Every guide tagged onsen, for a trip to Japan.
Why many hot springs still refuse tattooed bathers, how to find the ones that do not, when cover stickers are worth trying, and the private bath options that sidestep the question entirely.
Why skiers fly across the world for Japan's powder, how Hokkaido, Honshu and Tohoku resorts differ, what a ski trip costs next to the Alps, and the onsen ritual that finishes every good day on snow.
How onsen actually work: the washing ritual before you get in, the small towel, the tattoo question, what a ryokan night involves, and how to find a bath you can have to yourself.
A tatami room with no bed in it, a bath everyone shares, a dinner of fourteen small dishes and a robe you are expected to wear to it: how a night in a Japanese inn works.
Ninety minutes from Tokyo: a volcanic valley you tour by switchback railway, cable car, ropeway and pirate ship, with Mount Fuji at the end of it if the weather agrees.