So, in honor of my parents coming to Japan (mid-March, woo!) I am going to write about the appropriate way to bathe in a Japanese style bath, be it a public bath, an onsen or a private bath at home. I don’t know much about the history of Japanese bathing (okay, so I don’t know anything about the history of Japanese bathing), but it’s a wonderful everyday ritual that I wish would come to America. As many of you might now, I wrote my college application essay on my first Japanese public bathing experience (which was also my first-ever night in Japan).
baths are a steamy place! ^_^
Here is a picture of the bath in the Pension Yamaji. As you can [not really] see there are two faucets, two stools and two basins. There is also a cute bath. The doors you see lead to the outdoor bath (there is a wonderful view of some trees and a road. I have yet to use the outdoor bath…).
The first thing you do is, big surprise, undress. It's bathing 101: you don’t wear your clothes into a bath. Instead, you leave your clothes and towel in a dressing-room cubby. The only thing you need to take into the bath (if it’s a public bath) is a wash-towel: there is always body wash and shampoo provided. If you don’t think you can brave the bath with just a washcloth, get one of those mini-towel sized washcloths, you can hold it half-folded over the body part of choice (my suggestion for the females: cover your top-half. Without being too graphic: Japanese women and Western women have different…skin types).
Once you find a spot to wash (an empty stool and bucket) you can begin your washing. I have NOT (OOPS BIG BAD TYPO) actively watched Japanese women bathe, so I don’t know the exact ritual, but I will tell you how I think it’s done. First, a quick rising of the body using the hose, then a thorough soap-up (with the water turned off), followed by a bucket-full of water to wash it off (Wash ALL of your body, including your…particulars! Make sure you scrub your back and feet as well!). Shampoo, rinse, conditioner, rinse, and finally a quick rinse of the whole body with the hose. They key element in this is getting your body as clean as possible, using as little water as possible. You don’t have to ration it, just don’t keep the hose turned on when you are shampooing, conditioning, etc.
Once you make sure you are all soap-free, rinse off your area, bucket and stool with the hose and line them back up. Then you are free to enter the bath! Sure, there are two other women in the tub but, as I said, you clean off BEFORE you enter the bath. I mean, you’ve gotten in a pool before, yes? At least this way, you know everyone is clean because it’s a public bath.
The bigger baths and onsen will often have more than one bath, so make sure you try all of them! What I like to do is alternate between the hot and cold baths! That’s a really good way to refresh yourself!
ーー
That was mostly for my mother, but hopefully everyone now realizes the extent of my personal hygiene :)
Minakami has been fun! Yesterday I went with my fellow peers (Mary and Ian) to a local Japanese High School! All my wishes have been fulfilled! All the teenagers in their uniforms...What a dream come true! When Mary and I walked in, the first thing I heard was "kakkoii! cho kakkoii!" which means "cool! super cool!". I was very happy. Of course, Ian got the most attention, because he was the tallest person they've ever seen and he's also from Hawaii. I still got a big kick out of all of the boys acting like...well, high schoolers! It was just like American High School (but not like Pembroke the...). We got the usual question "do you have a boyfriend" but were also asked things like "who is your favorite Japanese star" and "what do you want to do in Japan". I answered "Currently, I like Haruna Ai, iuyo nee~" and "I want to get a Japanese part-time job". I think I impressed them ^_^
We also went to "Takumi no Sato" which basically means the traditional crafts village. It's a place, very touristy, that has traditional hand-made crafts such as bamboo weaving, wood crafts and pottery making. We went to the 'Omen no Ie' (Mask House) and painted masks! I chose a hanya, which is a female-demon mask. I may be weird, but I really like it. She's very...scary, in a happy sort of way!
Miss Hanya! I made her red...I was trying to
get a more rusty-brown...it didn't work!
but she's got a wonderful golden smile! :)
The first thing you do is, big surprise, undress. It's bathing 101: you don’t wear your clothes into a bath. Instead, you leave your clothes and towel in a dressing-room cubby. The only thing you need to take into the bath (if it’s a public bath) is a wash-towel: there is always body wash and shampoo provided. If you don’t think you can brave the bath with just a washcloth, get one of those mini-towel sized washcloths, you can hold it half-folded over the body part of choice (my suggestion for the females: cover your top-half. Without being too graphic: Japanese women and Western women have different…skin types).
Once you find a spot to wash (an empty stool and bucket) you can begin your washing. I have NOT (OOPS BIG BAD TYPO) actively watched Japanese women bathe, so I don’t know the exact ritual, but I will tell you how I think it’s done. First, a quick rising of the body using the hose, then a thorough soap-up (with the water turned off), followed by a bucket-full of water to wash it off (Wash ALL of your body, including your…particulars! Make sure you scrub your back and feet as well!). Shampoo, rinse, conditioner, rinse, and finally a quick rinse of the whole body with the hose. They key element in this is getting your body as clean as possible, using as little water as possible. You don’t have to ration it, just don’t keep the hose turned on when you are shampooing, conditioning, etc.
Once you make sure you are all soap-free, rinse off your area, bucket and stool with the hose and line them back up. Then you are free to enter the bath! Sure, there are two other women in the tub but, as I said, you clean off BEFORE you enter the bath. I mean, you’ve gotten in a pool before, yes? At least this way, you know everyone is clean because it’s a public bath.
The bigger baths and onsen will often have more than one bath, so make sure you try all of them! What I like to do is alternate between the hot and cold baths! That’s a really good way to refresh yourself!
ーー
That was mostly for my mother, but hopefully everyone now realizes the extent of my personal hygiene :)
Minakami has been fun! Yesterday I went with my fellow peers (Mary and Ian) to a local Japanese High School! All my wishes have been fulfilled! All the teenagers in their uniforms...What a dream come true! When Mary and I walked in, the first thing I heard was "kakkoii! cho kakkoii!" which means "cool! super cool!". I was very happy. Of course, Ian got the most attention, because he was the tallest person they've ever seen and he's also from Hawaii. I still got a big kick out of all of the boys acting like...well, high schoolers! It was just like American High School (but not like Pembroke the...). We got the usual question "do you have a boyfriend" but were also asked things like "who is your favorite Japanese star" and "what do you want to do in Japan". I answered "Currently, I like Haruna Ai, iuyo nee~" and "I want to get a Japanese part-time job". I think I impressed them ^_^
We also went to "Takumi no Sato" which basically means the traditional crafts village. It's a place, very touristy, that has traditional hand-made crafts such as bamboo weaving, wood crafts and pottery making. We went to the 'Omen no Ie' (Mask House) and painted masks! I chose a hanya, which is a female-demon mask. I may be weird, but I really like it. She's very...scary, in a happy sort of way!
Miss Hanya! I made her red...I was trying to
get a more rusty-brown...it didn't work!
but she's got a wonderful golden smile! :)
