Got to love a Rotemburo!

Today, and June 26th annually, is Rotemburo Day 露天風呂の日 (Rotemburo no hi) in Japan. A rotemburo is an open-air hot spring bath, usually set outdoors where you can soak surrounded by nature. 

Rotemburo are considered the original landscape of bathing, offering open sky, fresh air, and the calming view of mountains or rivers, even falling snow depending on the season, while soaking in warm mineral water. Moreover, in the dark of night you have a breathtaking view of the stars, in clear weather. What's not to love!?

The date of the anniversary comes from a wordplay on 6/26 that can be read "ro (6) ten (・) bu (2) ro (6)." Yubara Onsen in Okayama held the first Rotemburo Day in 1987 in a bid to increase the interest in the charm of outdoor bathing across Japan. In current day, Yubara Onsen still have various town wide special events and offers on this day.

A riverside rotemburo in the mountains of Saitama Prefecture