Its not my favorite but definitely the most memorable onsen trip.

I'm 9 yrs. old and living in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi-ken. Mom, dad and I check into a small ryokan for one night. As I'm getting ready, mom tells me that this onsen is little different from what I'm used to, that this ryokan has a private onsen for families to bathe TOGETHER.


Needless to say, I didn't take a bath that night. I may have been only nine, but still old enough to realize the years of therapy I would have required if I saw my dad *naked*.

Sorry, I guess this could be the most memorable non-onsen experience.

First of all, let me say: www.kashikiri-onsen.com/
(it's a website listing and reviewing private or reservable onsens in Japan)

During winter vacation my boyfriend and i went to a place in Gunma . We drank a nice bottle of wine in our private cypress bath on the balcony and watched the snow fall into the river below. Very nice place! There are nearly a dozen private onsen (mostly rotemburo) in that hotel; if the door's open, just walk in and lock it, and it's yours as long as you like.
This is the place we stayed: www7.wind.ne.jp./shimakan/ and i'm happy to suggest it!
The main rotemburo at the place is mixed-bathing, but my boyfriend told me that girls usually stay covered up in mixed baths.

i've yet to have a memorable onsen. i haven't been to one yet. but laurgs and i are going to take onsen ryokou and then bath next to monkeys with tenugui on their heads. if i have done that then i have achieved my goal in life and have nothing to regret.

most recently at an onsen town called Shiobara, in Nasu area in Gumma-ken. about 1.5 hours from Tokyo on Shinkansen, then a 40-minute bus ride.

there is an outdoor picnic park for families there, where they had a rave party called Anoyo. they even have onsen within that property. SF Bay Area-based band Sound Tribe Sector 9 performed their during their first-ever Japan tour, which i tagged along, and it was an awesome experience of partying and enjoying onsen.

onsen is said to have many healing properties - though "scientifically not proven" in terms of Western medicine. there are plances in Japan just to heal your health issues at a cost as low as $25 a night - you have to bring your own food and cook or pay bit more if food is to be served. nothing fancy, because healing is the main agenda.

what are the "de facto" books written in English that introduce non-Japanese travellers to Japanese hotspings?

i searched for such books on Google and Amazon. there seem to be two fairly popular books:

Japan's Hidden Hot Springs
by Robert C. Neff

Classic Japanese Inns and Country Getaways
by Margaret Price

does anyone know other books? like, "cult favorites"?