Bath house Bewilderment

May 9 cont...

Next Yamamoto San was getting towels and indicating we were going to eat. I didn’t know where we were going or what was going on but I did my best to follow his lead.
The three of us went back around the side where the driver had dropped us off and Yamamoto San had driven his own little car out of the garage.

We drove for what seemed like and hour. I was a little worried because we were obviously expected to have a bath somewhere but I didn’t know how it was going to be. I admit to being worried that these two men, whom I had just met and knew nothing about, were luring me to some covert bath house just to see me naked. I didn’t know. I had no reference points to guide myself by. And I had heard stories about dodgy Monks.

As it turned out, it was completely above board and evidently a huge treat.
Yamamoto San paid for me, gave me a ticket, led me down a hallway, swapped the ticket for a key, took the key to a locker, put my bag and phone in locker and put the key chain around my wrist, I got pointed toward a door to what was obviously a changing room, then he vanished.
I stumbled in then stood frozen with bewilderment.

I didn’t know what to do.

I had never been to a bath house so I didn’t know if it men and women bather together or not.
There were a few naked women sitting around a young (fully dressed) mother with a toddler.
I asked her if she spoke English and she said ‘Little’.
Through her I found out that this section was women only. Then she ushered me toward the changing area. But I wasn’t ready to bath with a bunch of strangers and I still had my period, so in tears of confusion I indicated both to the young woman. She led me back out and got me a refund. Feeling 10 kilos lighter with relief, I got my things from the locker and went back to the entrance to wait for the others.

The older Monk was sitting on a couch having a cigarette.
He looked surprised and quickly stubbed his smoke out.
I pointed to the phrase books words for ‘embarrassed’ and ‘menstruation’ to which he ashoed and went straight into writing his name (Narabe San) and address, telling me about his boss, showing me his pictures etc – hardly skipping a beat (or taking a breath!) and giving me a fan that he had painted a Japanese character on.
He also explained I was not to call Yamamoto San by that name – his name was actually Yoko Yamamoto but I was to call him something else.
Unfortunately the something else sounded to similar to ‘orcashe’ which I had learnt meant ‘crazy’ so I was too scared to call him anything at all. (I later learnt that the name, O'Sha San, meant Temple Master).
We left when O'Sha San came out. I gave him his money back and Narabe San explained my drama briefly. There was no look of surprise or disappointment or even embarrassment. He just put the money away and we left.