Going to the Hot Spring Alone

I often go to a day-use hot spring near my house.

It is about ten minutes away by car.

The water comes directly from the source, and when I feel like it, I go there alone.

Of course, I take a bath at home every day too.

But when I am in the bath at home, I can still feel the presence of the house.

My wife is there.

My father-in-law is there.

The people I live with are somewhere nearby.

That is not a bad thing.

But it is a little different from being completely alone.

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When I go to the hot spring nearby, I always go alone.

I get in the car and drive for about ten minutes.

I check in, take off my clothes, and get into the bath.

That is all.

And yet, something in my body begins to loosen.

While I am soaking in the hot spring, there is no phone.

No work.

No family.

No need to reply to anyone.

No need to think about anything.

I am simply alone, soaking in the water.

Doing nothing.

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I think many people do not have this kind of time.

They are always being chased by something.

Work.

Family.

Schedules.

Their phone.

Someone else’s expectations.

Before they know it, they no longer have time to do nothing alone.

Even when they are alone, their mind is still busy.

The body may be sitting still,

but the mind is running somewhere.

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When that happens, the time flowing outside and the time flowing inside the body begin to drift apart.

The outside time is fast.

The next appointment comes.

Messages come.

There are things to do.

But the body’s time is naturally slower.

The time of breathing.

The time of digestion.

The time of sleep.

The time of recovery.

When we ignore the body’s time for too long, some kind of discomfort begins to appear.

After looking at many people’s bodies, I often feel this.

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It does not have to be a hot spring.

It could be a public bath.

A nearby cafe.

A bench in a park.

A walk alone.

What matters, I think, is having time that is not for anyone else, and not for anything in particular.

Doing nothing.

Not replying.

Having no role to play.

Simply returning to the body.

Perhaps modern life needs that more than we realize.

⸻

When I am in the hot spring, the busy flow of time slows down a little.

My breathing slows down.

My mind becomes quiet.

I have not solved anything.

I have not had some great realization.

But my body returns a little.

I recover a small part of myself.

Maybe health begins from something like that.

Not from anything special.

Being alone for a while.

Soaking in hot water for a while.

Doing nothing for a while.

That alone can let the body relax more than we expect.

So I think I will probably go to the hot spring again today, just like that.