Japan’s Bath Habits: Hotter Water in Toyama, Longer Soaks in Yamanashi

A warm, relaxing bath can relieve the feelings of tiredness at the end of the day. Rinnai conducted a nationwide survey, aimed at 50 people in each of Japan’s 47 prefectures, and found that 53% of people “soak in the bath every day in winter.” Meanwhile, 17% stated they “shower every day” rather than taking a bath.

The most common temperature setting for bath water in winter was 40° for 31% of respondents, followed by 23% who set it at 42° and 17% who preferred 41°. People from Toyama Prefecture were particularly fond of hot baths with an average temperature of 41.3°.

Highest Average Bath Temperatures by Prefecture

Created by Nippon.com based on data from Rinnai.

At 31%, the most common amount of time spent soaking in the bath was “10-14 minutes.” Overall, 80% spent between 5 and 24 minutes. However, there were a small number who took very long baths of “55 minutes or more.” The people who spent the longest time on average in the bath were those in Yamanashi with 17.8 minutes, followed by people in Saga, Ōita, and Osaka. It appeared that people in severely cold regions like Hokkaidō and Tōhoku did not necessarily take long baths.

Longest Average Time Spent in the Bath by Region

Created by Nippon.com based on data from Rinnai.

Professor Hayasaka Shinya of Tokyo City University, who supervised the survey, explained that “having a bath warms the body and improves blood flow, reducing the sense of feeling cold. A basic, healthy way to take a bath is spending ten minutes soaking at 40°C and the best timing is ninety minutes before going to bed.”

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)