When in Japan, Do as the Japanese

As the Vapor's sang, "I'm turning Japanese, I think I'm turning Japanese, I really think so." If I could highlight some things that I found to be uniquely Japanese (or Asian, but likely since Japan conquered them ; ) they would be face masks and sentos.

With the outbreak of SARS, even the West started to see these surgical safeguard popping up on flights. In Japan (at least in the city), I would say 1 out of 50 people sports one of these shields as the run out of the subway. We are still trying to figure out the reason for these masks. So far we have heard it is a.) because the person is sick and does not want to spread his disease, b.) because he is paranoid of getting sick from others, c.) because he feels the air is unclean from pollution, and d.) because it is a fine accessory to knee high socks. Ok, not d.) but if you do know the true reason or have heard another reason, please post a comment. Wyatt had fun drawing grillz on his mask and walking through the busiest subway in the world!

The classic anime movie Spirited Away introduced me to the Japanese public bath (sento), but it did not prepare me for this wonderfully weird experience. We did our first sento on day 5 of the trip and we're hooked...this soon became our pre-dinner ritual. The average age in the sento is around 60 and it is an interesting experience to have a elderly women take you by the hand and try to lead you around the sento speaking only Japanese while you are both completely nude (this is not the place for the modest!). The biggest shock was sitting in a tub for a few moments and then realizing I was being electrocuted! (Yes, electroshock tubs are popular among the Japanese) I quickly departed that tub and sploshed over to the wonderful mineral tub. (something like a hot bath with a giant tea bag in it) We absolutely loved sentos and for an average of $4 a visit, you must make this a daily routine if you are in Japan.

In closing, just a few thoughts on the irony of the face mask and the sento existing in perfect harmony in Japanese culture. Imagine a man wearing the surgical shield on the subway deathly afraid of breathing in air of a fully-clothed, pristinely-dressed stranger 20 feet away in the car. The man exits the subway as quickly as possible, careful not to touch anything, and jogs up the stairs to exit. He turns the corner and enters the building with the Octopus kanji sign. After removing his shoes, his demeanor changes, removing everything, even the face mask. He takes a plastic bin used by several other people that day and enters a public shower room, he sits on a seat next to many au naturel men. Without restraint he enters a hot (bacteria cultivating) tub packed with people. After 30-60 minutes of communal soaking, he dries off, returns the dressing room, puts the face mask on and heads home.

Thought for the day: Diving in head first is sometimes the easiest way to enter the water.