Many of you may already know about the Japanese traditional soaking tubs. Although many people in Japan love to visit public baths such as Onsen (Hot Spring) or Sento (Shared Public Bath), they also have a special way to relax at their own homes. Today we will be talking about the WHATs and WHYs regarding these distinctive bathtubs.
Historically, Japanese have loved taking baths. It may sound odd people don’t wear anything at Onsens and Sentos, but that is the culture and custom that lasted for ages.
Most common bathtubs in Japanese households have a separate washing space. People wash themselves first before going into the tub so that they can keep the tub water clean enough for the next person. It might be surprising when you hear people sit down on a bath chair to shower, for it should be common for people in other countries to stand.
You will find a control panel like this inside the bathroom and very possibly another one in the kitchen or somewhere in the living room:
運転 入/切： ON/OFF
通話： Call
追いだき： Reheat
ふろ自動： Fill Tub with Hot Water
As you can see, there are a lot of functions that can be taken care automatically, only by pressing these buttons.
Just by pressing “運転 入/切” first and then “ふろ自動”, you will be able to enjoy a relaxing bath time in a few minutes. 通話 is a function for a person to talk with another family member outside of the bathroom, 追いだき is for reheating the water to a set temperature. Also, most bathrooms have functions to dry clothes. They become very useful in the rainy season, especially when there is limited space to hang out your laundry in or out your house.
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