japanese-styled bath

i had my first japanese-styled bath (ofuro) the other day during my stay in kyoto... wanted to drag my friend along to the public bath but she chickened out at the very last minute... heheh! so... here it goes...

well, changed into my bath robes (yukata) before leaving my room... brought along a face towel and that`s all we`re allowed to bring into the bath area... of course they have separate ones for both gents and ladies lah... a-bu-den!!! inserted my id card and i`m in! heheh! didnt expect to meet any other people coz it was a tuesday morning... but hmm... a few jap women in their late 20s or maybe early 30s... and an old lady (obasan)... had to store my robes and every other thing in the locker... so, well... hazukashi (meaning embarassing) leh... well, removed every single piece of garments... ;p and i actually felt okay lah... in front of strangers... i dont think i have the guts to do so if i went with my friend... well, strangers are okay lah i guess. so, `armed` with a piece of face towel... i went into the bath!

well, basically you have to shower, scrub scrub scrub, wash wash wash in front of this mirror, with a stool... the jap way of bath lah... then, headed for the onsen... hey, with jacuzzi leh! there were only 2 of us in there that day... soaked myself for umm... 10minutes or so then headed for the sauna... boy it was hot in there... didn`t stay too long... and that`s about my first jap-styled bath experience lah... so proud of myself heh! been there, done that! maybe should try the outdoor type next time around! spectacular view from the onsen... wow! the best time to go for an outdoor onsen is during winter i heard! hmm...