(Japanese: 温泉「湯の花」の外国人入場許可４つの条件（2001年1月17日に挙げた）はここです）
YUNOHANA ONSEN IN OTARU TAKES ITS EXCLUSIONARY SIGN DOWN
LESS THAN 24 HOURS AFTER LAWSUIT INTENTION IS MADE PUBLIC
(sent to various lists Jan 17, 2001)
It's been more than three years since Yunohana opened for business (refusing foreigners
from the outset), and nearly a year and a half since we opened a dialog with them
to no avail.
However, after our lawsuit intention was made public on Tuesday morning, Jan 16,
Yunohana took down its exclusionary front-door sign sometime after that day's closing
time. It replaced it with the following A4-size computer printouts:
(original Japanese follows at the very bottom)
(Courtesy Hokkaido Shinbun)
===================================
RE FOREIGN BATHING
(our apologies for keeping you waiting so long)
After opening, hearing opinions, encouragement (gekirei), and scoldings (oshikai)
from many people, we have up to now deliberated over the question of letting foreigners
use this facility. In order to have many people patronize Yunohana, we have decided
to allow foreigners in under the following conditions (youryou):
1) Those who have lived in Japan continuously for more than one year
2) Those who sufficiently understand bathing customs
3) Those who understand Japanese
4) Those who do not cause any inconvenience to other customers:
i.e. those who do not smell funny (ishuu)
****Those who satisfy these four conditions will register to become members.
****Those who do not satisfy these four conditions may still become members if they
present no special hindrance (tokudan no shishou).
****Even if you are allowed inside, if you are deemed to not be falling under (gaitou)
the above conditions, you will be asked to leave immediately.
===================================
The second computer printout put up, according to Doshin, is a list of bathing rules
that Otaru City issued in three languages (English, Russian, and Japanese) to local
onsens over a year ago, in an attempt to remedy the solution by making the rules
clear to customers. Up to now, Yunohana refused to display this.
Both notices, including the list of bathing rules, are in Japanese only.
/////////////////////////////////////
SO NOW WHAT?
For the record, we plaintiffs still intend to sue Yunohana Onsen.
Why? These are the reasons I have been giving the Japanese press:
a) There has been real social damage, i.e. exclusionary policies in other cities
and business sectors using Otaru as justification, done to people of foreign features.
This reduction in our standard of living cannot be undone with a simple removal
of the signs.
b) We have been talking to Yunohana for over a year with absolutely no progress.
Then we say we are going to sue and they take their signs down immediately? This
does not fix the problem. We want a clear statement from the judiciary that this
situation will not do in Japan (shihouteki ni kore wa ikenai to iu seimei ga hoshii
no desu).
c) Why the conditions? Why can't Yunohana run its business like just about every
other onsen in Otaru? They are able let in foreigners yet stay in business.
That's all for now. My thanks to those people patient enough with my email bombardment
on this issue.
Arudou Debito
Sapporo