Spa on Steriods

Happy New Year! I spent two hours on the eve of this popular Japanese holiday enjoying a wonderful cultural experience--the public baths.

I went as the guest of one host family's father. We locked up our belongings & clothes save for a small hand towel, then entered the men's side. First came the water-only shower, to ensure that any dirt would not be carried into public pools. Then it was off into the various wonders provided for our relaxation: hot tubs indoor and out; a sauna room; cold baths to better appreciate the hot ones; and a rock slab where you could lie down on the smooth, hot-H2O-covered surface.

This was a wonderful break from long days with nothing warm outside 8-minutes showers, multiple layers and the occasional room heater. There were, however, two supremely weird and hopefully unique features.

#1: Electric massage...in a hot tub! I was pretty sure that water and electricity never mix well, but some foolhardy inventor must have reasoned that running a current through his pool's shallow end would prove invigorating. My host father emerged unscathed after a few minutes of this torturous-sounding treatment, so I had to try it as well. It felt like a strange, pulsating touch on my shoulders, but my hips translated that pressure into pain.

#2: The front wall of the sauna. The European rooms I'd been in before were all-wood and conducive to focusing all your thoughts on sweating, but this one had a built-in clock and TV set! I almost began to suspect that someone had ripped it out of a normal home and stuck it in this most incongruous of locations. There was some sort of screen to protect the gadgets from heat exposure, but no barrier to defend against the intrusion of noise and news. Call me Spartan, but I think some places here should be more private, or at least more conducive to personal interaction than information overload.

Despite these quirks, I am more than willing to sweat it out with some fellow students soon. Given that many Americans still seem hung up about changing in locker rooms, however, I doubt that this trend will hit Stateside anytime soon. I'd invest in the private sauna room business instead.