Health, Wellness and Tourism: healthy tourists, healthy business ...

focused on the following topics: information available on the spot and beforehand (in printed
promotional materials and online), focus and style of promotional messages, use of Japanese
and foreign language(s) in communication, architectural styles of onsen destinations, range of
services available, type of customers (age, gender, nationality), behaviour of customers.
In addition, a set of qualitative surveys were carried out in order to better understand foreign
spa tourists’ experiences and attitudes: 30 foreign backpackers were interviewed in the visited
hot springs destinations (between the age of 18 and 50, representing 9 countries), and a mail
survey was conducted on virtualtourist.com with a sample of 150 members who had visited
Japan (an excellent 80% response rate was achieved which may be explained by the website’s
focus on travel and communication as well as the researcher’s active involvement and
presence on the selected site). Both the interviews and the mail survey aimed to investigate
the main motivations of visiting a Japanese bath, the possible differences between the previsit
expectations and the actual experiences, the most positive and most negative aspects of
the onsen experience, and the respondents’ expectations and image of the ideal Japanese
onsen. Among the 120 respondents, 38% did not visit any onsen, for a variety of reasons,
while staying in Japan, 45% were willing to describe their actual onsen experience, and 17%
described in detail the expected ideal onsen experience.
The Japanese onsen experience
Not surprisingly, the central theme of the Japanese onsen experience, almost irrespectively of
the respondents’ nationality, proved to be the enjoyment of the hot waters. Several
respondents mentioned how “relaxing and mind-soothing” bathing was, although some also
pointed out that the high temperatures enjoyed by the Japanese bathers may prove to be
slightly uncomfortable for novice tourists. As one American tourist recalled: “we were told
that a gaijin (foreigner) might have to get out after fifteen minutes or so since the body is not
used to such heat.”
The geographical location and the architecture of the destination are also important elements
of the onsen experience. Onsen ryokan have always been constructed of natural materials,
including timber, paper, bamboo, grass or cloth, in order to form an environment that
encourages “traditional behaviour”, i.e. the personal, relaxing rituals of the Japanese bath
(Altman 2008). While many onsen have been modernized over the last decades – which, in
many cases, has led to replacing the atmospheric, wooden Japanese buildings with large
concrete structures that are less in harmony with the environment, there are many exceptions
where the onsen have been remade in an elegant, traditional Japanese way, with refined
artwork, elegant flower arrangements, impeccable and relatively flexible personal service,
excellent food served in private rooms and small capacity.
In addition to the built environment, the natural surroundings also play a key role in affecting
visitors’ satisfaction. For example, when describing the most positive part of his onsen
experience in Hakone, one respondent emphasised that “the onsen was surrounded by lush
vegetation and you could see the lake of Hakone from where you were bathing”. The image of
the ideal onsen almost exclusively represented an outdoor experience, e.g. “a naturalistic
mountain setting with a lovely view, or if not this, then a view of a garden”, or “set in a great
natural environment such as in the middle of a forest or beside the crashing sea”.
In Japan, gastronomy – with meals generally being included at onsen ryokans – is a key
component of the overall onsen experience. International visitors – particularly to the smaller,
less mass-oriented hot springs – generally appreciate the typical onsen cuisine which,