Technology

Y'all gotta try some Korean spas, they have them even in the US.

Those are super relaxing and luxurious.

First you shower, then you get REALLY clean by exfoliating your entire outer carapace, or paying someone to do it. You're not properly exfoliated until you have flecks of your dead skin flying off.

Then you take a nice hot soak in a series of increasingly warmer hot baths.

Finish it off with a plunge in cold water.

Yes, there are other folks of the same gender. Nobody really cares, you just do your own thing.

Walk out to the lobby, hang out with friends and eat some freshly made Korean comfort food, feeling like a new person.

My friend took me to one after a long day at a theme park, and it's changed everything, and now Korean spas are mandatory after each theme park. Instead of ending the day tired and sore, you're relaxed, and generally feel rejuvenated. Ending the night quietly enjoying some snacks with friends feeling the cleanest you've ever felt, in a place designed to make you feel warm, comfortable, and safe, is incredible.

I think not.

We've been bathing in private for the past 200 or so years hereabouts. It is difficult, if not improbable, to reverse such a trend in society and culture so quickly.

While I may actually feel this is a thing that society might benefit from; I don't see this happening outside of nations with a lower societal taboo, and more robust cultural norms and practices on the subject of nudity. It works in Japan simply because that's how their entire society has been structured from the start, and their society largely agreed that communal bathhouses made much more sense logistically and economically; largely due to the fact that it is an island nation, and land space is more precious there.

Furthermore; I personally also prefer privacy. As a trans individual; that privacy is strongly necessary to me for many valid reasons concerning my own safety and health; and for ensuring others do not feel unsafe; regardless of their reasons for feeling that way.

Society is not ready for this kind of thing anymore and has mostly chosen to abandon the practice to antiquity.

As it seems to work for Japan, it might be worth a try or at least some time investment to see if the system is sustainable

also:
Spirited Away - Bathhouse Scene🤗

i would have liked it if this had offered a COVID perspective on communal baths. i'm inclined to think that a hot moist environment is a likely place for it to flourish, and it seems odd to neglect to mention that three years of a pandemic probably had an outsize impact on the number of bathhouses still open in 2022

obviously we probably don't have a ton of data on how to circulate air and filter COVID out of bathhouses, but i also bet there's a way to do it in a relatively energy efficient way

anyways, it feels like a major spot that's lacking in an otherwise informative and well thought out read

Iceland runs plenty of these and has a nice culture of frequenting the public bathhouse. It's one of the few things you can do that is actually affordable there.

They do have the advantage of having essentially infinite clean energy in the form of geothermal heat. As do Japan in many cases, for that matter. I'm sure that has something to do with these institutions having staying power there.

Anyway, I think this idea has merits, but not as an energy saving measure. The reason for this is that in order to maintain good water quality, you have to shower thoroughly before getting into the bath, negating the potential energy benefits of the initiative. We can bring it back for it being nice, though!