In the mountains above Nagano, the weather is freezing, but the monkeys are happy. For them, a hot spring is bliss.
And theyre not the only ones to think this is heaven on earth. 00:20
The local people love a bit of monkey business, too, and near zero air temperature isnt going to stand in their way. 00:34
It doesnt matter whether its a hot spring like this one, a bath at home, or perhaps a public bathhouse -- in Japan, theres not much that will come between a bather and a bath.
Woman 1: I have a bath every day it washes away my fatigue.00:57
Woman 2:I love a bath; it makes me relax.
Simkin: For a foreigner, taking a public bath in Japan can be a terrifying experience. Not simply because you have to strip off, but because there are solemn rituals involved, and if you dont follow them, find yourself in very hot water. 01:11
For one thing, whereas in the west you bathe to get clean, in Japan you get clean before you bathe.Kaminski: It was a part of Japanese culture bathing cleaning 01:27
your own body, but at the same time purifying your own body to be ready to contact the gods which are in nature. 01:40
Simkin: Marek Kaminski is an expert on the rituals of bathing. He says the bath is a place where people come to communicate without hierarchies. 01:53
In Japan, if you are a salaryman, you have a salarymans uniform. If you are a policeman, you would have the uniform of the policeman, but when you are coming to public bath you are leaving your social role behind. So for that reason, bath integrates the locals. 02:02
Simkin: In the winter-time, the average Japanese person spends more than thirty minutes a day in the bath and the water can be very hot, usually 42 degrees. According to Japanese tradition, the aim is to attain yudedako, which translates, literally, as boiled octopus". You know youve achieved yudedako when your body turns red. 02:28
Simkin: There's no doubt public baths like this one are incredibly popular, but they also house a dirty little secret. Incredibly, this is one of the most dangerous things you can do in Japan. More people die in the bath each year than die on the roads. 02:52
This man was one of the lucky ones. 03:08
Tanaka: Having a bath is my favourite thing in the world. A public bath is big, spacious and clean. It is a wonderful thing to experience. 03:16
Simkin: Kenji Tanaka was doing what he what he likes to do at least once a day sitting in a bath when he had a brush with death. Without warning, blood rushed from his brain, and the 83 year old passed out. 03:26
Tanaka: Another bather rescued me from the bath and I was put in an ambulance. I was unconscious for 10 to 20 minutes. When I awoke I was afraid, but then I thought, if Im going to die, I dont know a better way to go. 03:44
Simkin: Rescuing people from the bath is becoming a full time job for Japans emergency services. They estimate that a staggering fourteen thousand people die in the bath each year. 04:04
Ambulance man: This is a major issue for Japan. The problem is that not many people understand the risks. We have found that bathroom accidents happen more often in the winter time that is when people should be particularly careful.
04:19
Simkin: Many bath victims die from heart attacks, others because of bleeding in the brain. Doctors still dont know exactly why Japanese baths cause such serious problems, although theyre trying to find out. 04:39
Doctor: We are examining how the blood pressure changes during the bath. It shows about one third of elderly people have a very quick blood pressure change, so its a very big problem, we think.
Simkin: The doctors research suggests that temperature differentials are at the heart of the problem. Doctor: When people enter the bathroom, 05:17 the temperature is very cold. People prefer very hot water, and the temperature change is so quick. 05:25
Simkin: Theres little awareness of the danger. It receives no media attention, and there are certainly no safety campaigns. 05:42
Even if there were, Japans love affair with the bath is so passionate, its unlikely anything even a cold shower would be able to put an end to it.
Credits: Music JAPAN BATHS POSTCARDReporter: Mark SimkinCamera: Geoff LyeEditor: Geoff Lye 06:13
And theyre not the only ones to think this is heaven on earth. 00:20
The local people love a bit of monkey business, too, and near zero air temperature isnt going to stand in their way. 00:34
It doesnt matter whether its a hot spring like this one, a bath at home, or perhaps a public bathhouse -- in Japan, theres not much that will come between a bather and a bath.
Woman 1: I have a bath every day it washes away my fatigue.00:57
Woman 2:I love a bath; it makes me relax.
Simkin: For a foreigner, taking a public bath in Japan can be a terrifying experience. Not simply because you have to strip off, but because there are solemn rituals involved, and if you dont follow them, find yourself in very hot water. 01:11
For one thing, whereas in the west you bathe to get clean, in Japan you get clean before you bathe.Kaminski: It was a part of Japanese culture bathing cleaning 01:27
your own body, but at the same time purifying your own body to be ready to contact the gods which are in nature. 01:40
Simkin: Marek Kaminski is an expert on the rituals of bathing. He says the bath is a place where people come to communicate without hierarchies. 01:53
In Japan, if you are a salaryman, you have a salarymans uniform. If you are a policeman, you would have the uniform of the policeman, but when you are coming to public bath you are leaving your social role behind. So for that reason, bath integrates the locals. 02:02
Simkin: In the winter-time, the average Japanese person spends more than thirty minutes a day in the bath and the water can be very hot, usually 42 degrees. According to Japanese tradition, the aim is to attain yudedako, which translates, literally, as boiled octopus". You know youve achieved yudedako when your body turns red. 02:28
Simkin: There's no doubt public baths like this one are incredibly popular, but they also house a dirty little secret. Incredibly, this is one of the most dangerous things you can do in Japan. More people die in the bath each year than die on the roads. 02:52
This man was one of the lucky ones. 03:08
Tanaka: Having a bath is my favourite thing in the world. A public bath is big, spacious and clean. It is a wonderful thing to experience. 03:16
Simkin: Kenji Tanaka was doing what he what he likes to do at least once a day sitting in a bath when he had a brush with death. Without warning, blood rushed from his brain, and the 83 year old passed out. 03:26
Tanaka: Another bather rescued me from the bath and I was put in an ambulance. I was unconscious for 10 to 20 minutes. When I awoke I was afraid, but then I thought, if Im going to die, I dont know a better way to go. 03:44
Simkin: Rescuing people from the bath is becoming a full time job for Japans emergency services. They estimate that a staggering fourteen thousand people die in the bath each year. 04:04
Ambulance man: This is a major issue for Japan. The problem is that not many people understand the risks. We have found that bathroom accidents happen more often in the winter time that is when people should be particularly careful.
04:19
Simkin: Many bath victims die from heart attacks, others because of bleeding in the brain. Doctors still dont know exactly why Japanese baths cause such serious problems, although theyre trying to find out. 04:39
Doctor: We are examining how the blood pressure changes during the bath. It shows about one third of elderly people have a very quick blood pressure change, so its a very big problem, we think.
Simkin: The doctors research suggests that temperature differentials are at the heart of the problem. Doctor: When people enter the bathroom, 05:17 the temperature is very cold. People prefer very hot water, and the temperature change is so quick. 05:25
Simkin: Theres little awareness of the danger. It receives no media attention, and there are certainly no safety campaigns. 05:42
Even if there were, Japans love affair with the bath is so passionate, its unlikely anything even a cold shower would be able to put an end to it.
Credits: Music JAPAN BATHS POSTCARDReporter: Mark SimkinCamera: Geoff LyeEditor: Geoff Lye 06:13