Japan - Day Two (Kyoto)
We woke up and headed into the basement for the bath. Much has been said about Japanese style bathing, traditionally houses have not had private showers. Instead, as we expereinced, bathing is communal (but gender-segregated so get your head out of the gutter). You enter one room, remove your clothes and put them in a basket to store. Then, you head into the bathing room where you grab a wooden bucket, a small stool, and seat yourself in front of a showerhead and mirror. Here, you soap yourself up and wash yourself from head to toe. Only when completely clean do you enter the big tub of hot water and soak for as long as you can stand the heat. This is all in a big room full of other guys who dont really pay attention to others, though as a foreigner i get plenty of subtle glances. They are only curious I suppose.
More...
|
