Taiwan’s hot spring culture as most visitors encounter it today was largely shaped during the Japanese colonial period (1895–1945). The Japanese brought with them a deep-rooted onsen tradition and immediately recognised the island’s geothermal potential. The first modern hot spring establishment, Tenguan （天狗庵）, was opened in Beitou in 1896 by a Japanese businessman named Hirata Genwu. The colonial government subsequently promoted hot springs for their health benefits, constructing public bathhouses and developing major spring sites across the island.

During Japanese rule, the major principal hot spring areas included Beitou, Yangmingshan, Guanziling, and Sichongxi. These became destinations for military recuperation, official leisure, and general public bathing alike.

After the transition to Republic of China administration in 1945, hot spring culture gradually faded from prominence — then experienced a dramatic revival from the late 1990s onwards, when the government once again began actively promoting geothermal tourism. Today it is fully embedded in Taiwanese leisure culture: a standard weekend escape, a destination for older generations seeking therapeutic soaking, and an increasingly popular draw for international visitors.

It is worth noting, however, that the culture here is distinctly Taiwanese, not simply a copy of the Japanese onsen experience. The atmosphere tends to be warmer and less ceremonially rigid. Mixed-gender pools with swimsuits coexist alongside traditional gender-segregated nude baths. Foot soaking along public streets is common. Families and elderly residents share pools with no particular sense of occasion. It is communal, practical, and entirely unpretentious.