Japanese Public Bath House

OSAKA - SENTO Experience

This post is about the eye opener I had in Japan, getting naked with soooo many men! Oh my goodness, I had never seen so many steamed sausages in boiled water tubs in my life. Muahahahaha!!!...

When I was a student in States, I lived and hung out with only Korean & Japanese students who also became room mates. I heard so much about their heavenly bathing rituals in Korea and Japan which is a daily routine like brushing our teeth. We need to join them in order to understand this bathing rituals which I must confess now that it was truly a very good experience. I overcame all the shyness right away as no one will look at your willy!

In Osaka, we bought the very special '2-Day Pass' which allowed anyone to take unlimited trips on the subway trains and visit any 36 different tourist places for FREE!!! It costs only 2,000 Yen (Less than RM80 / US$23) for the pass and it saved so much money knowing that each train ride will cost over RM10 and entrance tickets to sightseeing places will usually be over RM20-30 per entry. I could not visit all the places and merely covered like 8 places in 2 days! I picked one visit to their so called 'Hot Springs' which is illustrated below, using all borrowed photos!! 

PHOTOGRAPHY & TATTOO-BODIES ARE STRICTLY NOT ALLOWED INSIDE ANY HOT SPRINGS OR PUBLIC BATH HOUSES! (They don't allow tattoos as only the Yakuza gangsters will have these tattoos! Sorry, even if you have small cute tattoos on your neck, legs or arms, they will throw you out)

The Japanese culture is pretty unique and beautiful when one understands them well. They love bathing in the Spas and soak inside the warm mineral water pools at the many Hot Springs. They call it 'Sento' which is more like a luxury public bath Spa in the cities all over Japan whereas 'Onsen' is the traditional Hot Spring resorts located in country sides or near mountains where natural hot springs are available with rich minerals from the under ground. Now I understand why they have nice porcelain and spotless white skin with all the frequent mineral baths and healthier food. If the Japanese eat Goreng Pisangs and Nasi Lemak everyday, they may look oily like us!

One night after a very tiring day walking over 10km, I visited this Hot Springs Spa which was listed in the '2-day Pass'. It is a 'Sento' which is located on the roof top of this actual building.

 

Every Hot Springs Spa will have typical standard facilities and layout, like this vending machine where you just pay your entrance ticket which costs about RM35 to enter. Another vending machine will provide you shavers, combs, creams, gels or whatsoever toiletries you need for a small sum. I went in FREE as the '2-Day Pass' entitled  me a complimentary visit. The Japanese tourism authority is so generous to offer such packages to lure me. I will be visiting Japan again soon!

All the bathing and soaking areas have separate sections for Male (Blue) and Female (Red). You will be given a wrist-key to proceed to the locker area. You have to remove all your clothes and keep them inside the locker before entering the shower area.

You have to sit on the small stool with all the other naked men and towel scrub yourself with the bath foam, shampoo and conditioner provided at your cubicle. No one will look at you and it is not polite to stare at others too.

The luxurious Sento Spa which I went to, had similar cubicles like the above without partitions in between. All the hotels and Spas in Japan seem to use only 'Shiseido Brand' toiletries and the quality was really Super Excellent!

On the female section, everything will be the same in layout and my honey took a while to get used to the sights of Amazon bushes everywhere in the Watermelon farm. Ha ha ha!

After you have washed your whole body clean without any traces of soap, you proceed to parade stark nakedly wet to the hot and icy cold water pools of jacuzzi which is located in the interior section. They have digital temperature readings to show you, how hot each jacuzzi pool was. I loved the jacuzzi very much as the water jets were the STRONGEST I had ever enjoyed. It was really massaging any part of your body really hard and very strong. You can choose to 'massage' your feet soles, back, sides, tummy,  neck or even assholes!!! Wow! Shiok! The guys will move from hots pools to mineral pools and luke warm pools before submerging inside the Icy Cold Water pool for few seconds. They will go back to the hot and warm pools again, repeating the routine as per one's desire. My tired and aching body was instantly rejuvenated to Heavens! That was the best relaxation to remove stress and my skin looked brand new! I will definitely live to 100 years old in Japan.

This photo was the actual shot taken of the Spa I visited, where they created lovely landscaping in the open air. They have lovely green plants & waterfalls around the spas and jacuzzi pools with different small hot water tubs to soak in pairs and gaze the skies! They also have big wooden lanais where many men would lie and sleep like naked baby dolphins!! Many young fathers brought their young and infant sons along to bathe & have fun. I even spotted one huge sized Sumo wrestler who came and jumped into the pool! The water overflowed and I just giggled! What a sight!

Bathing and soaking in these 'Onsen' or 'Sento' pools are so popular with the Japanese folks for centuries and you can find thousands of such Sento havens throughout the country, usually located inside designated buildings or roof tops. I also saw many groups of friends and working colleagues who patronized that spa to relax and chat happily. If they open one in Malaysia, I will organize a Bloggers' Party there! Voila!

I visited the same spa twice and was surprised that more Japanese men in suit attires patronized that place near midnight hours. They smelled of alcohol and heavy nicotine with worn stressed facial looks that needed a good soak in the pools. The most shocking thing was the spa did provide quick massage services which were done by ladies who are clothed, inside the men's area! The naked men just walked bravely around her as if she does not exist! Not me, I hid my willy with the given small towel when I walked passed her! This haven will sure give the tired office workers a good bath and revitalization before they sleep! How nice!

 KYOTO - SENTO Experience

When I toured Kyoto, I decided to try their smaller traditional bath houses which does not have any frills or luxuries. The weather was cold and nice to dip inside the hot jacuzzis. It costs only RM4.00 to enter one which was located in some tiny dark lanes in downtown Kyoto. It was so old fashioned with wooden lockers that used wooden latches as locks!! Inside the lockers, you need to pull out a rattan-cane basket to put your belongings! Smaller sentos are usually operated by retired old couples or the owners themselves. They are friendlier and will politely guide you to the locker area.

 

Everything was small inside like the above photo with worn out floor tiles and furniture. I was told by a good friend who studied in Tokyo that he had to bathe there every night as his tiny studio apartment had no bathing shower facility at all except a squatting toilet. What a humble experience he had and today this friend owns a well known chain of watch shops in Malaysia.

 

I learned a lot about the Japanese culture and loved it.

All the above photos were borrowed for illustration purposes only and will be removed if the owner feels that his copyrights had been violated.

*****

Osaka Day 1 - Shitennoji Temple

I am sorry it took me ages to upload my Japan trip's photos to share as we all shot over 2,000 photos in total! Japan is the best country I have ever visited in my life as their history, environment, people and amazing culture is indeed very rich and truly unique. I will hopefully be visiting again soon as we only spent less than RM2,500 each for entire 8 days trip to Osaka, Kyoto and Nara!! Seeing is Believing!

Yes, that was LESS THAN RM2,500 instead of forking out over RM8,000 to join our specialized "Apple-Orange" Tour Agency! My expenses included return air-ticket, all the hotels, train rides, 3 daily meals and multiple baths at Hot-Springs! We all shopped like crazy women broke loose from Hell and that is additional expenses. Their country's tourism has dipped badly due to the earthquake & Sendai's disaster which drove most hotel operators to offer rock bottom rates at 70-80% discounts which was less than RM200 per night for comfortable 3-4 STAR hotels, not kidding!

Ahem! That's the handsome ME looking excited after touching down at Osaka's Kansai International Airport which is the only floating airport in the world that was built on a huge man-made island! I was truly impressed at the sight of their flood-lit runway in the sea from the aeroplane's window. Upon landing, we all took a high speed train from Kansai airport which raced its way to downtown Osaka and we quickly headed to the famous Ramen noodles stall in Namba, Osaka. We had to pay our orders into the vending machine before the young chefs would serve you. It was a cold Spring night and the hot soupy Ramen was really delicious with generous pieces of sliced pork! I stood by the pavement and ate hungrily like all the Japanese guys did.

That night we all slept at a 3 Star hotel in the happening Shinsaibashi area. The room was cozy and small which is a typical standard size in Japan. Next morning, we walked around the clean and spotless streets, breathing the very cool & refreshing Spring air. All the manhole covers are lovely with individual designs and names of every district. Thousands of folks rode bicycles everywhere along the specially paved cycling lanes where pedestrians walked on too. They have neat rows of parking racks for bicycles all over the country (see photo above). We walked a lot daily to save taxi fares after getting off the trains. I estimated that we walked between 10km to 20km by foot every day until I looked trimmed & burnt off 3kgs! That first day, we headed to the ancient Shitennoji Temple.

This spacious temple has very old statues and paintings inside where photography was strictly forbidden! It was founded by Prince Shotoku in year 593 and the Shintenno-ji is believed to be the oldest Buddhist temple in entire Japan. It is said that the Four Heavenly Kings enshrined in Shintennoji which eventually led Prince Shotoku to a victory against the Monobe who opposed the idea of adopting Buddhism.

 This is the serene looking deity or saint's statue which the Japanese visitors would bow deeply with respect for minutes. Alas, I didn't carry note pad like our seasoned traveling blogger William who never failed to jot down all details and names to share! I should cart him along my future trips!

Look at my honey, jumping like a bird taking flight. She had many crazy photos showing her in 'planking' or jumping poses everywhere, raising the Japanese eyebrows!

The surrounding compound was spaciously clean and neat with their famous patterned lines of pebble stones.

I learnt that the Japanese regarded deep orange as their auspicious colors whereas the Chinese would prefer bright red colors instead.

There were many stalls outside the perimeter of Shitennoji Temple where the folks were selling art wares, paintings and offered services like massages, face paintings as well as snack & beverages.

Caring For My Aged Parents

Ever since my aged parents migrated to KL city, they have been living comfortably in my brother's home. They do miss leaving all their social friends behind to spend their remaining years being around us. They have to visit doctors in various hospitals on weekly basis and that's where I have my duty as a son to fetch them around. My older siblings are in overseas. They often felt very lonely with the new environment here but that's part and parcel of life. Many of their friends and relatives of their age are no longer around too. I started to rekindle my relationship as a son with them after the gap when I went overseas. I treasure these moments and opportunity to pamper them as much as I could.



I have changed a lot after so many hospital visits with my parents. I got to see so many helpless, sickly patients including traumatic ones besides occasional prisoners being brought in too. They came in handcuffs feeling down and embarrassed in public view. I do feel sorry for them.

My mother has knee problems which weakens her mobility. She receives her weekly injections from the surgeon which is followed up by proper exercise immediately. The injections cost RM800 each time and the physiotherapy sessions cost RM149 per hour! That costs a bomb on monthly totals but it has helped her and improved her mobility. I am happy for that no matter how small improvements shown.

I realized the great importance for us to keep our bodies healthy. We need to eat well, sleep well and indulge in proper exercises everyday. Being sickly and helpless is a very sad matter for older patients. Not every aged parents will be able to have their loved ones to tend and care for their needs during their final journey in life.

Spare some thoughts today and listen to your body.
We must love ourselves always!

Met A Korean Celebrity

I almost forgot that my ski trip to Korea had some more photos yet to be uploaded, to continue from my earlier blog post ~ Winter Sonata



At the mountains in Hwacheon, we went to see the amazing ice carvings which were meticulously sculpted by the famous Harbin ice carvers from China. It was even colder inside than the winter temp -25C outside.


It was a spectacular and colourful sight at night to see many fish lanterns being strung up along every street in Hwacheon. Their fresh water fishes are very expensive and cleanest, according to the Korean folks.



Next morning, we were given special invitation by the Korean Tourism Ministry to visit their North/South border point which is out of bound to public. We passed so many sentry checkpoints manned by tough looking young soldiers.

No one is allowed to snap this photo BUT I did cheekily...
This is the view of North Korea with its double border fencing, dividing the 2 countries. Their mountains everywhere in the whole of Korea are very sharp looking and rocky.



At night fall, we arrived at the 5-Star Holiday Inn which has lovely mountain view and well heated large suite complete with separate living and kitchen are! I miss that place so much.



Everyone quickly donned into their heavy ski outfits which were rented from a store many kilometres away! Next time, buy some of your winter stuffs like hats, scarf and ear mufflers from Daiso outlets in KL for RM5 each! I paid mine like over RM100 coz none of my chibai friends taught me to get them from Daiso!

That's me ~ Grandma Twilight in yellow gear, ready to GO! Wooohooo!

They have so many world class ski resorts in their mountains and this one is popular with all night skiing fun for die hards. Many first timers fell, rolled and screamed. I also crashed into their barricade fencing when my braking failed! Kaneeneh it was too bloody icy.



Next morning, we went to their cultural centre after visiting the all-you-can-eat huge strawberries farm. We were taught the traditional way to make the best Kim-Chi with the freshest ingredients where after all our Kim-Chi were donated to the local orphanage.

Here's my "Grandma Twilight's Kim-Chi" and I hope the orphans didn't pass out after eating.


Later, we adjourned to the only well preserved old palace in Seoul which was spared from the cruel bombings of Japan's war.

It is very spacious and unique but not as huge and magnificent as the Forbidden City's Palace in Beijing. We strolled hurriedly around and proceeded to their real 'secret garden' far behind the hills.


This is the enclave of their 'secret garden' where the pavilion sits next to the frozen lake. Their monarchs had their sexual romps openly in this lake and pavilion. I could imagine wine being filled up in the pool with nude concubines swimming and teasing the princes! Just let our dirty imaginations run wild.


Next place, we visited the museum of a typical ancient home of the wealthy Koreans located in downtown Seoul. It was huge with courtyards and traditional winter heating where they laid burning coals under their floor boards! So pandai kan!

Look at their funny way of opening and latching their doors upwards like that!



After a week's fun in the FREEZING winter, we boarded a ferry enroute to Incheon International Airport. I love the sight of these flying hungry seagulls. Thousands of them flew to our boat and picked any food and crackers we offered. How nice to be a free bird, I thought?

On board the Korean Airlines flight home, we all hurdled to the back of the plane.
On my right, was a young tall Korean guy seated with his hands glued to his PSP watching a movie. The plane took off into the sunset and that's when the activities came to live.

Barely 20 minutes into the high clouds, 2 young teenaged girls giggled and came up to my right to approach this guy. They asked for his autograph!!! Wow! Wow!

Minutes passed, I lost count on the number of young teens parading to him to ask for his autographs using their T-shirts, Jackets, Papers, Books and anything they wore. Oh my, I took a good look at him and I really had no idea who he was! My entourage Malaysian gang kept saying that he was tall, so handsome and soooo gorgeous leng chai!

Alamak! We still had no idea who he was and they just snapped his photos non stop as well as making me the broker to get his autographs for them all without a fee. He kept smiling and repeatedly said "Thank You" very softly.




At midnight, I got home and googled my computer to find out his name!





Now guess who?




He is Korea's Badminton Star & Heartthrob.





Lee Yong Dae

My Sweetest Friend

It was a trip down memory lane when an old buddy returned from New York City. Gary had been away for some 20 years at the Big Apple working in a Chinese restaurant somewhere in Manhattan's suburbs called Flushing.

Obviously, I rounded up Peter and his newly married wife to meet up with Gary for a cuppa at Starbie's. Gary and I knew Peter way before he met with the swimming pool mishap that paralyzed him severely at his neuro-spine.

Peter has struggled a long way on wheelchair, eventually became our country's top blogger for his vocal & rights for the handicaps. He was so noisy that Datuk Sharizat took notice of him.

Go read his blog.

Peter, his wife and I.

Gary is another Kopi-O addict besides smoking heavily and gambling almost nightly at Trump's casinos in Atlantic City for years till his losses chalked up to over RM100K. A mighty bastard with no brains I would label him.

However, since my return from New York City in the 90s, Gary had sworn that he would kick the gambling habits which he successfully and proudly adhered.

This trip back home, he's catching up a flight soon to unite with his fiancee in Shanghai where he hopes to venture into some Shanghai Bunds!

Damn it, doctors have pronounced him unfit and grounded him.

They found that his uric acid level is very high with dangerous level & amount of bacteria, swarming all over his stomach which could lead to cancer.

I was damn shocked to hear that all his bacteria came from eating nightly plateful left-overs of raw sashimi and sushis at the NYC's Chinese Restaurant where he worked. That went on for over a decade!

No wonder, the bacterias have mushroomed and built nests in his brains too, resulting him to suffer from loss of memory in recognizing most old friends!

Look at him, he courts danger with the amount of sugar for his cup of coffee! He has ripped off 10 strips of Brown Sugar into his cup! Gary is a @#$% moron!

This is the last shot of his sugar - 13 strips!!!!!!!!

Yes, Gary is my "sweetest" friend!

No.98 Krabi Road, Phuket

It had been my lifetime dream to visit the ancestral home where my parents got married in Phuket some 50 years ago. My grandpa who was the CPO in Phuket then, was also the CPO in Krabi prior to that, where both towns come under the county of Nakhon Si Thammarat. 

I have taken the trouble to dig out many wedding albums of my parents but I am too lazy to scan them all. So I am posting just 4 will do lah.

The above photo shows my dashing father and mum being flanked by my Grandpa and Grandma. Do I look like my grandma? LMAO!

My parents wedding was held at No.98 Krabi Road, Phuket where it has become a museum today. It houses the finest antique collections from China and this mansion belongs to my great uncle who was then, the wealthiest tin miner in Phuket. Their family alone has 3 huge mansions where I heard tin ore was later found in the lawn of one of the houses!

My grandpa was taking a puff outside the mansion with my parents and grandma behind.

At the wedding reception, here my parents were photographed chatting with the Governor of Phuket.

I am posting this group photo which seemed hilarious to me. They were all so many men and I guess they were police officers! My grandpa actually forbade my mum to marry my dad as he felt that he would be losing his daughter to some foreigners who could not give her the good lifestyle.

After 11 years of endurance, my grandpa finally gave away his princess to my dad for his patience!

Please view this You Tube to get the earlier complete look of the mansion:

http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3DzPYr5-YhLIg

This is the same house TODAY which has been fenced off in front. The 'group photo' posted above was taken at the spot where the fence is today. They are building many new shop lots in front now and they still have several acres behind and beside the bloody big house!

This is the side entrance of the Chinpracha House which is a public museum today. I guess his "Chinpracha" title was given by the King Rama the 5th of Thailand. 

Hollywood's film director Oliver Stone has filmed a movie part in this mansion too.

I was walking curiously everywhere looking at all the familiar photos of some relatives. I think Leumas would have labeled it as another haunted house in his blog.

This is the mother of pearl-laid tea table by the court yard. Come join me to have teh tarek here!

The same furniture used by my parents for the typical Thai wedding ceremony.

This must be the Princess Michi of Phuket! Muahahahaha!

I was looking at the room and poster bed where my dad spent his night.

All the furnitures were imported from France and China which have all survived through the 3 generations. 

This is the indoor court yard which has nice Roman pillars and shallow water features. I have finally closed this chapter of the wedding house and my next trail would be a trip again to Phuket & Krabi to seek a temple's shrine built in the memory of my grandpa's name.