How Spa and Sauna Culture Works Around the World

Plain facts on clothing, washing and etiquette in Finland, Germany, Japan, Korea, Turkey and Iceland.

Etiquette 4 min read

If you’ve only seen the American version of a spa, the rest of the world can look surprising. Here’s how it works in six places, using official tourism sites and major publications. These are the norms, as described by those sources. Individual venues set their own rules, so check before you go.

Finland

The sauna is part of everyday life. Finns usually go in nude, but it’s always a personal choice, and a swimsuit or a towel is fine. Saunas that are open to everyone and marked as mixed typically expect swimsuits or towels. Same-sex pool saunas often don’t allow swimsuits, though a towel is fine, and some swimming halls require you to be naked. People shower before they go in, put a towel or seat cover on the bench, and keep it calm. Phones and food stay outside, and you ask before you throw water on the stove. Sauna isn’t a sexual setting.

Germany

Saunas are generally textile-free, meaning no swimwear, and the reason given is hygiene. A saunas labeled as textile saunas are the exception. If you’d rather not be bare, wrapping in a towel is acceptable. Most saunas are mixed-gender, and many also have women-only days or sections. You shower first, lay a large towel fully under your body so your skin never touches the wood, and don’t stare. Stay quiet and don’t disturb an Aufguss, the staged session where an attendant fans heat and scent through the room.

One warning from a major English-language publication: not every venue that uses the “FKK” label is an ordinary sauna, and some are sex clubs. Look at the venue’s own website first.

Japan

An onsen is a hot spring bath, and a sento is a neighborhood public bathhouse. At most of them, you enter fully naked, and swimsuits aren’t allowed in the bath. Most baths are separated by sex, and mixed baths are rare. First you wash thoroughly, seated at a shower station, and rinse off the soap. The small towel is for washing and modesty, and it stays out of the water, on the edge or on your head. Tie up long hair. Tattoo rules vary, and some places still turn tattoos away, so ask ahead. Private baths exist for anyone who’d rather not share.

Korea

At a jjimjilbang, a Korean bathhouse, the bathing area is gender-separated and nude. Everything else is shared by everyone, and you wear the T-shirt and shorts the spa gives you. You shower before getting into any pool. It’s normal, and the whole place is built around it.

Turkey

In a hammam, you wear a cotton wrap called a peştemal. Many people wear underwear or a swimsuit under it. You lie on a heated marble platform in the steam, get scrubbed with a mitt, and get a foamy soap massage. Attendants are the same sex as you, and men and women use separate sections or separate hours.

Iceland

Iceland’s public swimming pools have one famous rule, and the city of Reykjavik states it plainly: everyone showers thoroughly, with soap and without a swimsuit, before getting in the pool. The stated reasons are cleanliness and using less chlorine. Changing rooms are separated by gender, and some are gender-neutral.

What they have in common

  • You wash first. Finland, Germany, Japan, Korea and Iceland all require it.
  • You keep your skin off the bench. A towel under you is the norm in Finland and Germany.
  • It’s calm and quiet. Phones stay out, and staring isn’t done.
  • It isn’t sexual. The sources say so directly for Finland, and the same rules apply everywhere else.

Sources

Written from lots of real spa days, not professional training. Spas differ, so check with yours. General information, not medical advice.

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