Public baths o.O

[StarvingMusician]

I was just curious. . .and I heard about these in Japan. Anyone have any experience. . .interesting or frightening moments? Give me your thoughts and comments.

[keatonatron]

omfg they r so scary liek u go in and have to get nekked in front of all these peple then they laf at u





...



But seriously, what do you want us to say that you can't find on google? Yes, there are public baths. It's just like going to the swimming pool except it's shallow, you do it naked and there's seperate ones for men and women.

[jenl]

OP is young, from the US, or both, perhaps? In Europe I guess the equivalent would be the Turkish baths (the Victorians were very fond of these, there are a few still operating in England). There are some differences, but I think the social aspects might be similar...

This is one of the things I would like to experience if I went to Japan, although you have to be careful to learn the proper way of doing things first, right?

[two_heads_talking]

StarvingMusician wrote:
I was just curious. . .and I heard about these in Japan. Anyone have any experience. . .interesting or frightening moments? Give me your thoughts and comments.

The majority of these are segregated too. males on one side and females on the other, seperted by a natural or man made partition. Some public baths have no interaction between opposite sex, some have limited interaction where one is able to see those bathing from a distance and some are mixed where there is no partitions either.

I think you might be looking for "emberassing moments, and quite frankly, I wonder why would you bother asking? For that matter I think more people have silly moments while using the ofuro than they do while going to an onsen.

There are a few special Onsen that even have monkeys that will come into the water. Of course they keep their distance, but it is considered good luck to have the monkeys come down and get into the hot pools.

I don't remember which city this was in, but it was in the Tohoku area, probably Aizu or Koriyama IIRC, but they had a set of 20 pools. each succesively hotter, where one can gradually move up or down depending on which temperature is most appropriate.

[Shirasagi]

Onsen are awesome, especially in the winter.

[keatonatron]

jenl wrote:
although you have to be careful to learn the proper way of doing things first, right?

Not really--just use common sense. Sometimes the water in the baths isn't cycled out/filtered very quickly, so if everyone were to just jump in it'd get really grimy really quickly. Therefore, it's important to get really clean in the showers before getting into the bath. Even if everyone does a good job of cleaning up, the water can get a little dirty by the end of the day, so it's a good idea to rinse off again once you get out.

The bath is just for soaking, not cleaning yourself, so even though it's fine to take your wash cloth in with you you don't really use it for much other than covering parts of your body you might be embarrassed about.

[two_heads_talking]

that also brings up the similar onsen to ofuro comparisons. how many people have jumped in the ofuro and started lathering up, to be told that you wash before entering and soak and relax in the ofuro?

Your first few trips, you should wash before and after while your body adjusts to the different bathing conditions.

[keatonatron]

two_heads_talking wrote:
Your first few trips, you should wash before and after while your body adjusts to the different bathing conditions.

uh..... huh? Is water different here than elsewhere? Am I going to break out in a huge rash because my body doesn't know how to soak in Japanese water? Once my body "adjusts", will it stop getting dirty so I no longer have to wash off before getting in?

[two_heads_talking]

no I am speaking of the lack of hygiene that some people who don't bathe frequently have. I should have figured that would go over your head.

[Harisenbon]

two_heads_talking wrote:
no I am speaking of the lack of hygiene that some people who don't bathe frequently have. I should have figured that would go over your head.

I didn't get it either. :/

Actually, I still don't get it... What?

[Infidel]

two_heads_talking wrote:
that also brings up the similar onsen to ofuro comparisons. how many people have jumped in the ofuro and started lathering up, to be told that you wash before entering and soak and relax in the ofuro?

Your first few trips, you should wash before and after while your body adjusts to the different bathing conditions.

Unfortunately, the same thing happens at Spas in the US.

[Pianogirl123]

i gotta try one of these one day... hahaha

but how much does it cost to get in them? i mean i don't know much but i think maybe some japanese people don't have baths in their houses, so they use these regularly (or if their apartment complex doesn't have one)

or is it public service? paid for by taxes

also, i read somewhere that some onsens are only available to japanese people (suppossedly to keep out westerners with bad bathing habits) is that true?

[Igirisu_gaz]

Whether or not you'll enjoy going to an Onsen or not depends entirely on you. To be honest, if you're going to struggle with the concept of bathing with a bunch of other naked guys/girls then there's really no point in going, as it's intended to be a relaxing experience. Sitting naked and nervous in warm water won't do much for your stress issues.

If you can get past the nerves it's nice. Not the worlds biggest fan myself but I don't hate it, it's kind of time consuming though.

Also, tip: If you teach kids in a local school like I do, don't be a dolt and go to a really close by one only to walk into the bath house starkers to be heralded with calls of "SENSEI!" from screeching pre-teens. I guarantee it will just be weird.

RE: Cost, upwards of ￥500　a pop, yet to see one for more than ￥800 but they probably exist. They are not a public service.

[Igirisu_gaz]

Pianogirl123 wrote:
also, i read somewhere that some onsens are only available to japanese people (suppossedly to keep out westerners with bad bathing habits) is that true?

This isn't the case (at least largely). A guy called Arudo Debito, a californian who became a Japanese citizen legally was once stoped from entering one some years ago as he was a gaijin (despite being a Japanese citizen) and he sued them in a fairly landmark case. I've never known anyone be refused entry due to being gaijin, but someone may I guess.

[StarvingMusician]

Another instance that has come to mind. Japanese people, they clean themselves before going into a tub don't they?