Public Baths

Japanese people are, by large, quiet and shy as opposed to Americans who are loud and boisterous. That is why I find it strange that public baths and Hot Springs are so popular in Japan.

When you go to a public bath in Japan you get totally naked and wash yourself clean before getting into the huge hot tub-like bath (they don't even have private stalls to clean yourself, you do it right in front of everyone!) Keep in mind that you are not just totally naked in front of strangers, but friends and family members as well! No matter how outgoing or courageous Americans think they are, this would never fly. Ever.

Japan does have its limits, however, the baths are not co-ed; so all you are going to see are other naked guys and yet it is a big event, a family outing like going to a dinner and the movies, when Japanese families go to public baths. What's the difference between a public bath and a hot spring? Well, public baths are usually indoors and man-made, like giant hot tubs and hot springs are totally natural and usually outdoors. It is really popular to go to hot springs in the winter. The water is so warm that you don't even feel the cold...until you get out!

Japan has a long history of cleanliness though, way back when the only thing the average white European feared more than a bath were witches and demons; the Japanese were taking daily baths and keeping clean much like we do today. It is a fact that if the Europeans in the Dark Ages had just taken baths, even washed their freaking hands, that the Black Plague wouldn't have been able to spread as far and would have only killed a fraction of the people that it had.

Will you ever catch me at a public bath? You are talking to the kid who wore his gym shorts under his pants in school so that the other guys wouldn't see my underwear. What do you think?