When you arrive at your inn, a basket is ready for you in your room. Inside are a bath towel, a robe (yukata), a sash, a washcloth ( and a toothbrush - not for the bath, per se, but interesting because you really could travel to Japan & not bring a toothbrush). Because it is Fall, the basket also includes an over-robe to use if you get cold (Karen - that is what that brown silk robe that Dad had is. So interesting to see all kinds of things that Dad brought back from Japan and have an 'aha' moment). The over-robe also has a pocket; the yakuda does not. If you are a couple, you still get one basket, but every item is doubled.
Our 'deconstructed' basket at the Narai inn. Yukatas and sashes still in basket, towels, and washcloth/toothbrush bags below basket. To the right is the open tea set box. A tea set is also normally provided in each inn room, along with a thermos of hot water. A canister of green tea is included in the tea set box.
In my yukata at Kiso-Fukushima Inn. (No, not THAT Fukushima).
There will be two baths - one for the men, and one for the women. I think the general convention is the door hangings are blue for men & red for women ( I'm still haunted by my Hungarian spa experience, where I entered the men's changing room by mistake). 
Once inside, you'll find a changing room.
Each cubicle has a basket to put your belongings in. Disrobe, and it's time for the next step; a full cleansing before entering the bath.
Then get ready for heaven - a long soak in the tub. In this case, you can also see an outdoor tub.
In your future defense, the 'noren,' the curtains that hang at entrances, are color coded for those who cannot read the kanji for male and female. The blue is the men's bath, the red is the women's.
ReplyDeleteI mean, how were you to know the Monks at Koyasan would do a switcheroo ?
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DeleteThank goodness you posted - my sister accused me of premeditation! My mother just burst out laughing when I told her.
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