Channeling

 Annah Rais Hot Spring is a few minutes' drive away from Annah Raid Longhouse, a Bidayuh settlement about 100km south of Kuching, at the foothill of Borneo Highlands near the mountains marking the border to Kalimantan. The invigorating hot water is about 40°C degree (sometimes reaching 70°C) and it appears in the middle of a cooling jungle stream surrounded by singing birds and chirping crickets. A truly unique experience. #annahraishotspring #annahrais #hotspring #bidayuhvillage #bidayuhlonghouse #longhouse #bidayuh #tropicalrainforest #rainforest #jungle #catcitykuching #beautifulkuching #junglestream #stream #kuching #sarawak #borneo 

source

Modern poverty
It's no doubt that progress and development are the main driving forces of the loss of natural hot springs. 
In Southeast Asia and in the wider world. 
Whereas in Southeast Asia money seems to be at the heart of this loss, a recent article blames social media. The article's author, Christine Adele, on diyphotography.net (Nov. 18) proclaims that social media is stimulating unwise use of protected natural lands, in her case specifically in the north of the United States.

'To them [as opposed to the author], the only purpose nature serves is to provide them with the shot that they can pump up in photoshop to gain more followers and impress their friends and family. They think about outdoing the shot the last person who visited got. They think about the now, and not about how their actions might affect these parks in the future. These actions continue to snowball as people do increasingly ridiculous things to outshine others'.

In this one can easily substitute the wider use of the definition of nature with hot springs. 
The plethora of social media and especially facebook and instagram (both with their culture of lookatme) are increasingly providing a stage for risk-takers to avenge on nature as well as letting better known secrets become famous. 
It's irrespective of where we are, be it Iceland (Hrunulaug), France (St Thomas), Italy (Viterbo), Thailand (Sai Ngam), Indonesia (Rinjani), New Zealand (Kerosene creek) or the U.S.A. (Umpqua / Skinnydipper), the lure of a natural soak in a natural surroundings with little or no visitor management and advertised on social media is encouraging more visitors to do likewise. Or to abuse the natural conditions or stretch the capacity of nature to cope with those visitors.

Or is it?

Social media can also capture the beauty of an area, it can also educate the visitor, it can also promote the opportunity to be at one with nature. Sites being overrun are more often than not zero-managed (and thus open to (ab)use not seen elsewhere) or as in Southeast Asia open to exploitation by touring companies.

Christine continues:

'It’s hopping fences, going into closed areas, feeding wildlife, picking flowers, camping illegally, using drones, using sparklers for light painting, swimming in protected waters, bringing our pets into protected backcountry.

It can be hard for some to understand how just one person doing these things could possibly be a big deal. The problem is, its not just one person- its hundreds of people influencing thousands of people influencing millions of people'. 

Nevertheless, her solutions are a call to ignore abuse. Hardly a solution.
Better would be to use social media to initiate change, to create affirmative action and to highlight the creative forces behind nature.

Comments on this article:

'There have always been knuckleheads in National parks. Social Media just makes them more visible'.

'Let's be clear: social media is not making people commit these acts, they make the decisions themselves. As someone stated, social media may be exacerbating the problem, but it is not the root of the issue. People are making very poor decisions, unfortunately, and it's important to remember that we're all responsible for our own actions'.

Continuing, giving locals a say, as a way to create a collective responsibility. The U.S. Forest Service has been gaining info on the future of Lower Breitenbush Hot Springs (Statesmanjournal, Nov. 5):

'The most popular ideas for the future of the site — as indicated in the survey results — show a preference for stone soaking pools, a network of trails and a small campground.
Other popular ideas include keeping the site low-impact and natural while including amenities such as a pit toilet, picnic tables and bridge across the river. The response also showed an openness to paying a small fee if the funds were used to keep the area clean and safe'. 

It does seem to be at odds with other initiatives from the same service making public access to soaking sites elsewhere in the U.S.A. more difficult ...

Co-existence

Over on soakersforum a discussion on the (de-)merits of geothermal exploration. If feasible, will geothermal exploitation lead to the loss of hot spring soaking opportunities?

The discussion seems to think not: all what is happening is a pumping around of water. 

Then there are arguments from Japan:

'In fact, there are 27,405 identified hot spring wells and over 21,000 combined hot spring spas and inns, according to 2014 data published by the nation’s Ministry of Environment.

Over 126 million people visit Onsens annually, spending considerable amount of money at spas, hotels, restaurants, and shops at hot springs. Because of the significant economic activities related to tourism, local communities didn’t think that Onsen business and geothermal power plants could co-exist'.

Several examples are given from the U.S.A. of hot springs drying up / dried up.

Then the crux which seems to follow the lead of this posting:

'We have lost far more soaks to irresponsible users and lack of respect than we have to geothermal power'. 

And the use of binary geothermal systems will probably not affect the springs themselves.

Read more below in the Philippines section on how pumping hot water for soaking is affecting soaking ...

Sticky

Japanese owners of onsen are apparently hoping that their lowering of standards concerning visitors with tattoos will reap more money courtesy of foreign tourists paying a visit. 
Well, actually the national tourism organisation is hoping this will happen and is nudging the owners in that direction. So reports the South China Morning Post (Nov. 5):

'With visitor numbers soaring but mindful of not upsetting the company’s Japanese guests, Hoshino Resorts has taken a more proactive approach to the problem.

“For small tattoos, we provide guests with a sticking plaster that they can use to conceal it before they go into the hot spring,” said the company official, who declined to be named.

“We do understand that tattoos have become fashionable in other countries and we really did want to do something that would be acceptable to everyone,” she said. “We believe this will mean that everyone will be able to enjoy our onsen.”

Not all of Japan’s operators have been as quick to keep up with modern realities, however, which has caused confusion among foreign visitors who had no idea that they would be refused access to an onsen if they had a tattoo.

A study carried out recently by the Japan Tourism Agency revealed that 56 per cent of hotels and inns across the country do not permit anyone with a tattoo to use their communal bathing facilities and have no provisions to help bathers conceal a tattoo.

Just over 30 per cent said they will not turn someone with a tattoo away, while a further 13 per cent say they will grant someone with a tattoo access under certain conditions, such as having it covered up".

While on the subject of soaking habits: the Shanghaiist (Oct 5) has this odd piece of news:

'Officials at the Huaqing Hot Springs in Shaanxi province have urged visitors to please, please kindly refrain from taking pictures of themselves feeling up a statue of an ancient Chinese beauty after it stopped being funny a long time ago'.

Thanks for the memories [heart_eyes] #vietnam #bath #hotsprings #piscine #nature #backpackers #explorers #landscape #beautifulday #morning #river #holidays #massage #instatravel #hmong #authenticity #ramenezmoilabas Crédit [camera] @guillaume_40

Afoul of the Vietnamese public scrutiny? Source

Vietnam also seems to be struggling with tourist antics. Apparently they are also awakening to the naked foreigner phenomena: posing in nature.

And Vietnam does not like. Thanhnien News (Dec. 29):

'A recent photo of three foreigners standing completely naked on Fansipan, Indochina's highest mountain in northern Vietnam, has received strong reactions on social media.

...

The foreigners were disrespectful to a Vietnamese location deemed by many as a national icon'.

However it was deemed less obscene by many of the comment contributors, which seems evidence of a more healthy attitude.

Carrying on. What might allude many, is how Thai tourists are increasingly visiting Japan and many seem OK with the onsen culture. Or even wanting to experience this traditional custom as authentic as possible. 

This is evidenced on instagram where I see many Thai language reactions / comments on onsen photo's. Take the example of the more famous onsen of Takaragawa, where bathing al fresco is the way to go:

Onsen Time ท่ามกลางหิมะ ☃ ☃ กับสาวน้อย @nene_nunoo #happytime #happytrip #tokyuagain #ของขวัญปีใหม่ #เรื่อยเปื่อยทัวร์

 source

Maybe it's just the snow and hot bath which elicits the need to photo one self. Very foreign to Thailand. Pretty picture btw and one of many examples.
 
Finally back to China. With temperatures dropping in China, it seems a bit contradictory for the Shanghaiist to report (Nov. 30): 

'But, in Chongqing, when conditions start to get a bit nippy, that's when the nude swimmers come out to play'.

Estimation

Taiwan lies on the border between Asian free for all and the Japanese art of onsening. Travelmomo notes Taiwans penchant for private hot springs in Yilan:

'In their hearts, Taiwanese are shy to go naked in front of other people. If possible, they prefer private bath (I think that's most people). That's why Hot! Spring Onion only offers private rooms of different sizes and designs for friends and families'. 

Not such a natural experience though ....

From Naked At Monuments: 

Lisong Hot Springs, Taiwan

The country is increasingly becoming a great hot spring destination. 
On a recent blog entry (Dec. 2015) My Taiwan tour highlighted Taiwan's soaking capital of Beitou:

'The entrance to Beitou Park (北投公園) is just across the street from the metro station. There are a number of small Beitou Stream waterfalls within the park. “Early on, before many facilities were developed, Japanese nationals would come here and soak in the pools below the falls – naked, in the Japanese fashion. This caused quite a stir with locals, and Japanese officials thought it best to stop the practice, to maintain Japanese dignity and esteem.” (Today only foot-soaking is allowed in the stream.) Small inns and baths began to pop up'.

A good site for more info on Taiwan's soak is a recent (Jan. 3) posting on rtaiwanr:

'Apart from night markets, hot springs in Taiwan are the must-see for many visitors. Hot springs are loved not only for their novelty, but also for their therapeutic benefits, as they provide relief to nervous, digestive, circulatory or organ disorders. This is because hot springs emerge from the very depths of the Earth, meaning that their waters carry a powerful mix of natural minerals and chemicals that are beneficial to our health. Today, many resort-style hot springs have taken advantage of this, creating luxury spa and health centres where customers can take advantage of hot spring hydrotherapy. However, many Taiwanese still prefer to go and have a good soak in the much untouched hot springs, as their ancestors once did'.

 Life in color. Stop racism! #pemandian #air #panas #angseri #tabanan #bali #stop #racism #nature #green #hotspring 

source

Lessons

How to learn from / about Japan and Japanese customs? From anime (artifice.com)? 
Concerning the onsen:

'does anime teach viewers about how to use bath houses? There is a very specific way to use an onsen and every one will have slightly different rules so it can be helpful to look for a sign'.

Not much assistance. 
A Japanese onsen (and anime) could also teach us about body acceptance and concepts of shame. 
Alas the author only notes that not wearing shoes inside is a rule one learns from onsen culture in anime!

Then something different, but also a wise lesson.
From Reuters (27 Oct.), a two minute feature video on how a man made disaster could possibly be less of a disaster. Named Lupindo after the company that caused the mud stream to start, there might be some way to gain from attracting tourists. 
Plausible, though the mud is noted as poisonous. 
And it could be another 100 years before the mud stops flowing (source). Check for a scientific based discussion on wikipedia.

Advisable
A quick ramble through the region:

• Burma

Finding a hot spring in Burma by guymaclaury (in photo above):

'At the end of the day, as the sun was getting ready to set, we found the hot spring. Our group dwindled from 6 to 4 because of sickness and the heat.

We were lost while searching for this hot spring when a local who didn't speak English guided us to it. Perfect way to end a long, arduous day on bicycles in the heat'.

Fear not, there are more sophisticated soaks in Burma than the puddle above. Example:

#Shvitzing in the #hotsprings #myanmar #inlelake #mountaintop

source

• Indonesia

Aroengbinang has a couple of recent blog entries on the hot springs of Tirta Sanita Ciseeng and Ciparay, both in the vicinity of Bogor, Java.
On the Tirta Sanita Ciseeng hot spring:

'One of the VIP soaking tubs at Tirta Sanita Ciseeng Hot Spring compound which can only be used by one person at a time. Please be advised that a couple is forbidden using the VIP soaking tubs at the same time, even though they are legitimate husband and wife. It is probably better that way to avoid any bad impression and abuse of the facility'.

Quite an interesting blogger he has other entries on the hot springs Kuningan Sangkanurip, Walini and Gunung Pancar.

An introduction to Guci hot water in Tegal regency.

 

#hotsprings #samosir #sumatra #indonesia

source

• Malaysia

A map of Malaysian hot springs. Misses half I think.
 
Here's another not included hot spring. Malaysian Traveller (Dec. 28) visits Dusun Tua hot spring, Selangor:

'There is no entrance charge at present but there is a donation box where visitors can contribute to the cost of maintaining the changing rooms, toilets and other facilities'.

Recent other vists include Kuala Kubu, Selayang and Hulu Tamu.

Di Malaysia pun ada Onsen la. Kalau agak agak jammed otw kerja tu singgah jap la kolam air panas , kasi buang toksin dalam badan biaq tak malas jaa, buang penyakit badan then buang semak kat kapla biaq tak serabut. Kalau nak buang penyakit hati lagi senang, zikir je, Masyallah. #onsen #kemalaysiakekita #jejakmalaysiamiyul #selayangkusayang #kolamairpanasmenggelegak #bolehmasaktelur #jgnminumnntmabukpiau #takpanaske #akuygmandikoygpanas #kodahkenapa #hdr 

Selayang, source

One of Malaysia's more well-known hot springs, is that of Bentong. It however is not a commercial for soaking. 

Azrin went there last October and was not bowled over by his stay at the newish Suria hot spring resort nor by the soaking opportunities at the hotel:

'Waterwise, kids pool, flipping cold. Not even bluish. Unchorinated I suppose. Hot pools had water fed in, piping hot and I do not recall the natural pool being this hot, about 60'c or so I figure they recycled the water. No natural sulphuric smell but of my old school longkang back in Rulang. Anyway, I got my cheap fix. Not so cheap. My eyes are itchy from the haze too. Reminder to oneself, go to the natural pool'.

 泡 溫泉之寧靜心靈，一切歸零。 [herb] [leaves] [fallen_leaf] [hotsprings] [high_brightness] #hotdippingpot #geothermalwater #relaxingtime #happyday #haveanicedayahead #happiness #happy #holiday #lovelife #natural #goodmood #hotsprings

Yes, you guessed correctly, it's Banjaran got spring. Source

• Philipines

Mainit Spring in Malabuyoc by outoftownblog:

'The entrance fee was only twenty pesos. The tourist spot consists of multiple springs of flowing water naturally heated by underground sulfuric rock. One mini-spring had the highest temperature of 42.6 degrees Celsius. Dipping my finger to test the temperature, the water was indeed very hot'.

 

2014 - 2015 Year Ender Mainit Hot Spring Photo Taken: April 12, 2015 #vscoph #vscocebu #vscocam #springs #hotsprings #nature #malabuyoc #cebusouth #cebu #igers #igerscebu #wanderlust #choosephilippines #igtravel #travelph #travel #pinasmuna #cebukeepsmegoing #ig_philippines #bestshots_ph #vscophilippines #iluvcebu #travel_philippines #mobilephotography

source

A scientific study ((Jago et al., 2015) Science Direct, Dec. 21) on pumping hot spring water in Calamba and Los Baños in the Philippines. Note they refer to both towns having together more than 500 (!) hot spring resorts / spa's. 
Part of their conclusion:

'Hot spring water resorts and spas in Calamba and Los Baños, Laguna are estimated to consume a large volume of groundwater which could result to over-extraction and decrease in groundwater quantity. However, monitoring of actual usage is difficult as most of these resorts do not have water use permits. The Water Code of the Philippines requires water users to register and apply for permits for water allocation, but still many resorts have not yet registered with the NWRB. If groundwater extraction is left unregulated, water availability for the resorts industry and for other uses in the future, will be negatively affected'.

• Singapore

Trying to recreate the real thing. From the ikeda spa site:

'As the hinoki wood comes in contact with hot water, it releases a unique type of skin-soothing oil that is widely used in Japanese skincare products. The spa waters are infused with interestingly-scented onsen (hot spring) bath salts to recreate the ultimate onsen experience'.

 

[heart_eyes] Who needs to go Japan when you can onsen like at @ikedaspa [bathtub] #throwback #filming #ikedaspa #onsen #relax #channelu #clarkequay #prestige #japan  

source

•  Thailand

 

Murky #onsen #hotspring water #ChiangDao, #ChiangMai, Northern #Thailand  

source

Note: 

Jago, K.A.B., F.P Sirignan, R. Balangue-Tarriela, M. Taniguchi, Y. K. Reyes, R. Lloren, M.A. Peña, E. Bagalihog (2015) Hot spring resort development in Laguna Province, Philippines: Challenges in water use regulation. Science direct: Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies, Vol. 4, Part B. Elsevier, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Money for nothing

Air Panas Cimanggu, Jawa Barat. Berlokasi 1,5 jam (47 km) dari Bandung ini hanya berjarak beberapa ratus meter dari wisata kawah putih. Waktu itu aku kesini bareng dengan mbak Roro sekeluarga, setelah mengunjungi kawah putih, situ patenggang, dan kebun teh. Berada di kaki Gunung Patuha Bandung Selatan dengan ketinggian + 1.100 m dpl. Jadi nikmat banget berendam saat sore karena hawa sekitar yang dingin dan hangat nya air , membuat kami betah berlama-lama. Di kolam ini fasilitas yang sediakan juga meliputi: Kolam renang air panas alam (3 kolam terbuka umum), Kamar Bilas, WC Umum, Mushola, Tempat Parkir, Gazebo untuk tempat istirahat yang disewain. Aku rasa, lebih nyaman berendam disini ketimbang di Ciater, karena air panas di Ciater suhunya lumayan tinggi, membuatku hampir pingsan. Kalo disini suhunya pas. Untuk tiket masuk air panas Cimanggu ini, per orang Rp 15.000. Jadi, kalo ke Bandung Selatan, nikmati tripmu dengan berendam disini ya... #mytripmyadventure #visitv3 #jawabarat #bandungselatan #ciwedey #hotspring #cimanggu

source

Not really much news to share, like said it's all eye candy nowadays ...

Bucks
Do Asian 'values' change? From the South China Morning Post (Mar. 24): 

'Couples, covered in body paint and dressed in underwear, celebrate 'naked weddings' in Zhejiang province to protest against modern China's values, which focus more on money than love'.

Though possibly not in the same league, but I think that not only China's but a large part of Asia's love for money trumps natural soaking and soaking in nature.

Traditions / values changing, part II. Rocketnews24 (Mar 31) notes that sento's (these are public baths) in Japan are disappearing:

'But nowadays houses are all built with private baths, so the sento culture is dying out.

...

Local sento are few and far between these days but you can still catch a part of this Japanese bathing history if you search the oldest neighborhoods of any city. Look for a chimney that looks more like a smoke stack coming out of the top of the building (remember Spirited Away?) or a noren curtain out the front with the ゆ mark on it, the symbol of a sento' .

On Benjamin's mess (Apr. 10) there's more to lament concerning Japan's penchant for bathing and changing values:

'Japan is a nation whose fondness for sexual repression rivals only the Puritan US of A. Yet, for centuries, the tediously formal, pathologically uptight and insufferably stuffy Japanese have been shamelessly indulging themselves by lounging about, drinking saké and wearing washcloths on their heads, in steaming basins of volcanic water, boys and girls together buck naked.
Alas again, this tradition is fading. In the high-end onsen where we spent the night, the management segregates men and women in two common-bath rotenburo. Hotlips and I, who like to bathe together, deplore this arrangement 

...

True onsen —no walls between genders — are a threatened refuge. They’ve retreated into what we call the deep inaka, whose chaste and neighborly denizens still understand that the measure of modesty is how you behave when you ain’t got a stitch'.

A very nice blog entry.

To follow or not to follow tradition in Japan, source:

'Sodium - hydrogen carbonate / chloride spring. It naturally gushes out from cracks on both banks. There is an outdoor hot spring and also a footbath across the Uba-ga-taki Waterfall. You can see fountains gushing out hot water along the river'.

Rolling business
More from the hot spring travel front, Hot Spring Adventures has opened for business:

About Us
Hot Spring Adventures started as a Meetup.com group in June of 2013 and then taken off Meetup as a private group. This website serves as a place for existing members to join trips and for potential members to learn about the places we visit. In September 2014, the group was taken off Meetup.com and about 50 members joined the offline version.

Huffington Post (Mar. 12) has a feature on the various spa treatments which one might never have heard of. These include thermal pools (never heard of?), fish pedicure, mud baths, a Mayan sweat lodge, Reiki, Zareeba Treatment, Snow and Watsu treatments.

Singapore's Straits Times (Feb. 22) has a 10 beautiful spa's around the world highlight. Not very natural, but it includes Malaysia's Banjaran Hot Spring Retreat. Note that these are all very expensive places ...

The Organic Spa magazine has an entry (Mar. 4) on hot springs around the globe: of the 8 high end featured  soaks, none are from Southeast Asia ...

Morning dip. ️ #summer #hotspring #Camiguin #musttry #vsco #vscocam #vscopinas #vscoph

Not worth a mention, one of Southeast Asia's more popular hot springs, source

 

A hot spring foot bath on the .... train! Tohokukanko (Mar. 1):

'‘Treiyu’ comes from ‘Train’ and ‘Soleil’, sun in French. It is the first resort Shinkansen that operates between Fukushima and Shinjo.

Inside the train, there are ‘Ozashiki Reserved Seats’ made of Tatami, ‘Bar Counter’ that serves local sake, wine and juice of Yamagata, and ‘Footbath’ where you can relax while looking out the window. Experience the new way of enjoying trip on Shinkansen and travel around as if you are in a hot spring village'.

Finally, some disturbing yet curious news from Japan:

'At least three Japanese workers have died while working at a popular hot spring in the northeastern part of the country.

The men died on Wednesday after they were found suffering cardiac arrest near a source of Nyuto Hot Spring in Semboku, Akita Prefecture.

Local officials say the incident happened as at least four workers were working to adjust the temperature and amount of hot water in the hot spring resort'.

Possibly poisonous gases involved ...

Dividing Line
Than let's look into the region:

• Burma

At the end of our trek, our group was rewarded by hot springs. (I had the whole right side to myself as genders are separated by the dividing wall. ) #Myanmar #Burma #Hsipaw #hotsprings #longyi

Source

• Indonesia

 

#guci#tegal#swimming#hotriver#hotspringwater#slametmountain

source

Jakarta Post (Feb 24) has a list of five hot springs near Jakarta.
There is a list with Indonesia's best natural thermal baths. Surprisingly 6 of the seven are from Java ...

National Geographic (Mar. 3) has a look at Indonesia's geothermal potential. Snippets:

'Last year it [Indonesia] amended a law to stop defining geothermal development as "mining" and thus allow work in protected forests, where many resources are located. The revision also shifts project approval from local to federal officials.

...

Some projects have stalled for other reasons. Local officials stopped a proposed one on Bali, because residents were concerned about the impact of drilling in the Bedugul forests. Opposition may be softening, and the project may be reactivated, however, as increasing tourism on the island has caused frequent power shortages'.

Elsewhere (Mar. 11), authorities with investor interest in mind on Bali hope to continue ...

A natural sulfur hot spring in Dolok Tinggi Raja. #tinggiraja #kawahputih #dolok #simalungun #hotspring #visitsumut #visitindonesia

source

• Philippines

Deep in the forest and sandwiched by a gorge somewhere in the foothills of Mt. Kanlaon is an uncharted territory with a hidden hot spring and waterfalls. It's off-the-beaten and getting there means trekking on all fours most of the time. #secretPlaces #negros #Philippines #backpacking #tambayTravel #adventure #itsmorefuninthephilippines #travel #hotSpring #waterfalls #sharePH #choosephilippines @natgeo @natgeotravel

source

For something lightly different, a radio reportage on Mindoro's geothermal projects, brought to my attention by the very complete Thinkgeoenergy. The Deutsche Welle piece (Mar. 19) notes not only the potential benefit for the locals but also their distrust of mining companies in general, as well as outside intervention. Very balanced.

#hotspring #pool in the #mountains behind #dumaguete #greatroad on the way up there! Such a #scenery !

source

• Thailand

Forthcoming a forum on Thai hot springs at the World Spa and Well-being Convention 2015 this September. At 11:30 the forum discusses 

'The Rape and Pillage of our Natural Resources'. 

Now that could be interesting.

Found on Facebook, the Thai Hot Spring Club. Oddly it seems more about suited men at meetings looking important. Yawn.

Natural hot springs in Pai! Who knew hot springs in the heat would be so amazing?? #paistateofmind#pai#nature#hotsprings#latepost#water#thailand#natural#hot#mineral#bath #travel

source

The Lookeast magazine (Feb.) has a feature:

'With 112 natural hotsprings in Thailand, the kingdom is a veritable “land of hotsprings.” Not surprisingly, the country’s spa and well-being entrepreneurs are now trying to find more ways to harness the full potential of these hotsprings, business-wise and otherwise. Indeed, why not?
Such is the tourism potential of the hotspring sctor that even the government and other private sectors are joining the fray to develop them. In fact, The National Economic and Social Development Bureau, Thai Hot Spring Club, and other agencies are joining hands to not only tap but also maximize their potential further by building prototypes of “spa towns” in Krabi, Ranong, Kanchanaburi, Lampang, Chiang Mai, Chiangrai, and Lampang' .

Not the type of club I would want to be associated with ...

• Timor Leste

#Marobo #HotSprings #Mountains #TimorLeste 

source

• Vietnam

A list of 6 famous hot spring in north Vietnam: Moong (Son La), Quang Hanh - Quang Ninh, Tien Lang - Hai Phong,  Kim Boi - Hoa Binh, Thanh Thuy - Phu Tho and My Lam - Tuyen Quang. From eturbonews (Feb. 14). 

Khanh  Hoa province wants to develop Truong Xuan hot spring. What's stopping them? This is an example of how Southeast Asia is losing it's natural hot springs. Khanh Hoa News (Mar. 6):

'Pham Van Nghe, director of Thanh Cong Joint Stock Company – Khanh Hoa Branch said that the company hasn’t made investment in Truong Xuan Hot Spring because of worries about taking back capital. The company has carried out three surveys for a plan to build this spot with guest house, restaurant, swimming pool, mud bath area, camping area, entertainment area, etc; but, the construction needs too big investment' .

I know some people some big is beautiful, but not in the context of developing hot spring sites ....
A few years ago I visited here (see blog entry). Certainly it was not touristy, but very refreshing and down to earth. What's wrong with that?

олодный душ и горячие источники, что может быть лучше!?🚿 #Vietnam #vietrip #Vacation #Yangbay #sun #swim #summer #seawaynotbad #natural #nature #NhaTrang

source

Lcimag (March 2015) has feature on mud bathing in Vietnam:

'Mud from these three spa resorts I introduced has abundant necessary minerals, which help to prevent and cure diseases, restore energy and boost immune system as well as maintain the young beauty. So, what are you waiting for? Let’s travel and relax with the mud bathing services in Vietnam' .

Something I didn't know, Mui Ne has it's own hot spring. I doubt it's natural but still it may be worth a visit. It gets 4 stars from tripadvisor, all very recent, so it looks like it was only recently opened. I've also found what I suppose to be the original website, not much info here but there are also mud baths available.
Cheaphotel.vn (Feb. 20) has an extensive posting on what they call Mui Ne Hot Mineral Mud Centre. It seems the same place:

'The centre takes advantage of natural mud resource in Tuy Phong District (Binh Thuan Province) and hot mineral water, around 800m from the centre. Here, visitors can choose many healthful services such as hot mineral mud soaking, warm mineral water soaking, water massage, yoga…

The mud here is not as thick as the mud in Nha Trang, but Mui Ne Hot Mineral Mud Centre has the advantage of green and well-aired spaces. All the mud tubs are placed apart by bananas. It’s enough privacy for visitors to enjoy bathing'. 

Expansion

Onsen soaking
Miho Tabuchi is a well-known name within the the global soaking culture. At home (Japan) she is known for a Japanese language onsen review site as well as a publicist of articles on onsen. The English language part of the world will be familiar with her onsensoaker blog.

Laying claim to being a global expert, at the time of this publication, Miho has visited 215 hot springs in 28 countries excluding Japan (and counting China and Taiwan separately). If including Japan, the number of soaking sites visited rises to 1,500 hot springs in 29 countries, a very impressive count indeed.

Miho at Jinata Onsen, Shikinejima (Shikine Island), Tokyo 

Gifted
Miho, what would be your favourite hot springs and why? 

"Let me answer my favourites this way:
My favourite hot springs area is Beppu, Oita prefecture, Japan. Beppu is a rather big area and actually consists of eight hot springs: Beppu, Kannawa, Myoban, Shibaseki, Kankaiji, Kamegawa, Horita and Hamawaki. There are various soaking spots in Beppu, especially many public baths. 
Outside of Japan I liked the hot springs of Iceland, Indonesia and Taiwan. Iceland and Indonesia are geothermally active. Taiwan is geothermally not so active, but this mountainous country has many unspoiled wild hot springs and Japanese style public baths. 
I prefer though the wild hot springs and public baths as I can feel hot springs are gift of mother natures while soaking in wild ones".

Mugen-no-sato, Horita Onsen, Beppu Onsenkyo, Beppu City

Trendy
In your blogs we see you are concerned with onsen closing. 
Do you have figures to illustrate this?

"The latest statistics from Japan's Ministry of the Environment (March 2013)  show that the number of the day-visit onsen (commercially run onsen without accommodation) was 7,771 which had increased by 54 from a year before. However the number of ryokan (onsen with accomodation) were 13,521: a decrease of 200.

Additionally, according to the first issue of the Onsen Hihyo, the number of konyoku decreased from more than 1,200 in 1993 to less than 700 in 2013".

Can you describe the reasons behind these trends? 

"I think the main reasons for the number of ryokans to decrease are a lack of successors and changes in our lifestyle. When the Japanese economy was booming, visiting big onsen hotels as part of a tour group was popular. Many larger hotels counted on these groups. But after our so-called economic bubble burst, the number of these tour groups decreased sharply. However, many hotels had invested in expanding their capacity and couldn’t avoid bankruptcy.
Small-scale ryokans and hotels also suffer from the economic down turn and the lack of successors. Very often ryokan owners’ children tend to prefer working in larger cities such as Tokyo or Osaka, rather than taking over the family business.
More recently, new building standards have been introduced to prevent damage by earthquakes. Since, some ryokans and hotels have had to close their business as they couldn’t afford to renovate their buildings in accordance with the new standards.
Revitalization / regeneration business is booming. Specialized companies acquire bankrupt hotels and ryokans, and turn them into economical hotels and ryokans. They omit service as much as possible to offer cheap accommodation prices. For example, they serve buffet dinner and breakfast. If you stay in traditional Japanese style ryokans, they will serve your meals dish by dish in your room".

As we have noticed, you have been to many hot springs outside of Japan. 

What are your ideas about the development of wild and / or rural hot springs into resorts?

"For Japanese, onsen means bath / soaking place. Outside of Japan, hot springs are for swimming / for leisure / for drinking / to cure disease / forcooking and so on. I always enjoy finding these different kinds of use. However, I don’t like resort type hot springs myself.

Resort hot springs are rapidly increasing in China and Southeast Asia. They are though nice places to visit and watch other visitors".

Resources I have the impression that taking an onsen bath in Japan is very important aspect of life. 

To what degree are the surroundings (natural / non-natural / enhancements), price, catering and the ability to stay overnight important aspects in selecting where to take an onsen?

"It’s very important to me personally, but generally speaking, I think we Japanese love taking bath. It’s usually humid in Japan and I take a bath every day. And if it’s an onsen bath, the better. I prefer natural onsen bath, but if impossible, circulated onsen water bath is fine to me. Sometimes after visiting a wild onsen, I have to drop in to another onsen to wash off mud and other dirt. 

I don’t limit myself as to how much I spend when visiting an onsen, if a reliable friend had made recommendations, then I will visit there. But my favourites are small, old, family-run ryokans and usually they offer rooms with meals costing 15,000-20,000 yen (150-200 $US) or less per person. Once I stayed at a ryokan costing just 3500 yen (35$) with dinner and breakfast! 

Gorgeous places are usually rather new ones. However it’s difficult to find naturally gushing hot springs at these places. Many of these are obtain their hot springs from deep bored wells. Of course there are always some exceptions".

 

A look inside the latest issue of Onsen Hihyo magazine. 
And the article on Singa Tatopani, Baglung district, Nepal written by Miho.
   

You recently authored an article in the Japanese publication Onsen Hihyo (Hot Spring Critique). 

How important are these sorts of publications in Japan?

"Though it might seem in book stores in Japan that there are many onsen publications, they are mostly not of much significance. Many of these publications carry articles on onsen which have been sponsored. They look like an usual article, but onsen owners pay for favourable reviews. I know the writers and editors of these publications get their information from websites, blogs and social media, but magazines and guidebooks are resourceful for those who recently got interested in onsen, I guess.

The Onsen Hihyo is an exception to the above, as it has no sponsored articles or advertorials.

Otherwise, good information is available through internet rather than magazines and / or guidebooks".

Li-song Hot Spring , southeastern Taiwan

Enthused
Is there an aspect of hot springs bathing which you would like to highlight?

"My most memorable hot spring experience is a recent visit to Li-song hot springs in Taiwan. Maybe because I came back just a few weeks ago and my memory is still vivid. The hot spring itself was amazing and support from the Taiwanese was impressive. 
Let me explain about Li-song hot spring a bit more. When I first saw a photo of Li-song in an in-flight magazine 8 years ago, it caught my breath: I couldn't imagine that such a beautiful hot spring was there in a neighbouring country. 
But I can't understand Chinese and without any friends there to help me, visiting Li-song was just a distant dream. Since then, I have visited Taiwan 7 times, learnt how to travel and one by one made some friends.
When I visited An-tong Hot Springs in October 2013, the general manager there told me, if I wanted to visit Li-song so much, he could come with me next time. He kept his promise, even asked the #1 specialist of wild hot springs in Taiwan to come with us and the specialist came out of kindness.
The trail was so steep, I had to cling to a rope, and crossed the river twice, with short swims in cold water, but it was rewarding. I'd never been to such a beautiful wild hot springs before. I'm so happy and looking for next main target".

 

"What I like to do is to make people of other countries get interested in onsen and want to come to Japan. 
I've been to more than 70 countries in the world. People are generally nice to me wherever I go. So I want to welcome people to Japan in turn. And I believe onsen is worth visiting while travelling in Japan, I want to provide useful information.

I also want to make Japanese people more interested in hot springs in other countries. 
It might sound strange, but Japanese onsen enthusiasts tend to look down on hot springs in other countries even though they don't know any. They say "Hey, they take hot spring bath in swim suites, right? That's a swimming pool, not a hot spring at all". I want to change this by explaining to them there are so many attractive hot springs in the world. 

Finally I would like to build a network of hot springs enthusiasts like myself.
To visit hot springs in the world, I need up-to-date information from other hot spring enthusiasts.
I think I'm doing well, gradually expanding my network".

Thank you Miho for your effort in giving an insight into how you experience wild soaks from the Japanese perspective. 
It's also very interesting reading about the trends affecting hot spring soaking in Japan. 
Good luck in your future endeavours to highlight global soaking!

Notes
All photo's are used courtesy of Miho Tabuchi.

For more info on Jinata onsen, see the onsensoaker report. 
Concerning Mugen-no-sato, onsenaddict has a blog entry.
Singa Tatopani has it's own Facebook pag.
Li-song hot springs is featured at Lonely Planet ("most beautiful natural hot spring in Taiwan").

Japanese soaking vernacular:

Konyoku (混浴): Mixed baths 
Onsen (温泉): Japanese for hot spring 
Ryokan (旅館) : Traditional Japanese style inn