Bathing: An Immersion Course

Bathing: An Immersion Course

Japanese cultural phenomena often confound first-time visitors, but few rituals are as opaque as those surrounding bathing. Baths in Japan are as much about pleasure and relaxation as they are about washing and cleansing. Traditionally, communal bathhouses served as centers for social gatherings, and even though most modern houses and apartments have bathtubs, many Japanese still prefer the pleasures of communal bathing -- either at onsen while on vacation or in public bathhouses closer to home.

Japanese bathtubs are deep enough to sit in upright with (very hot) water up to your neck. It's not just the size of the tub that will surprise you; the procedures for using them are quite different from those in the West. You wash yourself in a special area outside the tub first. The tubs are for soaking, not washing -- soap must not get into the bathwater.

Many hotels in major cities have only Western-style reclining bathtubs, so to indulge in the pleasure of a Japanese bath you need to stay in a Japanese-style inn or find an o-furo-ya (public bathhouse). The latter are clean and easy to find. Japanese bath towels, typically called ta-o-ru, are available for a fee at onsen and bathhouses. No larger than a hand towel, they have three functions: covering your privates, washing before and scrubbing while you bathe (if desired), and drying off (wring them out hard and they dry you quite well). If you want a larger towel to dry off, you have to bring one along.

You may feel apprehensive about bathing (and bathing properly) in an o-furo, but if you're well versed in bathing etiquette, you should soon feel at ease. And once you've experienced a variety of public baths -- from the standard bathhouses found in every neighborhood to idyllic outdoor hot springs -- you may find yourself an advocate of this ancient custom.

The first challenge in bathing is acknowledging that your Japanese bath mates will stare at your body. Take solace, however, in the fact that their apparent voyeurism most likely stems from curiosity.

When you enter the bathing room, help yourself to two towels, soap, and shampoo (often included in the entry fee), and grab a bucket and a stool. At one of the shower stations around the edge of the room, use the handheld showers, your soap, and one of your towels to wash yourself thoroughly. A head-to-toe twice-over will impress onlookers. After rinsing, you may enter the public bath. You can use your one dry towel to cover yourself, or you can place it on your head (as many of your bath mates will do) while soaking. The water in the bath is as hot as the body can endure, and the reward for making it past the initial shock of the heat is the pleasure of a lengthy soak in water that is never tepid. All you need to do is lean back, relax, and experience the pleasures of purification.

-David Miles