Evening at The Manyo Club, Part II: When in Rome...

So...after the hilarious but oh-so-relaxing massage (and after marveling at the dexterity of the masseuse's toes for a few minutes afterward), I was eager to explore the rest of the 8-story spa. While waiting for Samia's massage appointment to wrap up, I strolled through the posh, quiet, dimly-lit building barefoot in my yukata, surrounded by other women & men in similar ensembles. I explored the relaxation room, the observation deck, and the arcade (??). Once Samia was finished, we geared up for the big finale...the hot spring baths.

In Japan, public bath houses are a long-standing tradition. But the baths aren't used for bathing...they're used for soaking/relaxing/curing one's ails/rejuvenating one's spirits. In fact, before entering one of the public baths, you must completely clean yourself...publicly. :) After shyly disrobing, Samia and I made our way (carefully avoiding any glimpses at one other--just not the mental image either of us would prefer to have of the other!) to the rows of bathing stalls to make ourselves suitable for entering the baths. The stalls have short (maybe 3 ft) walls in-between each, but the rows face one another, and each stall has a jumbo mirror...so essentially, at any moment, you can see multiple others "bathing" unless you actively try to avoid it. :) A stool is provided (everyone sits while doing this), as well as a little bucket, a shower hose, and several types of sudsy products. I did my best. :)

From that point, we took our clean selves out into the bath area. This particular spa had at least six baths, and I was determined to try them all...in baby steps. I have to admit that I was a little freaked out by all of the completely naked women walking around as if they were fully confident and fully dressed. :) I guess I have a little more puritan in me than I ever imagined. A couple of the baths were inside...those were nice. However, once I set foot outside into the open air rooftop baths, with their perfectly-temperatured steamy water, their perfectly pressured jets, and their perfectly situated view of Yokohama by night, I finally understood what all of the fuss was about. It was AMAZING. I no longer cared that I was in my birthday suit for dozens of women (and anyone with a camera pointed to this rooftop) to see. I no longer cared that I would be giving a presentation (that was not quite finished) the next day, or that I was still oddly jetlagged, or that my life isn't necessarily what I thought it would be at 32. The moment was dedicated to relaxation, and I was fully living in it.

Did I mention that I love this country?

After the full baths, Samia and I returned to our yukatas and spent the next hour soaking our calves/feet in the hot rooftop footbath, which looked directly out at the Yokohama ferris wheel, lit up beautifully at night. We finally wrapped up our spa visit around 1:00am...six hours after we had first entered for dinner. We kept reminding ourselves of what we would be doing if we were at home right then...and were thankful for every moment that we had at the Manyo Club, instead, that evening.