9 ms·

I live in Japan where Laundromats are often attached to Public Baths. I love going to my local, taking a soak while the load runs, and then coming out and havin

I live in Japan where Laundromats are often attached to Public Baths. I love going to my local, taking a soak while the load runs, and then coming out and having a coffee while my clothes go through the drier. Not much to add.. just felt like professing my love for that Sunday arvo ritual.

justinjlynn 9y ago
That sounds quite nice. I wonder why public baths never really took off in the States. In the records I can find, they seem to have a less than savoury perception.
- circadiam 9y ago
  Have you ever seen a naked average American?
- Veratyr 9y ago
  I don't mean to offend but I suspect it's because people in the USA, at least in cities, just can't take care of public places. There's urine in the train stations (either visible or smellable), elevators shut down by faeces, people shouting, yelling and preaching in the streets, also, toilets, often even in private restaurants, are disgusting. I don't mean to say that things are always like this, all the time or in all cities and I understand that it's a minority of people who cause these problems but the problems are far from uncommon. With a place like a public bath in particular, cleanliness is extremely important and I just can't see it working. It only takes one inconsiderate person relieving them self in the water to ruin it for everyone and I find it hard to believe that in a day in an average US city you wouldn't find such a person. My impression is that it works in Japan because the society is extremely communal and you're far, far less likely to find such an inconsiderate person. I can kind of see it working in smaller US communities where people know and respect each other though. In small communities, everyone knows each other and people are much less likely to be inconsiderate towards friends and acquaintances than they are towards strangers.
  - greggman 9y ago
    Agreed but this isn't just a USA thing. Many countries have a culture not taking care of public places. All of Europe comes to mind. As does China.
    - dijit 9y ago
      Europe is a broad stroke. UK, sure, Sweden.. not so much.
      - Symbiote 9y ago
        Sweden and the UK seem roughly the same to me. The main streets of large cities are perhaps a bit dirtier in England, but the parks in Sweden are far worse when people leave all their trash for the bottle collector (not just the bottles).
        dijit 9y ago
        As a person who grew up in Britain and now live in Sweden in cities with a comparable population size, I disagree. London is an exception when it comes to the UK, there is a lot more investment in public services and it's not a true representation of Britain due to its multicultural component.
        laurencerowe 9y ago
        Sure, London has a level of investment in public services which is unrepresentative of Britain as a whole (though they also pay most of the taxes that fund public services.) But all big cities (and many small ones) are multicultural.
        dijit 9y ago
        that's a stupid point to make. London is more multicultural than the rest of Britain. even if you count the duo-culture the rest of britain has (Pakistani is usually what people refer to when defining "multi-cultural" in the greater context of the UK) then London is still absolutely outclassing everything else by an amazingly wide margin in terms of multi-culturalism. You could argue the Polish influx has created a tri-culture, but really, I lived in London and my neighbors were Russian, Estonian, Finnish, Canadian, South African, Eritrean, Saudi, Indian, Danish, Italian, Brazillian and there was even a girl from Zimbabwe. Nothing like where I came from.. That's a true multi-culture. Regardless, as a person having lived in 2 comparable places in different countries I see a huge difference in the way public spaces are treated (to the benefit of Sweden). I don't doubt that the parent has similar experiences as I wasn't saying it's uncommon. But I have this opinion having actual experience. If you do not have similar experience you are not an authority to tell me how things are. I'm not sure what point you were even trying to make, that Britain has more than just British culture therefore my argument has no ground? :S
- greggman 9y ago
  Certainly hot tubs in San Francisco were mostly closed due to aids or so I am told http://articles.latimes.com/1987-05-08/news/mn-2810_1_gay-bathhouse http://articles.latimes.com/1987-05-08/news/mn-2810_1_gay-ba... Sentos (public baths in Japan) certainly don't have any kind of rep like that AFAIK
- NamTaf 9y ago
  My completely baseless view is that it's entwined with the relative views towards nudity in both cultures. If I had to guess, the age of Europe has forced cultural views of nudity to shape themselves around the presence of necessary public baths in history. In contrast, the relative youth of the US has meant that said cultrual establishment never caught on because private bathing was possible from the get-go of Anglo-US settlement.
- bitwize 9y ago
  I suspect it's a cultural thing. Japanese people are totally okay with group bathing while to Americans bathing is a more private matter. Leaving aside public baths for a moment, Japanese people often bathe together as a family -- something you rarely see here.
- Texasian 9y ago
  Probably Puritanism, a lack of scarcity, a relatively short time between large settlements and indoor plumbing (for most of the country). I wish there were more public baths. There's one around the block from me in Cambridge. It's a wonderful place in the middle of winter.
- subpixel 9y ago
  It's not that they never took off (there used to be many, esp in urban places with lots of European immigrants), its that they run counter to the hyper-individualistic American mindset. And over time, communal features of American civic life have become objects of neglect if not derision (public education, public transport, etc)
- mblack1968 9y ago
  We have "public baths". They are usually called "YMCA's" and they charge a fee. There are saunas and steam rooms and chlorinated swimming pools at most YMCA facilities.
- JBReefer 9y ago
  These responses are peak HN, it's hilarious and disappointing. The actual answer to your question is that tons of cities had beautiful public baths (I live next to a locked one), and shut them down when they became ground zero for AIDS transmission. Men were having risky sex in the locker rooms, and the closing of the public baths is seen as the turning point for the US taking the AIDS crisis seriously. The below address mostly private baths, but the rules ended both. http://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=Sex_Panic_Closes_Bathhouses http://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=Sex_Panic_Closes_Bath... http://www.nytimes.com/1985/10/26/nyregion/state-permits-closing-of-bathhouses-to-cut-aids.html http://www.nytimes.com/1985/10/26/nyregion/state-permits-clo...
- jandrese 9y ago
  I think the answer is much simpler. In the US almost every home has a bathing/showering facility built in. There's not much need for a bathhouse. Because they weren't used by regular people very much, people got this idea that the only reason you would go to one is for some other reason. In reality the total number of incidents of unsavory rendezvous in the bathhouses were probably not much higher than in countries with more extensive public bath house culture, but the percentage of patrons who went there for other reasons was considerably higher. Basically without the normal activity masking it, the unsavory activity stood out.
- peter303 9y ago
  The USA passed the 50% indoor plumbing threshhold between the 1920 and 1930 census, so earlier people must have done something. I believe the question is no longer on the census long form as indoor plumbing is well over 90%. I personally do 80% of bathing at the gym after exercise.
- nitwit005 9y ago
  I suspect it's mostly just the underlying culture. Japan was more into baths/bathing in pre-industrial times than most of the world, and there is hot springs tourism.
_jal 9y ago
Not the same thing at all, but my local laundromat is also a restaurant/bar, and hosts really terrible standup. I'll frequently grab a bite while doing my laundry, and the "comedy" is a useful inspiration to get it done earlier in the day, so I don't have to listen to it. (It is really, truly awful.)
- chadcatlett 9y ago
  By chance is it Brainwash in SoMa?
  - _jal 9y ago
    The standup gave it away, right?
- EADGBE 9y ago
  I saw my first laundromat/bar in college. Thought it was the best idea I've ever seen implemented.
- badwolf 9y ago
  I love the laundromat/bar concept. I was recently in Brooklyn for work and visited the Sunshine Laundromat. Do laundry, then open up the "secret" dryer door to the bar and pinball arcade!

justinjlynn 9y ago

That sounds quite nice. I wonder why public baths never really took off in the States. In the records I can find, they seem to have a less than savoury perception.

circadiam 9y ago
Have you ever seen a naked average American?
Veratyr 9y ago
I don't mean to offend but I suspect it's because people in the USA, at least in cities, just can't take care of public places. There's urine in the train stations (either visible or smellable), elevators shut down by faeces, people shouting, yelling and preaching in the streets, also, toilets, often even in private restaurants, are disgusting. I don't mean to say that things are always like this, all the time or in all cities and I understand that it's a minority of people who cause these problems but the problems are far from uncommon. With a place like a public bath in particular, cleanliness is extremely important and I just can't see it working. It only takes one inconsiderate person relieving them self in the water to ruin it for everyone and I find it hard to believe that in a day in an average US city you wouldn't find such a person. My impression is that it works in Japan because the society is extremely communal and you're far, far less likely to find such an inconsiderate person. I can kind of see it working in smaller US communities where people know and respect each other though. In small communities, everyone knows each other and people are much less likely to be inconsiderate towards friends and acquaintances than they are towards strangers.
- greggman 9y ago
  Agreed but this isn't just a USA thing. Many countries have a culture not taking care of public places. All of Europe comes to mind. As does China.
  - dijit 9y ago
    Europe is a broad stroke. UK, sure, Sweden.. not so much.
    - Symbiote 9y ago
      Sweden and the UK seem roughly the same to me. The main streets of large cities are perhaps a bit dirtier in England, but the parks in Sweden are far worse when people leave all their trash for the bottle collector (not just the bottles).
      - dijit 9y ago
        As a person who grew up in Britain and now live in Sweden in cities with a comparable population size, I disagree. London is an exception when it comes to the UK, there is a lot more investment in public services and it's not a true representation of Britain due to its multicultural component.
        laurencerowe 9y ago
        Sure, London has a level of investment in public services which is unrepresentative of Britain as a whole (though they also pay most of the taxes that fund public services.) But all big cities (and many small ones) are multicultural.
        dijit 9y ago
        that's a stupid point to make. London is more multicultural than the rest of Britain. even if you count the duo-culture the rest of britain has (Pakistani is usually what people refer to when defining "multi-cultural" in the greater context of the UK) then London is still absolutely outclassing everything else by an amazingly wide margin in terms of multi-culturalism. You could argue the Polish influx has created a tri-culture, but really, I lived in London and my neighbors were Russian, Estonian, Finnish, Canadian, South African, Eritrean, Saudi, Indian, Danish, Italian, Brazillian and there was even a girl from Zimbabwe. Nothing like where I came from.. That's a true multi-culture. Regardless, as a person having lived in 2 comparable places in different countries I see a huge difference in the way public spaces are treated (to the benefit of Sweden). I don't doubt that the parent has similar experiences as I wasn't saying it's uncommon. But I have this opinion having actual experience. If you do not have similar experience you are not an authority to tell me how things are. I'm not sure what point you were even trying to make, that Britain has more than just British culture therefore my argument has no ground? :S
greggman 9y ago
Certainly hot tubs in San Francisco were mostly closed due to aids or so I am told http://articles.latimes.com/1987-05-08/news/mn-2810_1_gay-bathhouse http://articles.latimes.com/1987-05-08/news/mn-2810_1_gay-ba... Sentos (public baths in Japan) certainly don't have any kind of rep like that AFAIK
NamTaf 9y ago
My completely baseless view is that it's entwined with the relative views towards nudity in both cultures. If I had to guess, the age of Europe has forced cultural views of nudity to shape themselves around the presence of necessary public baths in history. In contrast, the relative youth of the US has meant that said cultrual establishment never caught on because private bathing was possible from the get-go of Anglo-US settlement.
bitwize 9y ago
I suspect it's a cultural thing. Japanese people are totally okay with group bathing while to Americans bathing is a more private matter. Leaving aside public baths for a moment, Japanese people often bathe together as a family -- something you rarely see here.
Texasian 9y ago
Probably Puritanism, a lack of scarcity, a relatively short time between large settlements and indoor plumbing (for most of the country). I wish there were more public baths. There's one around the block from me in Cambridge. It's a wonderful place in the middle of winter.
subpixel 9y ago
It's not that they never took off (there used to be many, esp in urban places with lots of European immigrants), its that they run counter to the hyper-individualistic American mindset. And over time, communal features of American civic life have become objects of neglect if not derision (public education, public transport, etc)
mblack1968 9y ago
We have "public baths". They are usually called "YMCA's" and they charge a fee. There are saunas and steam rooms and chlorinated swimming pools at most YMCA facilities.
JBReefer 9y ago
These responses are peak HN, it's hilarious and disappointing. The actual answer to your question is that tons of cities had beautiful public baths (I live next to a locked one), and shut them down when they became ground zero for AIDS transmission. Men were having risky sex in the locker rooms, and the closing of the public baths is seen as the turning point for the US taking the AIDS crisis seriously. The below address mostly private baths, but the rules ended both. http://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=Sex_Panic_Closes_Bathhouses http://www.foundsf.org/index.php?title=Sex_Panic_Closes_Bath... http://www.nytimes.com/1985/10/26/nyregion/state-permits-closing-of-bathhouses-to-cut-aids.html http://www.nytimes.com/1985/10/26/nyregion/state-permits-clo...
jandrese 9y ago
I think the answer is much simpler. In the US almost every home has a bathing/showering facility built in. There's not much need for a bathhouse. Because they weren't used by regular people very much, people got this idea that the only reason you would go to one is for some other reason. In reality the total number of incidents of unsavory rendezvous in the bathhouses were probably not much higher than in countries with more extensive public bath house culture, but the percentage of patrons who went there for other reasons was considerably higher. Basically without the normal activity masking it, the unsavory activity stood out.
peter303 9y ago
The USA passed the 50% indoor plumbing threshhold between the 1920 and 1930 census, so earlier people must have done something. I believe the question is no longer on the census long form as indoor plumbing is well over 90%. I personally do 80% of bathing at the gym after exercise.
nitwit005 9y ago
I suspect it's mostly just the underlying culture. Japan was more into baths/bathing in pre-industrial times than most of the world, and there is hot springs tourism.

_jal 9y ago

Not the same thing at all, but my local laundromat is also a restaurant/bar, and hosts really terrible standup. I'll frequently grab a bite while doing my laundry, and the "comedy" is a useful inspiration to get it done earlier in the day, so I don't have to listen to it. (It is really, truly awful.)

chadcatlett 9y ago
By chance is it Brainwash in SoMa?
- _jal 9y ago
  The standup gave it away, right?
EADGBE 9y ago
I saw my first laundromat/bar in college. Thought it was the best idea I've ever seen implemented.
badwolf 9y ago
I love the laundromat/bar concept. I was recently in Brooklyn for work and visited the Sunshine Laundromat. Do laundry, then open up the "secret" dryer door to the bar and pinball arcade!