3. Checking-In At a Japanese Spa


This dialogue shows you how modern onsen or spa facilities work in Japan, including ticket machines, rental items, locker systems, and barcode-based payments.



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Mayu: You take your shoes off here and put them in a locker. Then you have to leave the key at the front desk, but to do that, you need to put a 100 yen coin into the locker. Sarah, do you have a 100 yen coin?
Sarah: I think I do.
Mayu: ...Oh, I don’t have any 100 yen coins on me right now. Sorry, can I borrow one?
Sarah: Sure. I’ve got plenty of change.
Mayu: Thanks! You’ll get this 100 yen back later.
Sarah: It’s fine, it’s just 100 yen.
1. Here, いい means “fine”, and べつに means “not particularly”. When combined, they express “It’s fine, it’s not a big deal”.
(They go to the front desk to check in.)
Mayu: Two adults, please.
Staff: Sorry, but first please buy your admission tickets from that machine over there.
Mayu: Oh, okay.
Sarah: You can rent towels here, right?
Mayu: I think so. (operating the machine) Yeah, bath towel rental is an extra 250 yen. The admission fee is 900 yen, so that’s 1,150 yen per person. Oh, there’s also a loungewear set.
2. プラス〜: an additional ~, extra ~.
For example, プラス1000せんえんで、宿泊しゅくはくすることもできます (For an additional 1000 yen, you can also stay overnight).
Sarah: What’s loungewear?
Mayu: Comfortable clothes you wear inside the facility. If we’re staying a long time, I think it’s better to have them. Oh, and there’s a stone sauna set too.
Sarah: I want to try the stone sauna.
Mayu: Then let’s get the all-inclusive set. It’s 1,500 yen for everything, is it okay?
Sarah: Totally fine. If you go to a spa in New York, it easily costs like 10,000 yen. 1,500 yen is very cheap.
3. 普通に literally means “normally”, but it is also used to emphasize that something is not unusual or strange, to do something as if it were completely natural or normal. For example, あの地域ちいきではむし普通ふつうべますよ (In that region, eating insects is totally normal).
4. 〜する: means “to do”. But it also means to “to cost”.
For example:
A:この時計とけいはいくらした? (How much did this watch cost?)
B: 5000ごせんえんした。 (It cost me 5,000 yen.)

Check my video “Talking about Money” for more details.
Mayu: What? That much? But “spas” kind of have a celebrity vibe. In Japan, hot springs and public baths feel more down-to-earth, so I guess our sense of it is different.
5. 庶民しょみん: refers to “ordinary people” or “common people” who are down-to-earth and live everyday lives. The word does not refer to people of a lower class in a rigid hierarchy. Instead, it carries a sense of warmth and familiarity, referring to people who are not wealthy but live normal, unremarkable lives rather than special or elite ones.
Sarah: Yeah. Even that word “shomin” feels very Japanese. There isn’t really that kind of nuance in English.
Mayu: Huh, interesting.
(The two return to the front desk with their tickets.)
Staff: About the loungewear, what size would you like?
Mayu: Medium should be fine for me, right? I’m not sure about the sizing here.
Staff: I think, that should be fine. If it doesn’t fit, you can exchange it.
Sarah: What about me?
Mayu: You’re tall. Do you have a free size?
Staff: Yes, the free size should be fine I think.
Mayu: Then we’ll take the free size.
Staff: Okay. Here are your loungewears and towels. (Hands them a tote bag with the loungewears and towels.) Please return them to the front desk when you leave. And here is your locker key. When you use any facilities inside, you can use the barcode on this wristband to pay, so please be careful not to lose it. Please enjoy your stay.
Sarah: (looking at the wristband) So we use this to pay?
Mayu: Yeah. When you order food or anything, they scan the barcode and keep track of how much you’ve spent. Then you pay the amount you used at the front desk when you leave. That way you don’t have to carry your wallet or bag around, right? Places like this are for relaxing, lying around and taking it easy, so if you fell asleep with your wallet or bag, it might get stolen. Plus, it’s more comfortable to travel light. That’s why a lot of places are set up this way.
6. 〜になっている: means “something is designed / structured in such a way that...”.
For example:
A:このライター、かたいね。(This lighter is hard to use, isn’t it?)
B:どもが使つかえないようになっているんです。(It’s designed so that children can’t use it.)
Sarah: That makes sense.
Mayu: So what do you want to do? Eat first, or go to the baths first?
Sarah: Let’s go to the baths first.
Mayu: Yeah.

Vocabulary

  • to take off (clothes)
  • front desk
  • to leave something in someone’s care
  • to lend
  • coins (money)
  • admission ticket
  • to rent
  • to operate (a machine)
  • loungewear (only allowed to wear inside the facility)
  • easy, relaxed, easy-peasy, pleasure
  • hot stone sauna
  • all-inclusive
  • spa
  • celebrity
  • down-to-earth, ordinary people (more details in note 5)
  • sense, feeling
  • one-size-fits-all
  • tote bag
  • locker key
  • wristband
  • inside the facility
  • facility
  • to lose something
  • to record, to keep track
  • to carry around
  • to lounge around
  • to relax
  • to sleep
  • light (without many things to carry around)
  • system
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