Somethings just aren’t quite as simple as one would hope – and taking a bath in Japan is clearly one of those strangely complex things.

I’m used to the etiquette of taking a public bath in Japan – there’s is a space allocated to ‘washing’, and a completely different area used for soaking in the hot water bath. The trick is not to get the soap inside the bath tub. That ruins it for other guests.

But does the same etiquette apply to using a shared bath in an Air BnB?

From the layout of the ‘bathing’ room at Yuuto Village – I’m guessing yes.

The large soaking bathtub is located to the far right of the part of the shower with the hose and the faucets, with it’s own set of faucets. In addition, there is the traditional stool provided – a seat made of plastic intended to be used to sit on while soaping one’s body and eventually rinsing off – before going into the tub. There is even the traditional low mirror, hung carefully so you can see yourself bathing.

This is very nice – but since the guests for the most part are Australians, Europeans and Canadians – I seem to be the only one who realizes that there is a reason for the odd position of the faucet with the hose. All the other guests are trying to stand in the tub to wash…

Maybe this is too much information.

Signing off – The Soup Lady