The hot springs emoji is the classic Japanese onsen sign: three curly steam lines rising from a little ring, broadcasting “soak time” in pure icon form. It traces back to signage used for real hot spring baths in Japan, the kind you’d spot on maps or outside bathhouses. On Apple devices, it’s a bold, bright red glyph—three wavy squiggles floating over a red circular base—flat, minimal, and instantly readable like a wayfinding sticker. No water splashes, no tub—just steamy vibes.
Online, it does heavy lifting for spa days, saunas, post-gym steam rooms, and “self-care Sunday” captions. It doubles as a cheeky “it’s getting steamy in here” when chats turn flirty, and moonlights as a “hot take incoming” alarm when the timeline’s about to boil over. People also drop it with ramen pics as a playful mix-up—they see the steam and think noodles—though the real meaning is onsen-core. Expect it in travel posts from snowy ryokan stays, thirst-trap captions that wink without words, and dramatic group chats when the tea is literally hot.
Definition
Super Hot. A red circle with 3 red wavy "S"es (esses) radiating up from it. It could be a hot plate like Yow! My burrito is frickin [insert emoji here]. Or used to describe someone _hawt_. Damn that girl is [insert emoji here]. Why not! This is emojiiiiiii! Seriously though, this is hot springs.
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Emoji History The emoji code/ image log of changes.
This emoji was part of the proprietary / non-standardized emoji set first introduced by Japanese carriers like Softbank. These emojis became part of the Apple iPhone starting in iOS 2.2 as an unlockable feature on handsets sold in English speaking countries.
In iOS 5 / OSX 10.7, the underlying code that the Apple OS generates for this emoji was changed.
The code generated for this emoji was changed slightly in iOS 7 / OSX 10.9 (a variation selector was added) advising the OS to display character emoji style instead of black and white text when available. We don't mind Apple, thank you! We just love our emojis! [Sources 11438-emoji-var.pdf 13.7 Variation Selectors (unicode.org)]
