Steam over a dark wooden indoor onsen bath, lit by a single warm lamp

August 19, 2026 5 min read

Onsen etiquette for your first visit: the rules, the reasons, and the things nobody will tell you

Wash before you get in, keep the towel out of the water, tie your hair up, know the tattoo situation before you arrive. Every rule of the Japanese hot spring in order, with the reason behind each, and a note on the watch.

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Finnish sauna culture

Wooden Löyly sauna building on the Helsinki shoreline in evening light

July 20, 2026 6 min read

Famous saunas in Finland: where to go for your first real löyly

The oldest public sauna still running, the largest smoke sauna, the seaside architecture in Helsinki, the free one on the shore. A short list of Finnish saunas worth a trip, and what to expect at each.

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Finnish sauna culture

Smoke drifting from log smoke-sauna cabins in a pine forest

July 14, 2026 6 min read

The types of Finnish sauna, from smoke sauna to the one in every apartment

Finland has about three million saunas for five and a half million people. Here are the kinds you will actually meet, how each one feels, and how they compare with the Japanese sauna you may be used to.

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