Complaints about brazen sexual acts at a quaint little onsen (hot spring) north of Tokyo have forced the open-air, mixed-bathing facility to indefinitely suspend operations, highlighting a new risk to a declining tradition.
The Fukuwata neighborhood association in Nasushiobara, Tochigi Prefecture, on June 1 drained water from Fudonoyu, an unattended onsen tucked away in the prefecture's mountains, indefinitely closing off the scenic spot that had served as a symbol of the Shiobara onsen resort area.
The temporary closure came one year after the association began receiving visitor complaints about a group or groups of males and females engaging in public sex acts. Without the budget to hire an attendant to keep watch, the association was forced to close the onsen for the time being for fear of further tarnishing the traditional spa resort area's image.