Monday, November 12, 2007

Bathrooms

First of all, let me thank Lynn and Allie for commenting and letting me know that they liked my daily babbling about Japan on this blog. They are no-reply so I hope they will come back and see how much I appreciate their comments (and all of yours!).

So...I won't worry about this being too trivial and today I will show you our bathroom. Big thrill. This weekend we did housecleaning chores like putting down the winter carpets, giving Choco a bath and cleaning the bathroom. My meticulous husband took the lead in all these tasks and I ran around vacuuming, handing him towels and scrub brushes. The bathroom looks good so that's why I'm inspired to post pictures while it is still presentable.

Usually in America you will find a nice big bathroom with a big mirror on the wall, a shower stall or bathtub, a couple of sinks and a toilet. In Japan, the three main functions of a bathroom, washing, throne sitting and grooming are all done in three different rooms. The toilet sits alone in a small closet like room, the sink and mirror area is combined with the laundry area and the shower and bath is one "room" in itself.

Our whole tub-bathroom is covered from ceiling to floor in tile though some fancier homes will have good smelling wood walls and bathtub. Apartments will often have bath "units" made of pressed fiberglass, and the whole room and bath is set into an apartment wall. At any rate, the whole room is for showering and there is a drain in the floor so that the water runs out. There is a stool in the bathroom for sitting on and also a basin so that you can soap up and rinse off before getting into the tub. The tub water is supposed to stay pristine clean so that numerous members of the family can use the same hot water. Our bathtub is fairly deep and one person can easily sink up to their chin in the hot water. When the kids were little, it was Tetsu's job to give them a bath and the three of them would scrub and soap each other (lots of laughs and fun) and then they'd all get into the bathtub and soak. I remember them playing number games and drawing pictures in the condensation on the wall. When the kids were ready to get out Tetsu would call and I'd come running with a towel and dry them off .

It occurs to me that just the idea of the family taking a bath together may horrify some people and you're right, I do have a daughter and yes she did take a bath with her father and brother. This is the norm in Japan and within the family, the genders mix in the bathtub. Both kids decided they were too old to bathe with each other and dad (and occasionally me) when they were in the fourth or fifth grade. So far no traumas have appeared that could be associated with family nudity.... I repeat! This is the normal way in Japan. My family is not that weird!

In the other room, there is a small unit sink that has a mirror and little plastic doors to hold the toothbrushes etc. That means there is only one sink for a whole family trying to get ready to go to school or work all at the same time. My makeup and toiletries sit around the sink as do Tetsu's shaving things and all the toothbrushes, contact lenses, q-tips and whatever. When four of us lived here and we were all adult size, this was a major battle! Who gets to use the mirror while the rest of us stand around brushing our teeth in the hallway? (This may be another reason why Takumi never got into the habit of shaving and still goes around with a straggly beard. Too crowded in the bathroom in the morning!) The washing machine hums away in one corner while the four cats do their business in another. What a whirlwind of activity goes on in this little room!

And if you want to hear about the toilet (is this getting too personal for everyone?) You can check out a post I wrote about it earlier this year. Whew! I hope I don't get censored for this post. At least the bathroom is clean!

15 comments:

senchia said...

really like the idea of having family bath, but this not a norm in Malaysia.

Bellydancingknitter said...

Hi!
Love your posts about Japan, and this one was great! I really liked reading about the very modern toilets... and the warm seat would be a heavenly treat with the cold weather we are having. In Costa Rica we do not have any type of insulation in homes, so if its hot, its terribly hot, and if its cold, like today, our homes become freezers!

Allie said...

Daily babbling, haha! I love reading about your life, your lovely home and family. I would dearly love a heated toilet seat. Nothing is uninteresting to me, armchair traveler that I am!

I don't have a google account, so I just checked "other" on the comment box. I hope to have a blog myself someday, but I'm afraid it would be pretty boring!

QuiltingFitzy said...

Oh yes! Armchair traveller, perfect description.

I think the family bath is fine, I'm more bothered with more than one person using the water, lol.

Shelina said...

I think it would be easier to share with three separate spaces. There were six people in our family, and there was only one bathroom. And we didn't share - one person at a time. We had a bathroom schedule - and one time I was asked at work to come fifteen minutes earlier - no way - that would have involved getting up two hours earlier! They thought I was making up excuses, but the bathroom schedule was sacred!

harts4Him said...

I love reading about life in Japan! "Every" bit of it is interesting. We all have different cultures around the country and certainly you are not judged for yours. Thank you for sharing your wonderful life with the world.
From a small corner of South Louisiana,
Vanessa

Quilt crazy said...

I enjoy reading about your home and family life. It is interesting to compare to my sisters in Okinawa, which seems to be somewhat americanized. She does have the heated seats with all the extras. Last time I visited I found them too warm. Loved previous post on toilets as last year at the Tokyo Quilt show, I found waiting in line for the few upright toilets well worth the wait! Oregonquilt.blogspot.com

Laurie Ann said...

I love hearing about life in Japan. Very interesting!!!

kate said...

I also love hearing about living in Japan. It's very interesting...especially to a person who has spent all of her life in the midwest of the US. Thanx.

Katie said...

I guess I should de-lurk too and say that I enjoy your posts very much. :)

meggie said...

Always interesting Tanya. I love your little Autumn quilt in your last post too. I love those colours.

andsewitis Holly said...

No, it's not too personal -- it's very interesting! I love your posts, Tanya.

Christine Thresh said...

I'm so glad you can tell us all these fascinating things. I really want to know about different living set-ups, but I would never think to ask.
I think the handwashing fountain is such a good idea. I like the idea of the toilet being in its own little room.
I did read your old post about toilets and it was so interesting. The pictures were great.

atet said...

You know -- the set-up for your bathroom sounds ideal to me. We have one full bath in our house and everything (toilet, sink, mirror, and tub) are in one small (4'x5' of floor space) room. As for the bathing thing -- doesn't phase me at all -- my daughter and I share baths all the time. At some point she won't want Mom around -- but for now we have a blast! And dh will come in and sit with us and play as well!

Katie said...

Some of the newer more expensive houses here in U.S. have the toilet and or shower separated by a door. I have a relative whose little girls bathed with their dad until one day one of them commented to non family person about Daddy's private parts. In the "good old days" when I was a kid, our whole family used the same bath water every Saturday night. The youngest bathed first. Well that is better than my great grandfather's day. He was a lumberjack here in MI and they didn't take a whole bath all winter. I understand the bunk houses were pretty ripe!