apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I must say I am a fan of pebble tiles and heated floors!

wow... very nice.

Not to "rain" on the parade, but it seems like an awful waste of water to wash yourself completely, THEN take a bath.

Well you could take the bath first and then spend the xtra water cleaning the scuzz afterwards. Or you could use the water first and have the luxury of clean water to soak in. Sorry, same-same.

The layout is refreshing. I love the pebble floor, however when wet it looks like it can be slippery and dangerous.

Everyone rinses off first, and then you soak in the bath. The bath water is shared, I think? At least in hot springs it is, not sure about at home..

Yes, you share the bath water. You clean yourself first at the little showering station. With this method you can turn the showerhead on and off as needed to rinse so it's not just running the whole time. The bath wouldn't typically be filled everyday, maybe every other day or on weekends.
I spent several weeks in Japan and have made a promise to myself that when Im able to own a house, I will have a Japanese style bathroom. Complete with one of the fantastically snazzy space-age toilets! My bath will be the traditional bamboo however.

There is normally a "lid" for the bath so that the water stays warm for a day or few, and as mentioned the shower does not run constantly but only when you wet/rinse, so in total its probably much less wasteful then western style showering. at least for me, who takes the shower as an opportunity to try to fall asleep standing up.

Awesome! Love it.
The floor is maybe my favorite part.

Take a shower, then take a bath is japanese way to do it. Makes sense when you think of hot bath and communal baths they used to have about 100 years ago...

I do so love the pebbles. I lusted after the Hakatai Cobblestone tiles when I redid a previous bath, but the cost was prohibitive.

I spent high school in Japan. I really loved the "O furoo".
Our bathroom was unheated and cold. I would wash up with the crazy cold water and then nest into the tub. I would roll the lid right up to my neck.
Even as the last person to get to bathe due to my low status, the water was super hot!I remember my skin STEAMING as I got out of the bath and bright red like a lobster...hot hot hot. Then I would sleep like a baby afterward. It is the perfect way to leave stress to go down the drain!
I wish America would adopt this fantastic ritual!

Taking too hot baths is bad for you - it dries out your skin and reduces male fertility - you're effectively boiling you're little guys down there!

and I have no desire to share my bath water with anyone, no matter how well they've cleaned themselves beforehand - one fart and its contaminated!!