I still have a post on Japan with more photos, it takes a long time to sort out the photos and post them, so it’ll come later. Meanwhile, lets talk about some cultural difference.

Here are 2 things that I found :

Credit : Hotel Gran Spa

Onsen Culture
The onsen that was located in my hotel, has 5 indoor pools and 1 outdoor pool (all heated of course from natural hot spring water). There’s a sauna and a steam bath, and also a pool with cold water. There’s a public shower area with partitions. Each comes with a shower, a tap, a stool, own set of toiletries on a low top (you are meant to sit on the stool to bath). The side partitions are not higher than 2 feet (you can’t really cover yourself if someone is using the shower next to you).

The first time I stepped into the room where the onsen is, I was wrapped in towel, and all the other females who were stark naked stared at me.
Ok, so we have to be naked once we stepped in. When you are in Rome, do what the Romans do. I walked out and did the same, nobody knew me anyway.

The ladies come in different age, shapes and sizes. I’d seen 1.5yrs old to probably 80yrs old walking about.
Nobody covered themselves when they moved from one pool to another. Nobody paid any attention to people’s body parts like I did. I couldn’t help it, I’d never seen so many naked bodies live before!
Some of them come with a friend, and they’ll be chatting to each other with their lower body submerged (hey! there’s still the upper body).

Some of the friends shower together. Imagine, taking shower with your friends? I’d seen women exfoliating themselves, standing with their legs lifted on the stool, and talking with their friend in the next shower, taking their time.
I don’t think I have friends who are close enough to do this with me. Even if I did shower with a friend, we’ll probably pretend not to look at each other, and quickly have our shower done. Not the Japanese, they shower, they talk, like chatting over a cup of coffee. A few even asked each other to help them scrub the unreachable places!

Then my colleagues told me the onsen in the Hotel that I stayed is quite famous in Hachioji, sometimes they have department events there. Imagine! Your colleagues and you all together naked! Although the females and the males are in separate sections, but still..?
I can’t imagine myself doing that with my co-workers.
Or worse still, being in the onsen with your boss? Yikes.

Bathing with their kids
While we were talking about my reaction to the onsen culture over dinner with a few closer Japanese colleagues, one of them suddenly sighed. (The conversation went something like this.)
“My daughters don’t want to bath with me any more.”
But how old are they?
“20, and 16.”
Since when they stopped?
“When they were about 12.”
When you say bath, do you mean you give them a quick shower or was it more to spend time with them?
” To spend time.”
I think 12 is about right they stopped.
“But some daughters allow their father to bath them even when they are in their twenties.”
Then I turned to the only Japanese female colleague present, what about you, when did you stop?
“Around 11~12.”
Would you mind bathing with your father at this age?
“Of course! But I don’t mind bathing with my grandfather.”

I don’t think there’s any thing dirty about the father bathing their daughters, but I don’t think I want my girls to be taking even a quick shower with Daddy when they have reached puberty.