The Japanese bath is for bathing purposes only, not for cleaning. Before entering the bath, wash with soap outside the bath and rinse all the soap off. Use the bath itself only for soaking and relaxing, much as you would take a hot tub. Families usually take baths in the evening before or after dinner.
To the Japanese, bathing is a process. You wash yourself before you get in the bath to cleanse your body of the day's dirt and grime. That's one of the main reasons why most Japanese people bathe at night, instead of in the morning.
While showers are a necessary part of everyday life, the Japanese don't just take showers, they love soaking in bathtubs. Most people in Japan think of the bathtub as washing away not only their sweat and dirt from the day but their fatigue, too. so it is typically custom to take baths every night.
Purpose of bathing
Many Japanese believe it also washes away the fatigue, hence a bath is taken often every night. On the other hand, Western people often take a bath only for the purpose of personal hygiene.
It's a cultural thing. They instead shower and / or bathe in the evening. Bathing in the evening means that your body is clean before you go to bed (so your bedding also remains clean) - particularly important in Japanese summers, which are extremely hot and humid making it easy to spread germs and mould.
It's a cultural thing. They instead shower and / or bathe in the evening. Bathing in the evening means that your body is clean before you go to bed (so your bedding also remains clean) - particularly important in Japanese summers, which are extremely hot and humid making it easy to spread germs and mould.
When bathing Japanese-style, you are supposed to first rinse your body outside the bath tub with the shower or a washbowl. Afterwards, you enter the tub, which is used for soaking only. The bath water tends to be relatively hot, typically between 40 and 43 degrees.
Rule #1: Wash before entering the onsen
Most Japanese onsen will have a shower area — in or just outside the bathing area — where you are required to wash your body. Entering an onsen with soap, dirt, or sweat on your body is unacceptable and grounds for dismissal from the spring.
Wear a towel on your head
On the topic of towels, it's common to see bathers with wet towels on their heads. This is to prevent dizziness caused by hot blood rushing into one's head when bathing in the warm waters.
Yes, in Japan parents and children bath together fully naked. And that's culturally perfectly normal. From a Japanese perspective, together tub-time is good for family bonding. As children grow older, they'll start enjoying bath time separately.
Now, drinking milk after visiting sento, taking a bath, or getting out of onsen is almost as if written into the Japanese DNA. Milk and bathing are as inseparable as beer and edamame or wine and cheese. So next time you are wondering what you should do after onsen, consider drinking a cold glass of milk.
In general, the Japanese enjoy taking baths together, and there are different opportunities to do so. It can happen while staying at a hotel together, for example, where the bathroom has a big bathtub.
When the Japanese take a furo at home, they normally heat the water in the tub to around 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). They clean themselves with soap outside the tub first, washing themselves down with a hand-held shower. They do not wash themselves in the tub.
In view of the fact that many Japanese bathe and wash their hair daily, it's essential that they take well care of it.
Research suggests that whereas people in many parts of Europe and America now make do with just a shower nearly 90% of the time, in Japan between 70% and 80% of people still bathe in the traditional way at least several times a week. This rises to 90% or more in families with small children.
The frequency of bathing shall be at most 1-2 times per day, and when people get used to Onsen, they can enjoy 2-3 times per day. Duration of bathing depends on the temperatures of water, but generally it shall be around 3-10 minutes at one time, and can be extended to 15-20 minutes if you get used to it.
According to Inazo Nitobe's book Bushido, the lives of the samurai warriors were ruled by 7 principles called Bushido. These 7 rules were Righteousness, Loyalty, Honor, Respect, Honesty, Courage and Consistency.
After bathing:
It is recommended that you do not shower after bathing in an onsen, as rinsing your body will weaken the minerals' healing effects.
submerge your face or head, it is considered unclean. yell or speak loudly, onsen are for relaxing. run, the stone floors are usually slippery when wet. swim or splash around in the bath, no matter how tempting.
Bathing etiquette—the basics
Take a shower before entering the baths. If you are at a hot spring, shampoo, body wash and towels will be provided, but if you are at a public bath, you need to rent or bring your own. Each shower has a stool and bucket.
The traditional Japanese bathroom is quite a bit different from the traditional Western bathroom. While we jump into a hot bath in order to both clean and relax, the Japanese bath first in a separate room and then step into the bath to relax.
Kakeyu refers to the practice of cleaning one's body thoroughly with hot water before even entering the water in the hot spring or public bath. This isn't only done to get rid of the sweat and dirt on one's skin but also to accustom one's body to the warm temperatures of the Japanese bath.
Most people in Japan tend to bathe at night. A morning bath is a rare thing and is usually done when vacationing at a ryokan (a traditional Japanese inn) or an onsen hot springs resort.
No one knows the reason why, but seem to guess that it's to save money in the public restrooms (both the cost of soap and of water). And a lot of Japanese homes have (or used to have) the toilets with the faucet on top and (for some reason) you wouldn't want the hand soap to run back into the tank.
A Japanese toilet or smart toilet, as it's often referred to, is a toilet built with smart technology. Put simply, this means smart toilets can interact with their user via remote control access. With a press of the button, you can flush, spray and dry. As the name suggests, Japanese toilets originated in Japan.