This is the view from the tub (o-furo) at a hot-springs resort (onsen) in Kanazawa, Japan.
Even if the ocean is inconveniently distant when building your onsen there are other options for a nice bathing environment.
Gero onsen enclosed the o-furo with bamboo screens, delicate trees, and river rocks.
Ha-ha! Mini legs.
Another tub at Gero onsen.
The courtyard in a private home is an opportunity create a beautiful bathing environment.
Even in smaller home a bathing room can be a serene, beautiful place.
Here is the view from the average North American bath-tub.
Why?
Why do we put the clean and the dirty in the same space?
Unable to renovate the bathroom and bring it up to Japanese standards, Keith sketched out some ideas for a work-around.
Coolite Bamboo on Hastings Street in Vancouver sells blinds and screens, cut to measure.
The screen is heavy enough that it stands beautifully on its own. With a potted plant from our balcony, things start to look much better. Perhaps something grassy, with a stone or two, can replace the potted plant in the future.
We'd still like something to hid the tank. Perhaps a framed painting that could come down off the wall when needed.
The screen rolls up and fits nicely into the bathroom cupboard after a relaxing soak.
Aya's father took us to an amazing onsen (hot springs resort) on the coast near Nanao City in Kanazawa Prefecture. There were private tubs on the deck and all sorts of stone baths facing the ocean view. Aya's uncle, Tadahiro, got right down to business with his favourite hobby. He wouldn't put the rod down, even when he was soaking in the tub. His perseverance paid off and the kitchen prepared the fish he caught as part of our dinner that evening.
Breakfast was waiting in our room when we got back from our morning bath. The little grill at top left is for charring the fish cake directly below it. The covered pot contained delicious, silky soft tofu in hot water (yudofu).
Sashimi on a wave of ice. Yes, that is gold leaf on the maguro.
Ta-dah! Steamed crab legs, a local specialty and one of Aya's favourites.
