Disclosure of orgy videos force the closure of hot springs north of Tokyo
One of the few remaining mixed bathing hot springs in Japan has been closed after videos were posted online that apparently show a group of middle-aged men taking part in an orgy with a number of young women in its therapeutic waters.
The Fudo no Yu outdoor "onsen" is one of a series of natural thermal springs that have been tamed alongside the Hoki river in the town of Shiobara , north of Tokyo. It is also considered a historical onsen as it was first used in the Meiji era, which began in the mid-1800s.
And while modern mores have all but eliminated mixed bathing in hot springs, Fudo no Yu was one of the last remaining hold-outs. Until now.
Allegations of what are being reported in the Japanese media as "lewd acts" have been trickling out for a year, with claims that the onsen's seclusion had made it a magnet for exhibitionists.
Far more damaging for the onsen, which is not staffed and relies on visitors leaving their Y200 (HK$13) payment in a box, is the emergence of video clips that apparently show a succession of orgies, according to the , which cited the newspaper.
There are also suggestions that the onsen was attracting peepers who would conceal themselves in the thick undergrowth that surrounds the pool.
The local association of onsen operators told the newspaper that it had little option but to drain the onsen in order to protect the local industry's reputation. "With the resort being promoted by the prefecture as a tourist attraction, it was a difficult decision," Shigeki Tashiro, the head of the town council, admitted to the newspaper.
"But if we had left things as they were, the image of the area as a tourist destination could have been damaged."
One of more than 3,000 onsen across Japan, the waters of Fudo no Yu are reputedly high in calcium and sodium chloride.
