(no subject)
Yes, it's a post that didn't take seventeen weeks to come after the last one! Well, this one Won't take long, but it is a chance for me to tell all of you about the GLORIES of Sento.
Sento are basically Japanese public baths, but the glory only begins there. Many people might be familiar with the term 'onsen,' the name of the Japanese hot springs and bath houses. Sento is different. They are much more common and affordable than the onsen, as onsen are often accompanied with a hotel style living and bells and whistles on top of everything. Sento are just little public baths where you can go to wash up and soak in steaming hot tubs. Yet again, the glory of sento only begins there.
As with much of traditional Japanese culture there is a very specific procedure to the whole thing. As you enter the building you, just as in many places in Japan, remove your shoes at the door and place them in a small locker while you are inside. You then go in from the entryway to your genders side (public baths, public nudity, thus separate sides for men and women), pay the fee (this place was only 410 yen and that was with the cost of a towel) and are in another room lined with lockers. Here you strip down and put all of your bags and clothes into one of the lockers. Stepping through some sliding glass doors you are then in the room with the baths. Here is where the magic happens.
Each side is lined with faucets with hot and cold knobs, as well as a small shower head. You grab a small plastic stool and a small bucket and sit down in front of one of the faucets. You begin by washing yourself with the hot water, filling up your bucket and pouring it over yourself. At this point you will wash up with soap and shampoo as the baths that follow are to soak in, not to wash in. You continue to wash up for a bit and then rinse yourself off, still with bucket fulls of the hot water. The shower head is there to use if you want, and it is quite nice. The towel you have was the only one you had for the entire process. It's not too big, but you don't really need it to be. Zack said that you can soak it in water from your bucket and wring it out, but shouldn't do so more than once or twice. From here, once you are rinsed off, you pour some hot water over your stool to rinse it off, and can then leave it there with the bucket turned over on top of it and the faucet. Then you head off to soak in the steaming hot baths, and these are HOT. The temperature was up around 43/45C or so (109/113F) and the baths had ledges in the tub so you could sit and have your shoulders and head stay above water. One of the tubs had jets that you could sit in front of to have them hit your back (and it was WONDERFUL) while you soaked. The towel can be used to wipe sweat from your face while soaking in these tubs (and you WILL sweat at least some) but you shouldn't actually put it in the bath water. On similar lines, it's good to splash water over your shoulders to help cover the entire back with the water, but you shouldn't splash your face too much (a couple times is ok) since you would be washing sweat into the bath water. After soaking for a while (Zack said a good rule of thumb is at least 100 seconds, or really as long as you can stay in) you get out of the tub and back over to your stool. Now, since you have been soaking in really hot water, you fill your bucket with cold water and pour it over yourself. Now, it felt nice to rinse off with warm water to begin with, it felt great to soak in the hot water, and it felt amazing to then pour cold water over yourself. (It reminded me of sitting in my Aunt Kit's sauna for a while, and then diving into the cold lake) Once you have rinsed yourself off again, you can soap up again and clean yourself up since there might be some sweat and whatnot to wash off, but once ready you head back into the hot water. From there, the process repeats itself as many times as you wish until you feel you are done. You finish up after pouring the cold water back over yourself, rinsing off the stool and bucket, and putting them back where you got them. From here, using the same towel, you dry off from the head to the waist, wringing out the towel as you need to. Then you step out of the sliding glass doors and dry off the legs, get dressed, and drop off your towel so it can be washed. The whole affair is amazingly refreshing and relaxing. I seriously haven't felt so good after any other bath that I can remember.
In addition, sento, traditionally, are much like the tea houses from old Europe. It is the place where friends would gather, relax, and talk with each other. Also, since much of traditional Japanese culture results in the build up of a lot of stress they were a very important part of helping to relieve that. They are, unfortunately, becoming less and less common in modern times but are still a fantastic place to go after a long day.
After the sento, Zack, Luke, and I wandered off, ended up at a kaitensushi place (sushi places that have plates on the little rotating tracks), had a few plates of delicious sushi (that was actually quite cheap and really good), and then snagged some ice cream from the 7-11 across the street and wandered home. Needless to say, I slept like a baby last night.
That took longer than I had planned... but it was freakin' worth it. Sento are amazing, and we have plans to go back on Sunday after Zack's Judo match. So, once again, farewell to you all and I hope to talk to you soon!
Sento are basically Japanese public baths, but the glory only begins there. Many people might be familiar with the term 'onsen,' the name of the Japanese hot springs and bath houses. Sento is different. They are much more common and affordable than the onsen, as onsen are often accompanied with a hotel style living and bells and whistles on top of everything. Sento are just little public baths where you can go to wash up and soak in steaming hot tubs. Yet again, the glory of sento only begins there.
As with much of traditional Japanese culture there is a very specific procedure to the whole thing. As you enter the building you, just as in many places in Japan, remove your shoes at the door and place them in a small locker while you are inside. You then go in from the entryway to your genders side (public baths, public nudity, thus separate sides for men and women), pay the fee (this place was only 410 yen and that was with the cost of a towel) and are in another room lined with lockers. Here you strip down and put all of your bags and clothes into one of the lockers. Stepping through some sliding glass doors you are then in the room with the baths. Here is where the magic happens.
Each side is lined with faucets with hot and cold knobs, as well as a small shower head. You grab a small plastic stool and a small bucket and sit down in front of one of the faucets. You begin by washing yourself with the hot water, filling up your bucket and pouring it over yourself. At this point you will wash up with soap and shampoo as the baths that follow are to soak in, not to wash in. You continue to wash up for a bit and then rinse yourself off, still with bucket fulls of the hot water. The shower head is there to use if you want, and it is quite nice. The towel you have was the only one you had for the entire process. It's not too big, but you don't really need it to be. Zack said that you can soak it in water from your bucket and wring it out, but shouldn't do so more than once or twice. From here, once you are rinsed off, you pour some hot water over your stool to rinse it off, and can then leave it there with the bucket turned over on top of it and the faucet. Then you head off to soak in the steaming hot baths, and these are HOT. The temperature was up around 43/45C or so (109/113F) and the baths had ledges in the tub so you could sit and have your shoulders and head stay above water. One of the tubs had jets that you could sit in front of to have them hit your back (and it was WONDERFUL) while you soaked. The towel can be used to wipe sweat from your face while soaking in these tubs (and you WILL sweat at least some) but you shouldn't actually put it in the bath water. On similar lines, it's good to splash water over your shoulders to help cover the entire back with the water, but you shouldn't splash your face too much (a couple times is ok) since you would be washing sweat into the bath water. After soaking for a while (Zack said a good rule of thumb is at least 100 seconds, or really as long as you can stay in) you get out of the tub and back over to your stool. Now, since you have been soaking in really hot water, you fill your bucket with cold water and pour it over yourself. Now, it felt nice to rinse off with warm water to begin with, it felt great to soak in the hot water, and it felt amazing to then pour cold water over yourself. (It reminded me of sitting in my Aunt Kit's sauna for a while, and then diving into the cold lake) Once you have rinsed yourself off again, you can soap up again and clean yourself up since there might be some sweat and whatnot to wash off, but once ready you head back into the hot water. From there, the process repeats itself as many times as you wish until you feel you are done. You finish up after pouring the cold water back over yourself, rinsing off the stool and bucket, and putting them back where you got them. From here, using the same towel, you dry off from the head to the waist, wringing out the towel as you need to. Then you step out of the sliding glass doors and dry off the legs, get dressed, and drop off your towel so it can be washed. The whole affair is amazingly refreshing and relaxing. I seriously haven't felt so good after any other bath that I can remember.
In addition, sento, traditionally, are much like the tea houses from old Europe. It is the place where friends would gather, relax, and talk with each other. Also, since much of traditional Japanese culture results in the build up of a lot of stress they were a very important part of helping to relieve that. They are, unfortunately, becoming less and less common in modern times but are still a fantastic place to go after a long day.
After the sento, Zack, Luke, and I wandered off, ended up at a kaitensushi place (sushi places that have plates on the little rotating tracks), had a few plates of delicious sushi (that was actually quite cheap and really good), and then snagged some ice cream from the 7-11 across the street and wandered home. Needless to say, I slept like a baby last night.
That took longer than I had planned... but it was freakin' worth it. Sento are amazing, and we have plans to go back on Sunday after Zack's Judo match. So, once again, farewell to you all and I hope to talk to you soon!