While in Japan I was fortunate enough
to experience an amazing part of Japanese culture. I learned of the
great benefits of the bathing custom and how relaxing it can really
be. When we think of bathing here in the western part of the world,
we think of getting in the tub and scrubbing down. While this is true
in Japan they do use this time to scrub down after a long day at the
office or being out and about however, there seems to be another
element to the whole process.
Bathing has been a long time tradition
in Japan and some other parts of asia. Japanese used to bath in
public bath houses called “Sento”. This was because most people
could not afford a bath in the family home so off to the sento they
would all go. Many decades ago these sento used to be mixed gender
known as “Konyoku”, The whole family would go and wash and relax
in the warm steamy bathing areas. Now this was in a time when the
idea of mixed nude bathing was not even a thought in the forefront of
the mind, it was simply done an no body had any hangups about it. Now
days the Konyoku almost does not exist any more. The
only place true konyoku exist now are deep in the mountains in
natural hot springs called “Onsen”. They can be accessed but are
usually very difficult to get to and quite often involve a little bit
of hiking.
As the economic wealth of the average
family increased so did the ability for them to afford a bath in the
family home. This has changed the social element of the sento which
are usually located in and around the cities. People no longer
socialised as a community from the neighbourhood they would go as a
family unit as a night/day out and most likely not as regularly.
Families will go for relaxation and now days they are split by gender
as social attitudes changed toward mixed gender nudity. Dads will go
off with the boys and or son in-law or friends, and likewise for the
mums.
The etiquette of bathing in Japan is
different to the way we bath in the western part of the world. When
one enters a bathing area be it at home or in a sento/onsen the rules
are the same. When you arrive in the onsen the first thing you do
after you pay is to go to the respective dressing room, strip down
nude and make your way into the bathing area. Next, you must rinse or
wash your body before entering the bath and the bath is not for
washing but soaking only. This is the reason a whole family can use
the same bath in a night as they do not make the water dirty and the
bath is designed to keep the water hot and filtered. Many onsen/sento
have a few different kinds of baths ranging from mineral, cold, extra
hot and many more including green or red tea. After a relaxing soak
in the bath(s) people would then spend time scrubbing down shampooing
and all the personal hygiene acts one would normally perform during
wash time. They sometimes also have outside baths called “Rotenburo”,
these are magnificent in winter when it is cold outside and the
steamy 42deg water is up around your shoulders!
Going to an onsen or sento can be
daunting for those not familiar or comfortable with nudity in a
public setting but its not all that bad. The key to enjoying the
experience is to simply follow every body else and pretend you have
been there a million times. As a nudist I never had this issue and it
felt like such a natural thing to do. I did learn how good bathing
can be for the body and soul. I found my body was not as sore every
day and my injuries from a car accident was never a problem even when
it was cold. Its a good chance to de stress and relax after a long
day at work and until I learned to bath every night before bed I
never knew what I was missing. Now as we have been back in australia
for some time now I do truly miss the night time bath and even more
the Onsen.
I will be looking forward to visit
Japan again with my family and as usual we will go to an Onsen and I
will enjoy it immensely! If you should ever travel to Japan or even
Korea it would do you well to seek out an onsen or sento, your hotel
staff can direct you to one and most big hotels will have either
their own or a partnership allowing guests to use another hotels or a
local establishment.
Give it a try and lose yourself in the
amazing custom of the Japanese bathing experience.
