Thank you for the recommendation on my "Yesterday" article. It was a serious labour of love and I'm glad it resonated for you. <3
I love this week's post so much. some random observations:
I tried really hard not to have any plants, but there were three here when I moved in, gasping for oxygen on the windowsill, so what could I do? I give them showers with the mister on the hose and they seem happier afterwards. A shower is like rain, so I suspect it's a plant's preferred method of drinking.
I'm now paranoid about all of the times I've unsubscribed and whether or not they took....
Boba weirds me out. I tried, I did. But those slimy little balls.... good on you for not being bothered by that.
And good on you for having gone to the spa. Those are the sorts of things that also weird me out -- being an only child perhaps, and not used to sharing a bathroom. But I always wonder what goes on, and I loved getting a (modest g-rated) peek behind those mysterious doors.
And as far as spas, the nudity is along gender lines, but certainly unusual for the United States we're even a glimpse of a woman's nipple makes people crazy. For me, that's not really an issue, I'm not there to see naked bodies and expects the same from other's there. Even for the first time in Japan it wasn't something notable. I had read that others would be naked and just went with the flow. The hot pools didn't hurt.
I expect it's like what people say at nudist colonies. After a while you start to feel self-conscious if you're the only one with clothes on.
I was an art model for a while in college. It wasn't that weird after a while. They're not really looking at your body. They're looking at the lines and curves. At a spa they're probably not even doing that.
There are a few people I primarily know from spa (a writers' group meets at the Wii Spa). And when I run into those people in some other context outside of the spa, the fact they are clothed feels faintly kinky and obscene.
Korean spas are superior to Japanese sento. This is because the former have akasuri body exfoliation, abrasion, rip, and tear services. Having two layers of skin unceremoniously removed by scratchy sponges and determined Korean people is vastly underrated. I once was fool enough to ignore the instructions the bath master gave me and reported into akasuri without having first hot soaked for the prescribed 15 minutes. It was just too damn hot in the tub. (I almost started to cry, the akasuri was so painful for my incorrectly prepped skin.) Next time I followed instructions and after 15 minutes being boiled alive, the akasuri came as pure pleasure to my almost passed out body.
Best massage of my life? In the basement of the Shilla Hotel in Seoul. A 72-year-old, 5’ 4” grand dad climbed all over me beating the holy crap out of me. He was kicking, punching, slamming. Gramps found, manipulated, and rearranged knots and cramps I had no idea existed.
Japan is too shy, too do it yourself. Koreans in their spas--a full on paid assault.
With k-spas, the big ones here in LA also have a Jjimjilbang with various co-ed hot and cold rooms away from the wet area as well as restaurants with various spicy foods that make my nose run and my ears steam. So many pleasurable ways to suffer!
Thank you for the recommendation on my "Yesterday" article. It was a serious labour of love and I'm glad it resonated for you. <3
I love this week's post so much. some random observations:
I tried really hard not to have any plants, but there were three here when I moved in, gasping for oxygen on the windowsill, so what could I do? I give them showers with the mister on the hose and they seem happier afterwards. A shower is like rain, so I suspect it's a plant's preferred method of drinking.
I'm now paranoid about all of the times I've unsubscribed and whether or not they took....
Boba weirds me out. I tried, I did. But those slimy little balls.... good on you for not being bothered by that.
And good on you for having gone to the spa. Those are the sorts of things that also weird me out -- being an only child perhaps, and not used to sharing a bathroom. But I always wonder what goes on, and I loved getting a (modest g-rated) peek behind those mysterious doors.
I like the slimy little balls :)
And as far as spas, the nudity is along gender lines, but certainly unusual for the United States we're even a glimpse of a woman's nipple makes people crazy. For me, that's not really an issue, I'm not there to see naked bodies and expects the same from other's there. Even for the first time in Japan it wasn't something notable. I had read that others would be naked and just went with the flow. The hot pools didn't hurt.
I expect it's like what people say at nudist colonies. After a while you start to feel self-conscious if you're the only one with clothes on.
I was an art model for a while in college. It wasn't that weird after a while. They're not really looking at your body. They're looking at the lines and curves. At a spa they're probably not even doing that.
No, I'd think they're not.
There are a few people I primarily know from spa (a writers' group meets at the Wii Spa). And when I run into those people in some other context outside of the spa, the fact they are clothed feels faintly kinky and obscene.
Only to you, Dan! 😁
Korean spas are superior to Japanese sento. This is because the former have akasuri body exfoliation, abrasion, rip, and tear services. Having two layers of skin unceremoniously removed by scratchy sponges and determined Korean people is vastly underrated. I once was fool enough to ignore the instructions the bath master gave me and reported into akasuri without having first hot soaked for the prescribed 15 minutes. It was just too damn hot in the tub. (I almost started to cry, the akasuri was so painful for my incorrectly prepped skin.) Next time I followed instructions and after 15 minutes being boiled alive, the akasuri came as pure pleasure to my almost passed out body.
Best massage of my life? In the basement of the Shilla Hotel in Seoul. A 72-year-old, 5’ 4” grand dad climbed all over me beating the holy crap out of me. He was kicking, punching, slamming. Gramps found, manipulated, and rearranged knots and cramps I had no idea existed.
Japan is too shy, too do it yourself. Koreans in their spas--a full on paid assault.
With k-spas, the big ones here in LA also have a Jjimjilbang with various co-ed hot and cold rooms away from the wet area as well as restaurants with various spicy foods that make my nose run and my ears steam. So many pleasurable ways to suffer!