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Desire
By Michelle | June 11, 2008
We all have things we dream of — those little bits and piece of life that never fail to stir somewhere deep inside our hearts and minds the subtle pull of desire. Each to their own vices, I guess you could say. I love onsen. Or rather, it doesn’t even have to be a full-blown, all-the-bells-and-whistles hot spring. I simply love Japanese-style baths.
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In Japan, the most simple kind of public bathing facility– you know, your on-the-corner, mom-and-pop bath house — is called a sento (that’s 銭湯). Once fairly common, now increasingly less so, in a society where everyone bathed regularly but most dwellings lacked private bathing facilities, they were an essential part of traditional Japanese urban life. Although the popularity of sento declined in the Meiji, pre-WWII period, sento culture experienced a revival in post-war Japan when many apartment complexes were constructed without baths (to save money, perhaps?). |
Today, the future of these bath houses is unclear. Obviously, everyone has indoor plumbing, and some young people today are embarrassed by the idea of communal bathing. Perhaps I’m just a sentimental foreigner, but personally I’d hate to see this integral part of Japanese culture disappear.
And now for some eye candy… check out these facilities at the Kasuga Hotel in Nara. If only someone in Washington DC would simply get with the program and build something like this…
Topics: Japan |