Covering up my body art while in Japan uncovered unexpected emotions.
It's one of those beliefs that's so deeply ingrained into history that even if the mainstream culture has more or less accepted them, it's a rule most bathhouses will stay staunch on for the foreseeable future. However, most of my friends from Japan — as well as the people I met during my trip — were shocked when I told them about the no-tattoo regulation. They either had no idea that wasa thing or believed it was an arbitrary one.
Further digging brought to my attention that there were hotels in Tokyo with their own bathhouses that offered a modified, tourist-friendly experience. I decided to stay at the. It allows guests to take advantage of the facility — if they cover up their tattoos in some way. After checking in, the front desk provided me with "tattoo seals," which were basically moleskin padding sheets or tan fabric stickers.
After a long day of exploring vintage shops in Shimokitazawa and beauty shops in Shinjuku, I decided to check out Candeo's SkySpa in lieu of my night shower. Here's how the experience went.Before I made my way to my hotel's private bathhouse, I concealed my tattoos in the comfort of my room. Covering up parts of myself I'm proud of was a weird, emotional experience.
Here's a truncated version of a long, traumatic story: as a teen, my body terrified me. Someone I was supposed to trust used it as a tool against me. As a result, I completely detached from my physical form for years, believing it wasn't mine to have ownership over. I never truly loved or hated it — someone else had taken that agency away from me. But tattoos helped me win it back.
Once I rinsed off in the shower and eased into the outdoor bathing pool, however, I forgot about my tattoo seals. The water was just warm enough to melt away my anxiety but not so hot that it felt like my organs were slowly cooking. I lounged in the center of the shallow, foot-deep pool and looked up at the sky, which was exposed through a slated skylight.If my life were a movie, a supercut of the best moments of the trip so far would've played as I soaked in the water.
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