There are plenty of teeny bath houses in Kiyomizu where I'm staying in Kyoto, but I've chosen Funaoka Onsen because of the fact it has a rotemburo (outdoor bath) and the fact that it comes highly recommended in Lonely Planet. I'm hoping that the latter might mean that they are a bit more sympathetic to confused tourists. The place is a bugger to find- half an hour on the bus to the middle of no-where (the bus driver is really helpful and shows me where to get off) and then I use my best Japanese to ask for directions. A very nice old man with a liquor shop points it out to me and says "Look for the big rock outside."
It looms into view- a bit more grand than the Gion bathhouses which are identifiable by curtains outside with the hirigana "yu" (bath) printed on them. The front boundary is made up of giant boulders and there's a very traditional Japanese looking facade, dimly lit with paper lanterns and a flourescent sign that contains a cartoon drawing of Hokusai's great wave. Inside, I remove my shoes as a smiley elderly women chants "Irashaimase," and without prompting gives me the price in English and points out the ladies entrance. The Japanese are unmatched in helpfullness.
Emma forewarned me about the bath house: "Everyone will stare at your boobs because - you have boobs. Oh, and the bushes! Japanese women take absolutely no notice of their downstairs." I walk into the ladies' changing room and am confronted immediately by naked bodies. Lots of ladies drying their backs with rolled up towels, rolling out their stockings and gossiping . A middle-aged lady stands talking to her friend in a 'power stance' - hands on hips and full on scraggly bush to greet me. I bashfully tip toe over to a locker and try not to stare.
I know how the bath house works and that everyone will be naked- It's the point in trying it out- but I can't help the fact that I feel really awkward. Undressing is the worst part- I feel like everyone's eyes are on me (even though the ladies are actually pretty nochalant) and I sheepishly cower by my locker to hide my clothes in it.
When I'm undressed I demurely wander over to the sinks. There's an ante-room to the actual bath house beyond. It has a long sink with a stack of plastic washing-up bowls at one end. No idea what it's for so I continue onwards. Inside there are a couple of blue-tiled shallow baths to the left, with some attached small bubbling pools. To the right are the shower rows: in the public bath you must wash yourself before bathing. I pull up a tiny plastic stall and start to lather myself in soap and shampoo.
Each 'washing place' has a stall, a mirror, hot and cold push taps and a shower head. There's a young slender woman behind me soaping her hair as her two kids run around her causing havoc, and an old lady next me getting on with soaping her undercarriage.
It feels very normal very quickly. There are women here of every age and I feel that no-one is judging anyone else. There's a fantastic freedom in the nakedness. And there are lots of boobs too- I thought Japanese women didn't have any- but there are enough impressive ones here that I don't feel like some anime mutant sporting beach balls. When I'm done washing I move into the main bath. It's really quite hot and I lean against the edge in case my blood pressure does a number on me. I can see some little kids looking at me sideways. One of them is only about 3 and keeps walking over to stare. I am definitely the odd one out- but none of the adults seem particularly bothered; I imagine tourists are quite common here. I am really worried about etiquette in the bath house, but the old ladies are very kind and tell me what to do if I look confused (such as, one should shower post-sauna) which puts me greatly at ease.
I give all the baths a go; there are a few electric baths, a sauna, a freezing plunge pool and a really hot bath that is too hot for me (there's a hardcore old lady standing in it and I've no idea how she hasn't melted) and when I'm done with these I strut confidently to the outdoor bath, the rotemburo. There's a bucktoothed lady with steamed-up glasses sitting under the tap (enjoying it a bit too much) and a women with a young child in the other end. The child pounds and plays with her mother's breasts and she isn't bothered. The other staring-kid opens the door after me and then runs away, returning with her mother five minutes later. I settle into the water and close my eyes. The rotemburo is uniquely pleasant. Sitting outside of it in the open air after a steam is really refreshing and by this stage I am completely at ease with exposing my body to everyone else.
I don't last very long in the steaming tub. After cooling off outside it I walk back through to the main area (the lady with glasses is now enjoying the electric bubble bath a bit too much) stick my feet in the plunge pool and leave to get dressed.
In the changing room the little girls are running around playing tag, and Dad placates them from the men's changing room next door (the two rooms are joined at the ceiling). I think that it's nice that the whole family come here to enjoy bathtime.
I leave feeling cleansed and refreshed but mostly struck with how charming the experience is. How nice it is to be so used to one another's bodies, to not be judged and not feel ashamed and to be equalised. To go bathing naked with mum and grandma and your little nieces, with dad a partition away and that be totally normal and pleasant. I have gotten naked with the Japanese and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Oh and when I'm rich and famous- we're definitely getting an outdoor bath.
It looms into view- a bit more grand than the Gion bathhouses which are identifiable by curtains outside with the hirigana "yu" (bath) printed on them. The front boundary is made up of giant boulders and there's a very traditional Japanese looking facade, dimly lit with paper lanterns and a flourescent sign that contains a cartoon drawing of Hokusai's great wave. Inside, I remove my shoes as a smiley elderly women chants "Irashaimase," and without prompting gives me the price in English and points out the ladies entrance. The Japanese are unmatched in helpfullness.
Emma forewarned me about the bath house: "Everyone will stare at your boobs because - you have boobs. Oh, and the bushes! Japanese women take absolutely no notice of their downstairs." I walk into the ladies' changing room and am confronted immediately by naked bodies. Lots of ladies drying their backs with rolled up towels, rolling out their stockings and gossiping . A middle-aged lady stands talking to her friend in a 'power stance' - hands on hips and full on scraggly bush to greet me. I bashfully tip toe over to a locker and try not to stare.
I know how the bath house works and that everyone will be naked- It's the point in trying it out- but I can't help the fact that I feel really awkward. Undressing is the worst part- I feel like everyone's eyes are on me (even though the ladies are actually pretty nochalant) and I sheepishly cower by my locker to hide my clothes in it.
When I'm undressed I demurely wander over to the sinks. There's an ante-room to the actual bath house beyond. It has a long sink with a stack of plastic washing-up bowls at one end. No idea what it's for so I continue onwards. Inside there are a couple of blue-tiled shallow baths to the left, with some attached small bubbling pools. To the right are the shower rows: in the public bath you must wash yourself before bathing. I pull up a tiny plastic stall and start to lather myself in soap and shampoo.
Each 'washing place' has a stall, a mirror, hot and cold push taps and a shower head. There's a young slender woman behind me soaping her hair as her two kids run around her causing havoc, and an old lady next me getting on with soaping her undercarriage.
It feels very normal very quickly. There are women here of every age and I feel that no-one is judging anyone else. There's a fantastic freedom in the nakedness. And there are lots of boobs too- I thought Japanese women didn't have any- but there are enough impressive ones here that I don't feel like some anime mutant sporting beach balls. When I'm done washing I move into the main bath. It's really quite hot and I lean against the edge in case my blood pressure does a number on me. I can see some little kids looking at me sideways. One of them is only about 3 and keeps walking over to stare. I am definitely the odd one out- but none of the adults seem particularly bothered; I imagine tourists are quite common here. I am really worried about etiquette in the bath house, but the old ladies are very kind and tell me what to do if I look confused (such as, one should shower post-sauna) which puts me greatly at ease.
I give all the baths a go; there are a few electric baths, a sauna, a freezing plunge pool and a really hot bath that is too hot for me (there's a hardcore old lady standing in it and I've no idea how she hasn't melted) and when I'm done with these I strut confidently to the outdoor bath, the rotemburo. There's a bucktoothed lady with steamed-up glasses sitting under the tap (enjoying it a bit too much) and a women with a young child in the other end. The child pounds and plays with her mother's breasts and she isn't bothered. The other staring-kid opens the door after me and then runs away, returning with her mother five minutes later. I settle into the water and close my eyes. The rotemburo is uniquely pleasant. Sitting outside of it in the open air after a steam is really refreshing and by this stage I am completely at ease with exposing my body to everyone else.
I don't last very long in the steaming tub. After cooling off outside it I walk back through to the main area (the lady with glasses is now enjoying the electric bubble bath a bit too much) stick my feet in the plunge pool and leave to get dressed.
In the changing room the little girls are running around playing tag, and Dad placates them from the men's changing room next door (the two rooms are joined at the ceiling). I think that it's nice that the whole family come here to enjoy bathtime.
I leave feeling cleansed and refreshed but mostly struck with how charming the experience is. How nice it is to be so used to one another's bodies, to not be judged and not feel ashamed and to be equalised. To go bathing naked with mum and grandma and your little nieces, with dad a partition away and that be totally normal and pleasant. I have gotten naked with the Japanese and thoroughly enjoyed it.
Oh and when I'm rich and famous- we're definitely getting an outdoor bath.
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