ジョージ・スミスやイザベラ・バードなど幕末から明治初期にかけて日本を訪れた探検家たちは混浴文化にとても驚いている。彼らは日本人を勤勉な民族と称賛する一方、混浴という風習を目にして日本人を「最も野蛮な民族」だと表現している。また、ペリー提督の米国内への報告書における（混浴の印象から）「日本人は下劣な民族だ」の記述が米人の日本人に対する印象を決定づけたとされている。そして、日本との通商交渉に影響が出ることを懸念したアメリカ政府は、ペリー年代記の第二版から、この問題記述を削除している。
Explorers who visited Japan at the mid 19th century, such as George Smith and Isabella Bird, were very surprised by the mixed bathing culture. While they refer to the Japanese as a diligent race, they discovered the custom of mixed bathing and described the Japanese as the most barbaric race. This view was echoed in the chronicle of Commodore Matthew Perry’s expeditions to Japan in 1853 and 1854. "A scene at one of the public baths, where the sexes mingled indiscriminately, was not calculated to impress the Americans with a very favorable opinion of the morals of the inhabitants.” Accounts of mixed bathing contributed to Western perceptions of the Japanese as an inferior race, and would become a topic of some political controversy. Worried that it was affecting trade negotiations with Japan, the U.S. government even had the offending description in Perry’s chronicle struck from the second edition of the book.
時代は代わり、モノ消費偏重からコト消費に変わりつつあるインバウンド業界。2023年11月2日、アメリカとイギリスからのゲスト17名を混浴温泉に案内した。酸ヶ湯と言えば日本の豪雪地帯の代名詞であるが、同時に300年以上の歴史を持つ最も有名な混浴温泉だ。過去の歴史的な背景、そして（裸体での）混浴以前に公衆浴場という文化の無い欧米文化背景から、なぜ彼らが混浴を体験したのか私自身とても興味を惹かれた。
Time has changed, and inbound tourism is shifting from a focus on "consumption of goods" to "consumption of things." On November 2, 2023, I guided 17 guests from the U.S. and the U.K. to Sukayu Onsen-Spa. , the most famous mixed bathing Spa in Japan. Sukayu is synonymous with one of the heaviest snowfall spots in Japan, but at the same time it is the most famous mixed bathing Spa with over 300 years of history. I myself was very interested in why they experienced mixed bathing, given their past historical background and their Western cultural background, where there was no public naled bathing culture before mixed bathing.
ゲストは年配のカップルと若い方に大別され、彼らの中には城崎を始め日本の温泉文化を楽しむ、あるいは日本のアニメを実際に体験したいといった明確な目的を持って本ツアーに参加している人がいると分かった。歴史的背景をはじめとした私の混浴の解説に対し、ゲストは真剣に耳を傾けてくれた。変な目線でバイアスを掛けていたのは むしろ自分のほうだったかもしれない。
The guests were roughly divided into older couples and younger participants, and it was understood that the purpose of their participation in this tour was to enjoy Japanese hot spring culture including Kinosaki Spa in the western Japan, or to experience Japanese animation in person. They listened intently to my explanation of mixed bathing, including the historical background. It may have been rather me who had bias against it.
日本の法律（旅館業法）上、もう混浴施設の新設は認められない。既存施設が営業停止すれば、おのずと混浴施設は消えていく事になる。事実、90年代には全国に2300あった混浴施設も急速に減り続け、近年は500軒を切っている。支払う額に見合う 本物の"コト消費"とは何か？ 混浴温泉最後の砦となる酸ヶ湯温泉が少なくともそのポテンシャルを十分有している事は把握できた。
Japanese law does not allow the establishment of new mixed bathing facilities, so if existing facilities stop operations, mixed bathing facilities will naturally die out. In fact, the number of mixed bathing facilities, which numbered 2,300 nationwide in the late 90's, has been rapidly declining, and the number has dropped below 500 in recent years. What is "consumption of things" that is authentic and worth paying for? I knew that Sukayu Onsen-Spa, the last bastion of mixed bathing hot springs, has at least enough potential for this.