Japanese Baths and Showers

This young lady does a great job explaining Japanese bathrooms, specifically the shower and tub area.

Let me tell you why this is the aspect I am most excited about when we move....first, I grew up taking baths at night, I don't know if it's because my parents didn't want to deal with the hassle of having a four-person family all clamor for the bathroom in the morning or if it's a hold over from their childhoods.

As it turns out, the Japanese also think of a bath as a way to relax at the end of the day. And they take their relaxation seriously. All tubs are heated with a kerosene heater, pumps pull the water from the tub to the heater, heating it to your specifications and then the water continually remains hot while you soak. No worries about it turning cold halfway through your relaxing bath.

Second, I grew up taking baths. The home I grew up in had a large clawfoot bathtub in the master bathroom. I can probably count the number of times growing up I used the stand up shower in my parents house. Baths just feel right to me and I feel cleaner when I take a bath as opposed to a shower (although 98% of the American population would disagree with me).

So yes, I'm very excited about the bathtub. The one in our house is about 4ft deep and about 5ft in length. The best part is....the bath is located in the shower room (as shown in the video) so you can fill the bath as full as you want and if it overflows....so what...it'll go to the shower drain and no worries, the whole room is designed to be wet.

Ah....can't wait to light some candles, pour a glass of wine, and just soak........sounds wonderful!