Earthquake! While You're In The Bath

 Above, a bathtub in a Tokyo business hotel. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

During my 8 travels to Japan, I have experienced a few tremors while in Tokyo. Thankfully, they were relatively minor ones (around 3.0 on the Richter scale).

But what if a major one hits and it hits while one is in a bath? 

Time Out Tokyo has an article on what to do when an earthquake hits while you're in the bath.

They begin it with:

Japan is no stranger to earthquakes, experiencing about 200 per year with a shindo (intensity) rating of level 1 or more. If you’ve spent a lot of time here, you’re probably used to the tremors that punctuate everyday life in Tokyo. For bigger quakes, the basic safety tips are simple, but have you ever worried about an earthquake hitting at an inconvenient moment? Like while you’re taking a bath? 

To be honest, we hadn’t either, but after seeing these safety tips from online bath accessory retailer Bathlier, we haven’t been able to get the idea out of our heads. Not to worry, though – Bathlier says there are just five steps to remember to ensure you can bathe with confidence again.

To read more, go here. 

Wexas: Top 10 Etiquette Tips For Travelers

Above, the article covers things from bathing to tipping. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

In recent years, Americans have been saddled with being known as "uncouth" or having a lack of manners by foreigners. Naturally, not all Americans are ill-mannered and displaying proper Japanese etiquette while traveling in Japan will go a long way to dissuade people from painting with a broad brush.

Japan is big on proper etiquette. To help some who are clueless on Japanese etiquette, Wexas has posted their top ten etiquette tips for travelers.

They begin with:

From how to conduct yourself in a hot spring to why it’s rude to tip, consider this your introduction to the intricacies of Japanese manners. Don’t let it put you off, however. Although every effort to engage with the local culture will be measurably appreciated, any slips will be met with that famous Japanese politeness. As H. Jackson Brown Jr. opined in his bestselling Life’s Little Instruction Book – “Good manners sometimes means simply putting up with other people’s bad manners”.

To read more, go here. 

Get A Soaking In Tokyo

Above, a communal bath in Tokyo. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

An enterprising gent in Tokyo has compiled a list of Japanese public baths (sentos) in the Tokyo area.

According to Japan Today:

TOKYO —Public baths, or sento, as they’re called in Japanese, used to be an ubiquitous part of Japanese cityscapes. Since the 1950s, though, infrastructure advancements have made private bathing facilities a part of almost every modern residence in Japan, and as a result the number of operating sento has been steadily declining. 

After taking a long look at the writing on the wall, some public baths have decided to call it quits and convert themselves into other sorts of businesses. However, there’s been an uptick in sento interest recently, with some young adults being drawn to their retro atmosphere and the affordable luxury of a quick soak without having to travel out of the urban environment. 

So to make speedy sento forays more convenient, Japanese Twitter user @mangetsu1129 began compiling a list of all the sento, super sento (larger-scale public baths), day-use hot springs, and saunas in Tokyo.

The list is now complete and available for viewing at Google Maps. Go here to see it.

To read more, go here.

10 Things That May Surprise You When Visiting Japan

Above, how one enjoys a "sento" or "onsen" in Japan will surprise foreigners. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

People around the world may have read about some of the quirky (or what we may consider quirky) customs of the Japanese people, but are still surprised to see them in-person when visiting Japan for the first time.

RocketNews 24 has an article on the "10 things that might surprise you when you visit Japan."

They begin it with:

When traveling to a foreign country for the first time, no matter how well-prepared you are, there’s sure to be a lot you’ll be surprised by! Let’s take a look at 10 things in Japan that might surprise you when you first hop off the plane. 

With these in mind, you can enjoy your first trip to Japan even more!

To see what the ten things are, go here. 

Japan Easing Up On Tattoos

Above, a Japanese bath. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Foreign visitors to Japan who sport tattoos on their bodies will be able to access some Japanese bath houses. But, there is a caveat.

According to the Japan Times:

Restrictions on tattooed customers at bathing facilities and resort swimming areas are being loosened around the country. 

A number of facilities allow people with tattoos to enter if the tattoos can be covered by stickers. This is aimed at treating foreign tourists, many of whom consider tattoos a fashion item, differently from gangsters, some of whom sport elaborate tattoos. 

With the Olympics and Paralympics scheduled for Tokyo in 2020, some facilities are calling for greater understanding of cultural differences.

I am assuming that the bath houses will supply the stickers. If not, I guess American travelers should visit their presidential candidate's headquarters and stock up on bumper stickers before heading for Japan. Imagine someone climbing into a Japanese bath covered with Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders bumperstickers.

To read more, go here. 

Yen Depreciation and Tax Hike Force Public Baths To Raise Prices

If you plan to use a public bath in Japan, it may just cost you a little bit more to to do so.

The Mainichi Shimbun reported:

About half of "sento" or public baths across Japan are raising or plan to raise admission charges due to an April consumption tax hike and rising fuel costs triggered by the yen's depreciation. 

Public baths are essentially nonprofit operations for people without a bath at home, and have been subject to the nation's price control law which went into effect after World War II to fight inflation. Prefectural governors set admission after deliberations by councils and similar entities of each of Tokyo and 46 other prefectures. Leisure-oriented enterprises such as ''Super Sento'' and ''Day Trip Spa,'' however, are not bound by the law.

To read the full story, go here. 

Japan's Public Bathhouses Becoming More Foreigner-friendly

Above, a public bath in a business hotel.  Photo by Armand Vaquer.

One aspect of Japanese culture is the public bathhouses.

With the 2020 Olympic Games coming to Tokyo, public bath facilities are making a big push to be more foreigner-friendly in preparation.

According to the Japan Times:

Tokyo’s “sento” public bathhouses are making an effort to become foreigner-friendly by printing multilingual brochures and posters to explain Japan’s communal bathing etiquette ahead of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. 

“We know some foreign travelers have shown interest in the bathhouses as a unique aspect of Japanese culture,” Katsutoshi Kuromasa, a section chief at the Tokyo Sento Association, said Friday. He added that member bathhouse operators in popular tourist spots like Asakusa in Taito Ward have recently seen more foreigners trying out the mass baths.

To read the full article, go here.