The 26th of every month is designated as a “風呂の日 (furo day, or bath day)” in Japan.  This comes from the fact that 2 can be pronounced as “fu” and 6 as “ro”; thus, furo or bath day.  We Japanese LOVE bathing, not just on the 26th but every single day of the year.

I had a not-so-great introduction to bath/shower culture in the US at my in-law’s.  I believe I was probably the 3rd or 4th person to take a shower that morning.  The hot water was almost all gone by the time I took a shower, and the water turned cold midway.  I was ひどくショックを受けた (horrified).  This NEVER happens in Japan.  Every household has a tankless 瞬間給湯器 (instant hot-water heater).  There’s always plenty of hot water to go around.

It is not just that our baths have enough hot water anytime; they are also equipped with a 数々の機能 (myriad of features) you can only imagine.  We can program the bathtub to fill itself at a preset time at an exact temperature and perfect amount of hot water.  The program will give you a heads-up before your bath is ready by announcing something like, “あと１分でお風呂が沸きます (your bath will be ready in 1 minute).”  It maintains the same temperature while you’re in the bathtub no matter how long you stay in there.  I have yet to see this type of bath in the US.

And of course, there are 温泉 (hot springs).  Japan sits on multiple 地殻プレート (tectonic plates), which is the reason for an abundance of hot springs.  They are all geothermally heated and rich in minerals.  From the ancient times, we have been immersing ourselves in these healing waters to promote good health and well-being.

Another interesting phenomenon surrounding bathing is 銭湯 (sento, or public bathhouse).  In the past, when not all houses had their own bath, people went to a neighborhood public bathhouse, where they washed, soaked, and socialized.  Most of them had a huge soaking area with a large mural of 富士山 (Mount Fuji) as a backdrop.  Although the number of sento has drastically decreased, there’s a resurgence of new types of public bathhouses which are called スーパー銭湯 (super sento) that provides a spa-like experience.

While writing this article, I am daydreaming about soaking in these healing waters, be it an onsen, super sento, or bathtub at my mom’s house.  And after soaking, you must gulp down a bottle of 冷たい牛乳 (cold milk) with your left hand firmly planted on the hip, just because that’s what you do in Japan.