Bathing in Japan, is interesting, when it is so unlike what we do here at home (USA and Canada). Keep in mind that I was also in a teaching/conference facility. I would also like to add that the place was clean, VERY clean, outside the building and around the grounds, the roads gave the appearance of being swept they were so clean. I am a cleanliness freak when it comes to public washrooms etc. believe me when I say to you that where I was in Japan, it was clean without giving the appearance of being sterile and antiseptic.
Bathing and the art of doing our daily “getting ready” might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it is a part of life that can be very enjoyable. a bonus gift for me was the re- learning to do what can be a mundane daily task, into something leaning towards spiritual. Enjoying a bath ready filled with just the right temperature of water, silence (when I had the place to myself, or almost to myself) being nude in the bath and not caring or worrying if someone came in. Now that for me was a “zen” moment. Being totally one with myself in a bathroom ,several thousand miles from home, was really a double WOW, if not a triple.
This is the bath itself At time of the picture, it had been emptied to be cleaned prior to refilling.
Opposite this little area is another where there are sinks for doing our daily this and thats Hairdryers are provided. I will see if I can find a picture in my many snaps.
This picture is where you pull back a sliding glass door and walk into this little area where one leaves shoes/sippers. When busy, all those little shelves you see are full. Totally. The next is the area where we put our clothes, see the little wicker baskets in each block. Can be accessed from either side.
I did not go into a man’s bathing area, but I would assume they are all the same. In the area where there are the toilets, there is a rack to dry the face cloths you are given. I was told that in Japan, the choice for drying clothes is sun shine (outdoors)
Before I got to Japan, I never would have thought that one of my most favourite and remembered times would be the “bathing” In PL there is a teaching – Take a Good Look at Your Preconceived Notions. It is good to reexamine those things that you think are “normal” or “valuable” in your life. You are sure to find something new. I certainly did. I would go back to Japan in a heartbeat …
Thank you dear readers for your concern, saw the doctor today, confirmed virus infection in the bronchial tubes, an unwanted souvenir from the trip. I was getting lots of sleep, I’m on the mend. My seat mate in the lecture hall was from Brazil, my symptoms are mirroring hers I suspect I’m experiencing a touch of Brazil. Oh the joys of life never end…. Blessings my friends… E N J O Y !
Written
on August 13, 2013