♨️packing for a ryokan onsen stay, minus the yukata fumbling

the etiquette items nobody puts on the normal Japan packing list.

Small hand towel (tenugui-sized, not a bath towel)

most ryokan give you a big bath towel for the room but not the little one you carry into the onsen itself. bring your own.

100 yen coins for the locker

Some places still take coins only. I always keep a few loose in my bag now.

hair tie

Leave the swimsuit at home

unless the onsen specifically says mixed/swimsuit-required, you go in nude. bringing one just marks you as the tourist.

tattoo cover patch if you have anything visible

a lot of ryokan still turn tattoos away at the door. flesh-tone patches from the drugstore aren't perfect but worked for me twice

leave your phone in the room

onsen are a no-photo zone and people notice a phone in a waterproof pouch immediately, don't

your own moisturizer

Mineral water is rough on skin. Ryokan amenities are hit or miss.

familiar pajamas if you sleep badly in unfamiliar clothes

yukata's fine for wandering the halls but I sleep terribly in one, pack something to change into

remember which way the yukata wraps (left over right)

right over left is how they dress the dead. staff will fix it for you if you get it wrong but better not to

note your room number before you leave for the bath

Halls all look identical after a soak and half a beer. I've gotten lost in slippers more than once.

a water bottle for after

cash for the vending machines and any tabi shop in the lobby

IC card doesn't work everywhere inside a ryokan, smaller places especially

eye mask if the room has thin curtains

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