These days, most large bathing pools at hot spring ryokan are open day and night, except for cleaning in the late morning. If a ryokan has pools of different sizes, the bathing hours are arranged so that women can use the various pools for the same length of time as the men, and vice versa, at different times.

Just as we had settled into our room, the nakai came in with some tea. Most ryokan serve locally made, Japanese-style sweets with the tea. But some serve a salty snack such as pickles or tsukudani (food boiled in a soy-sauce mixture). Before the nakai leaves, she will ask you when you want supper. At ryokan, the cost of supper and breakfast is almost always included in the room charge. Recently, a growing number of ryokan serve meals in their dining room, but at hot springs most inns still bring meals to your room, just like in the old days.

Before going to the bath, it is a good idea to change into an informal cotton kimono called a yukata. After getting out of the steaming water, the cotton will feel refreshing on the hot skin. When the weather is cold, you will want to avoid getting a chill after your bath, so be sure to put on the haori jacket or tanzen padded kimono that the ryokan provides to wear over the yukata. The yukata is worn for sleeping, too. Even Western-style hotels in Japan provide a yukata for guests to wear instead of pajamas, following this tradition. Usually I do not wear a yukata when I stay in a hotel, but when I stay in a hot spring ryokan, I get into the spirit of things by putting it on, with a haori or tanzen on top.

After checking in, guests generally head for the bath. They will have a second bath after supper, another before going to bed, and yet another the next morning. It is common to take a dip several times a day. You might as well take advantage of the fact you are staying at a hot spring! But be careful to get out of the water before you feel faint. The Japanese word for faintness caused by too much time in the waters is yu-atari.The ceiling above the bath is designed for extra ventilation,to help prevent yu-atari. In the winter, cold air enters through this ventilation system. You may find it chilly, but it is there for a reason.

You should also be aware that the minerals in Kusatsu's water are especially strong. They are reputed to be very effective in killing germs, and so were valued highly before the days of antibiotics.