Day Ten: To Osaka; Tattoos in Japan

Yesterday, we left Kyoto, stopping to have donuts first. (The Japanese, it seems, love them as much as Canadians do. There are donut shops everywhere.)

The train ride to Osaka was very short. When we got to Osaka, we had to transfer trains to get to our hostel, which proved somewhat confusing, but we got here before too long. Unfortunately, we discovered upon our arrival that we couldn't check in until 3:00 pm, so we had a few hours to kill. Since we were both pretty hot and tired from carrying our big packs, we decided to go to an onsen a few train stops away. On our way to the onsen, we stopped back at Osaka station to buy visitor's passes which allow us to ride the subway here (Osaka is not well connected on the JR line) and also allows us entrance to most of Osaka's major attractions, including the onsen. We didn't start our passes till today though, because they last two days, and we knew we wouldn't be doing very much with them yesterday.

We then proceeded to the onsen via JR, and then a walk along Japan's longest shopping street. The street itself was fascinating, and we stopped a few times along the way to look at things. I bought some tea (I found a big bag of hoji buncha, smoked green tea, for cheap) at a tea shop which also had beautiful (and tempting!) tea pots for sale. We didn't browse too much though because we wanted to get to the onsen. When we got there (with help from a local man, who went out of his way to show us the route) we saw that there was a sign saying no tattoos, with a picture of a big black dragon tattoo crossed out. I was a little nervous because I am tattooed, but from what we'd read on-line, and what Yoshiko had told us before we went to the onsen in Kurama, they only really care about Japanese men with tattoos, because they are trying to keep the Yakusa (Japanese mob) out. All Yakusa members have big black dragon tattoos. We had read that tattoos were banned at all onsen for that reason, but I had no problems at the onsen in Kurama. Yoshiko had also told me it wouldn't be a problem, because I'm a gaijin, and a woman. So, I decided that it would be okay to go in. We deposited our shoes in the shoe lockers, paid our entry fee at the machine, and each went to our separate areas. (You use the onsen nude, and most are gender segregated).

In the women's changeroom, I  noticed there was another sign that said no tattoos and had a picture of a leg with a different tattoo (not a dragon tattoo) on it. This again made me a bit nervous, and I wondered if the rule extended to women, but I decided to go in anyway and see if they would enforce it. I thought about asking a staff person about it, but I didn't see anyone to ask. When I was changing, I definitely felt like the other women were watching me, and whispering behind my back. I told myself not to be paranoid, and that they were probably just curious about the gaijin. I went into the shower room. (You have to take a shower before entering the onsen. The onsen is for soaking, not washing). I was about half way though my shower when a staff women came into the shower area, made a b-line for me and told me, “you have tattoos. We do not allow tattoos.”

Since she just stood there looking at me, I asked, “do you want me to leave?” and she said, “yes, you finish your wash then you leave.” So, I finished rinsing off, and then changed back into my clothes and left. I felt pretty embarrassed. I clearly was not welcome there. I don't know there reasoning for not allowing tattoos, but from what I've heard, there are a few concerns about them in addition to the main reason of associating them with Yakusa. Apparently, the Japanese associate tattoos with with crime more generally as well, so even if you're not part of Yakusa, you might still be thought to be on the wrong side of the law. It seems tattoos are not as commonly accepted here as they have become in the west. Like people in the west, however, people here often believe tattoos to be unclean. Apparently HIV has been on the rise here, and I wonder if people associate tattoos with the transmission of HIV. In Japan, there is an obsession with preventing the spread of disease (people wear face masks on the subway so as not to spread their colds, and many people carry handsanitizers or wear gloves to protect themselves as well) so perhaps banning tattoos is a way of trying to prevent the spread of disease. I would never go to a tattoo or piercing parlor that didn't have their health board certification prominently posted, or which refused to walk me through their sterilization methods. But if tattoos are not as common here, maybe health inspections of tattoo parlors aren't either.

I digress. The point is, I didn't get to have a soak, and I waited for an hour for Jon to be finished instead (we had agreed to meet in an hour, and I didn't have a way to tell him I had been kicked out). After the onsen (or lack thereof), we browsed some more on the shopping street, and then went back to Osaka station and out for a delicious (if somewhat pricey) Indian dinner near Osaka square. After dinner, we stopped to watch some street musicians performing in the square. It was a beautiful night, and listening to music in the open air somewhat made up for my missed onsen.