the japanese お風呂
June 16th, 2006i think i am quite over ofuro and the concept behind it in japanese households. for those who haven’t experienced it, japanese people fill the bath at the start of the night, and the idea is that each person in the family washes themselves first then “soaks” in the bath.
good concept. relaxing in a warm bath is quite nice.
two majors problems, which as of today i can confidently announce.
a) the water temperature is horribly variable. at least for those families without a nicely temperature controlled bathtub. it begins at the start of the night at about 46 degrees, which provides me with very sore/burnt skin after i get out. pain :/.
b) certain people DON’T WASH THEMSELVES before getting in. i have been really annoyed at the bath being full of random dirt lately after my host father takes his turn. in fact i haven’t been using the bath after him because of this (and not before because it BURNS).
i thought at first he just didn’t wash himself properly. it was only tonight that i found out HE DOESN’T USE SOAP. the old soap ran out, and there was a new one placed in the bath area, but it wasn’t opened after he took his turn.
oh no 
. that would explain the dirtiness and the smell.
so before you enter a japanese bathtub think about those that have been in there before you – and if it smells strange in a bad way, just settle for a shower.
showers 4eva.