have to reserve in advance. There's an extra fee of something like 2,000 - 4,000 yen for a two-hour time block. The outdoor baths have beautiful views over the hills. I can try to find out the name and address later if you are interested. Anyway, there are lots of places like this if you know where to look.

Thank you! Names would be most appreciated, as I have no idea where to look!

We'll be in Kanazawa for 2 days this June--if you have any recommendations for local onsen/sentos I'd appreciate it. We'll be staying near Kenrokuen--"family bath" preferred but not essential.
Thanks

There are 3 "recreation baths" in Kanazawa that I know of that are pretty nice. Renais Kanzawa, Terume, and V10 Sports Club Nonoichi Bade Zone.

There are numerous public baths...some have family rooms, some don't.

Ask at your hotel and they'll be able to help you...either with recommending a public bath nearby or giving directions to one of the recreational places. Your hotel might even have a bath right there.