Japanese Bathing Houses

by Tom
(Orlando, Florida, USA)

Where are the best bathing houses? What services do they offer? And how are you expect to behave?

Reply To Japanese Bathing Houses

Japanese people bath in a Sento. A Sento is a public bathhouse.
Japanese houses are very small because of shortage of land in Japan(most of Japan is mountainous) and crowded cities.
Most Japanese apartments are so tiny, they don't have a bath.
The Japanese are extremely clean people, and so they turned the bathing act almost into a ritual.
The Sento is a strange mishmash between a Spa and a social get-together. It is considered a fun activity, a place to socialize and relax.
It is also one of the best things to do in Tokyo to get to know Japanese culture.

Japanese people soap and wash themselves outside the bath tab, and enter the water when they are clean.
Then, a towel over their forehead, they relax in the steaming water.
Men and women bath separately, in case you were wondering.

This is a very basic part of Life In Japanese Culture.
The Sento are a part of traditional Japanese culture.