11 Favorites: Japanese-Style Bathtubs Around the World

We’re longtime fans of the ofuro, or Japanese soaking tub, both for its good looks and promotion of rest and relaxation at the end of the day. Here are 10 in-situ favorites, ranging from traditional hinoki cypress wood or darker teakwood baths to Western-style ceramic baths in Japanese-style wood wrapping.

Above: A hinoki wood bathtub in the Rudolph Schindler–designed Hollywood Hills home of designer Pamela Shamshiri. Photograph courtesy of Rizzoli from the book, The Perfect Bath by Barbara Sallick. See more of the house and landscape on Gardenista in Garden Visit: At Home with LA Designer Pamela Shamshiri in the Hollywood Hills. Above: In St. Oak: A Stripped-Back Holiday Apartment by a Creative Pair in Germany, a luxurious Japanese-style wood bath from Michor serves as a serene soaking spot. Photograph courtesy of Our Food Stories. Above: A bathing-themed room by Dutch designer Hanna Maring in Amsterdam’s Volkshotel features a freestanding Japanese tub with sliding privacy panels on each side. Photograph courtesy of Volkshotel, featured in A Pink and Green Bath in Amsterdam, Japanese Soaking Tub Included. Above: A hinoki bathtub by Alaska company Sea Otter Woodworks is set in a bed of river stones in a Mill Valley, California, house by architect Barbara Chambers. Photograph by John Merkl for Chambers & Chambers Architects, featured in Weekend Spotlight: Indoor/Outdoor Living with Chambers & Chambers Architects. Above: Designer Jonathan Tuckey created a bathhouse for clothing designer Maureen Doherty next door to her London shop, Egg. It has radiant floor heating and a Badbox Bathtub by Studio Anna van der Lei. Photograph by James Brittain, courtesy of Jonathan Tuckey and featured in Steal This Look: A Japanese Bathhouse in a London Mews. Above: An oval Japanese bath in the guest room at Atelier Lachaert Dhanis, a venture of artist duo Sofie Lachaert and Luc Dhanis in Belgium (the guest house is sadly now closed). Above: In the 16-room Nobu Ryokan hotel in Malibu, bathrooms feature teak soaking tubs with bronze Dornbracht fixtures. Photography courtesy of Laure Joliet, featured in Hollywood-Style Zen in Malibu: Nobu Ryokan Guesthouse on Carbon Beach. Above: A custom-designed teak soaking tub in a 1903 Manhattan loft apartment remodeled by Matt Bear of Union Studio in Berkeley, California. Photograph by and courtesy of Union Studio, featured in A Rugged, Rustic NYC Loft by Matt Bear of Union Studio. Above: A soaking tub is inset into the floor in the bathroom of a London remodel by designers Sevil Peach, featured in Sevil Peach Studio in Primrose Hill. Above: In a 19th-century London house remodeled by architects Undercover Architecture, a black ceramic bath is tucked inside a shell of Canadian maple treated with exterior-grade lacquer and natural white oil. Photograph courtesy of Michelle Young, featured in A London Terrace House with Brilliant Color by Undercover Architecture. Above: A ceramic soaking tub with a wood surround in the Melbourne home of architects Stephen O’Connor and Annick Houle. Photography by Earl Carter, courtesy of O’Connor and Houle and featured in Slow House: A Serene Cabin in the Woods.

P.S. Learn more about the art of Japanese bathing in:

• New from Nendo: The Japanese-Inspired Bath
• How to Bathe, Japanese-Style
• Bathroom of the Week: A Japanese-Style Bath in London, Greenery Included

N.B.: This story originally appeared on March 9, 2021 and has been updated with additional images.