Ok so, next year when we visit Japan, we plan to climb Mt. Fuji. We thought it would be a wonderful way to relax afterword by visiting an outdoor hot spring / bath house. These are called Onsen if they get some or all of their water from natural springs.

A few things concern me. First, we have read that some of these smell very badly of sulfur (being derived from underground water.) Also some of these are very remote and as such you end up pay large amounts of money for just a few hours. Additional concern comes from the type of people that will be there.

Most of these places are nude bathing only (which is fine.) However, we are a bit concerned about some things we read about this. Generally this means that there is segregated bathing (women on one side, men on the other) which we would want to try to avoid so that our group can stay together. Also much information says that these places have become gatherings for "older crowds." We would like to stick with a location that is more popular with people around our age (the group will be from age 18 to 26.)

Does anyone have some tips for us or perhaps know of a location that fits our needs?