The northern Tohoku region is home to renowned hot spring resorts, many of which offer baths where men and women bathe together. But some fear the age-old practice might eventually be lost to history if women continue to feel uncomfortable with mixed bathing. [..] "Mixed bathing is a key component of spa therapy culture," he said. "We hope to work hard so more people will come to believe that the practice needs to be kept alive." [..] No official statistics are available on the number of mixed baths, but hot spring expert Kyoko Kitade said mixed bathing was practised at only about 500 hot spring inns and communal baths across Japan in 2021, down from 1,200 or so in 1993. Many hot spring inns have ended the practice partly because of the emergence of male bathers who eagerly await women and fix a lecherous gaze upon them. Such men are called "crocodiles" in spa industry jargon because they look like crocodiles hiding in the water and staring at their prey.
