Sentō & wandering

Had a japanese lesson today, then I wandered a bit in the Nagaokakyo area. There a lot of places right nearby that I haven't been, specifically local shrines, the Kyoto race track, the Kyoto brewery, but I didn't do any of those. I went into a few small little shops, a liquor store with an impressive whiskey selection, a large grocery store, music store, walked streets I haven't been on. I went into a book store, browsed around the magazines. I think it's interesting with Japanese publications, though the entire inside magazine may be written in Japanese, there is still likely to be a word or two of english on the front cover. It's like a subliminal language lesson for the whole country.

I looked through some magazines on book binding, and japanese art, computers, gadgets, technology, then when I had my fill, I went to check out a local sentō. This is a public bath, and I may have been confusing you by having said onsen too much, as these specifically refer to naturally heated spring water. My bad.

Anyone that visits Japan should experience a sentō. Traditionally, a lot of japanese homes and apartments did not have showers or baths (some still don't), and with cleanliness being important nonetheless (especially in hot sticky summers), public baths became a necessity instead of a luxury. The serving hours are usually 11am-1am, or something like that, with weekends being 8am open. They're cheap, 300-400¥, though the more popular ones can be a bit more expensive (one right by Kyoto station is 750¥. I've gone to a few different ones, and the first in Kyoto was the most lame and I would never go again, not having a sauna, herbal, bubbling, searing hot, or cold that so many others have. There's no time limit at these places, go in, wash off, then relax however you want. I usually go sauna/cold tub a few times, also the herbal and simple hot. The tubs are often big enough to stretch my legs out, but tubs for herbal or cold might be tiny that you just sit in. Some are old, one in Kyoto had wooden carvings in the changing room, and an open air section where you could hear the rain beating on wooden slats overhead.

I've talked to other foreigners about public baths in Japan, and how they probably would not work in the western world, people would attach too much sexuality to it, or be too conservative, or feel it too deviant, crazy to pay for a bath, poor business model without a client base, or any number of other things. It's to get clean, and to relax, the western world would lose sight of that, and it's a shame.

(P.S. If I ever have a jacuzzi, I will so have a cold tub to go with it.)