On days when the air is razor sharp and the cold is pristine like the ice bought from convenience stores, one aspect of life in Japan is a joy. The bath (ofuro). Tradition (and sense) demand that you cleanse yourself before getting into the tub which today, in the Bloggs household, was heated to 41°C. Soak in it up to the chin for as long as you can take it or until the shouts to get out, because it's someone elses turn, infringe on the daydreaming! Apparently it helps circulation, but more than anything else I don't know a better way of heating the body to the core. A Finnish sauna has way better cleansing attributes, but the Japanese bath warms like no other. There probably isn't a more relaxing way to finish the day. Good night dear readers.
Posted by Joe at January 23, 2004 10:08 PM"Goyamon" to you, sir... "Goyamon!"
None of this tepid 41C. No, sir. A good ole fashioned wood-stoked thermo reactor seering you to the soul, sir.
The father-in-law puts it as high as 43 in the winter. A bit rich for my blood. Hard to get warmed through to the bone when you're being scorched in the process!
Posted by: DJ at January 26, 2004 03:13 PM*sits next to the sutoovu in an otherwise 12 degrees celsius room...*
I wish I had a bath myself...
On particularly cold nights, the Bloggs parents are a bit naughty sometimes and put it up to 43 when it is filling and then down to 40 or 39. That way the youngest Blogg thinks it is 'cooler' than it is. The scorch is only when you get in, after a while 43 feels like 35.
Steven, go to a sento. Great warm baths there.
Posted by: Joe at January 29, 2004 11:19 AM