The visitor from abroad in Japan, too, can become the cause of considerable consternation if he should use a Japanese-style bathtub in the Western way. Of course, if he stays only in Western-style hotels, there won't be any trouble. But those who venture to spend a night in a Japanese ryokan should be aware of the different bathtaking custom.
The first thing to keep in mind is that the Japanese bathtub is not for washing. It is for warming your body and relaxing your tired muscles and nerves. If the proper ritual is followed, the Japanese bath melts away the physical and nervous tensions that have accumulated during the day.
And unless the proper ritual is followed, it oucld rutn our to be an uncomfortable experience. You are expected to wash the most obviously dirty parts of your body before entering the tub. for this purpose, a basin and a dwarfish stool whose sitting area seems to be only half enough is provided. You sit on this stool and draw water into the basin from a tap.
When you are warmed up to the bone, you get out of the tub and wash your entire body clean. Rinse off all the soap suds by splashing yourself with plenty of water and then slip back into the tub for a second soak.
Some people condense this ritual into two processes. first, they wash themselves thoroughly clean and then, after rinsing away all soap suds, climb into the tub for one long soak.
The tub water is NOT CHANGED for each bather. Many persons use the same tub water for soaking. Therefore, it is a matter of courtesy for those who go in first to keep the water clean.
If you should soap or scrub your body inside the tub, it is going to cause trouble for the room maid or the bathroom attendant. And you may be regarded as a barbarian who doesn't know how to take a bath in a civilized way - the same thing they must be saying in Paris, London or Los Angeles about that Japanese country hick.