[originaltext]Nate: Hey Phil. Have you ever been to a Japanese public bath?I he

Nate: Hey Phil. Have you ever been to a Japanese public bath?I hear it’s quite an experience.
Phil: Yes，and what an experience!
Nate: What do you mean?
Phil: Well，it’s nothing like visiting a swimming pool in the States.
Nate: Well，what do you do when you go to a public bath?
Phil: First，you take off your shoes before you enter.
Nate: Okay.
Phil: Then，you pay an entrance fee to the man or woman at the front counter. Next，you get undressed in the dressing room. And I was very surprised…and a little embarrassed to see that the woman who took my money was sitting on a platform where she had a clear view of the men’s side of the dressing room.
Nate: Really?
Phil: This allows the workers to keep an eye on the patrons’belongings while they are in the bath.
Nate: Wow. And do you wear a bathing suit or something?
Phil: Oh no!You don’t wear anything. Then you go into the main bathing area and wash your body while sitting on a small stool about 40 centimeters high.
Nate: On a stool!?
Phil: Yeah. It was really hard getting used to bathing in that position. Sometimes，even，people wash each other’s backs.
Nate: Oh really. So，what do you do after that?
Phil: Well，after you’ve rinsed off all the soap，they usually have two or three large baths where you can soak for a while.
Nate: Do you actually share the bath with other people?
Phil: Yeah. Traditionally，the bath played an important role in the community. It gave neighbors an opportunity to socialize while bathing.
Nate: Huh. Interesting.
Phil: When you’re all done bathing，people relax in the dressing room by watching TV，drinking tea or juice， or talking to friends. It’s quite an experience.