Kusatsu Onsen Chonburi

This place made a huge effort to try to bring a real onsen experience to Chonburi, although it has been modernized and localized a bit. The core of the experience are four hot baths and one cold. Two of the baths are outside, and three are inside. (This is for the men's side, although the women's side sounds like it is identical -- men and women are separated unless you buy a VIP room.) On each side, the five baths have been supplemented with a steam room, a sauna and sitting areas to rest in between. The price of admission also gives you access to a common resting room upstairs, where you can take a nap, and to the lobby, where you can order drinks. The place is open until midnight, so you can really spend a long time to rejuvenate. If you get hungry, there is a Japanese restaurant upstairs in the same building. If you want a massage, there is a spa accessible from the lobby. Restaurant and spa charges are extra, of course. (The owner of this complex also has a muay thai gym that I didn't visit.) For the onsen experience, at first it seems that there are a lot of rules that could be overwhelming. However, everything boils down to two basic principles: 1) don't disturb the tranquility, and 2) keep the water as clean and pure as possible. For #1, that means don't bring your cellphone into the onsen part of the building (keep it in your provided locker), and don't talk loudly. People want to relax. For #2, that means give yourself a good rinse off before you enter any bath. They say on the signs to "wash" yourself, but they don't want you to use soap/shampoos/oils/powders during the process. So a vigorous rinsing is what they mean. Do this first and also anytime you transfer from the steam room or sauna. They want to keep your sweat or any dirt (or any soap residue) out of their water, which has been formulated using minerals from the Kusatsu area onsens in Japan apparently. There are multiple types of showers, Western stand-up style, Asian/Turkish style where you sit on a small stool before a faucet, and old-school traditional style, where you dump water over your head using a bucket. All the other rules are not so important. Unlike in Japan or other places with hot springs, like Taiwan or Turkey, they won't yell at you for minor mistakes (speaking from experience). If you really care, here are the other rule and processes: a) first, you deposit your shoes into a locker near the lobby. You get a key for that; b) next, you go to the main dressing area (next to the onsen area). You get an electronic key bracelet that opens a larger locker there -- you keep that on your wrist; c) from the dressing room, go into the onsen area either naked, or wearing the disposable black underwear they provide; d) bring only the small towel into the onsen area. The big towel is for when you take a full shower at the end -- don't forget to rinse off before each time you enter a bath; e) the robe is for visiting the lobby or the rest area upstairs. You can also wear it if you go to the spa or even to the restaurant if you want to. Don't skip the cold water baths! It feels tortuous the first time, but as you alternate between hot and cold, your blood vessels get a work out opening and closing. You'll feel great afterwards. Enjoy!