In April, The Noritz Group, one of Japan’s leading water heater companies, asked Tokyo Weekender readers to take a short survey to share your opinions and experiences with regards to the bathing customs of Japan, including at home and at sento (public baths) and onsen (hot spring baths). From over 600 responses, we’ve whittled down the data to bring you the insightful – and sometimes entertaining – results.
As for some of the more entertaining responses, here are a few of our favorite reader comments and suggestions…
“The sound of the bath controller is too loud; every time we use it our dog barks like crazy.”
“I wish I could turn on the water from the bath itself. The control button is in the kitchen for some reason…”
“I would like an app on my smartphone to start running or heat up my bath!”
“Have beer vendors walking around the onsen? That would be pretty silly though.”
“I only wish they allowed tattoos. Some of us have small tattoos and got rejected at some onsen.”
“All I know is pressing a button to run a bath has changed everything! And living closer to a Lush. Bath bombs are my life now.”
“More signs in proper English, widely available in onsen and sento.”
So what did we ultimately learn from the survey? After 66 years in the bathing biz, Noritz told us they were interested “to discover that international residents enjoy taking baths as much as people who grew up in Japan.”
Following on from some of the feedback received, they’ll be focusing their attention on adding to their range of high-tech features – for example, the Osouji Yokuso (bath tub cleaning) feature, which makes it possible to automatically clean the bath tub, fill the water and maintain the temperature with just one switch. Also look out for their newly launched high-efficiency gas water heater, the Eco Jozu GT-C2462 series, which carries a UV sterilization unit on the water heater itself to prevent bacteria growing in residual water.
For more information about The Noritz Group, go to www.noritzglobal.com/en
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