It’s not like we plan our lives around when we have our period. But I have no idea what to do when I’m travelling and stay at a place that only has communal showers and baths. Obviously wouldn’t go into a bath. But I worry even showering would make other people uncomfortable… You’re just trying to take a shower and then next to you all the water is red cause someone is on the red waterfall part of the month.
Anyone had a dillema like this? I need advice if I should skip a trip or go for it
13 comments
Use a tampon or a menstrual cup! Using a fresh one before heading into the bathing area will guarantee no leakage. I’ve done this before and no problems!
I stayed in some Ryokan and even shukubo when i visited Japan and yeah showers and bath are communal but it isn’t like the gym, you’d still have privacy with locked doors, walls and all. I had my period when i was in Koyasan and staying in a temple and had no problem with it at all because communal showers doesn’t really get busy unlike when you’re staying in capsules, but still even those has privacy. Its a different story if you will be visiting onsen or sento, there you’d have to be careful so a cup would be a much better choice.
Honestly buying pads,tampons are more challenging than taking a shower, so my advice is bring your own brand rather than buy there so atleast you’d be comfortable.
Wear a tampon and hide the string inside you. No problem
I’ve done it with a menstrual cup! There’s no string to worry about, no having to replace it before & after (it’s better for the environment, it’s healthier for your body, it’s way cheaper in the long run, etc. etc.).
Also adding, sometimes you just can’t get a western-style toilet. I’m not a fan of those, but having a menstrual cup (which typically holds way more than tampon/pad over a longer period of time) means there’s a better shot of being able to wait until I’m back at the hotel/nicer bathroom to do the additional lady-business.
Additional tip for squat toilets if you’re like me and cannot use them without losing all your things from your pockets, tipping over and making a mess, get a she-wee! (portable female ‘funnel’)
In terms of the places you stay, with the exception of going in to an onsen (where you’re washing down before going in a shared bath) I would assume most places would have private showers and toilets. As in it might be shared with several people but it will be in its own room or cubicle.
Traditional ryokans can be more like a hotel than anything else so the normal bathroom areas will be separate from the onsen areas. We stayed at a traditional Ryokan and had our own bathroom. It even had its own bath despite the fact it also had a private onsen outside 😂
In the case where that’s not true, I’m personally not a fan of tampons, plus you surely want to clean down there when you clean everything else? So I’d probably try to time it to avoid other people. If I was really worried about it and it was a one night thing I’d skip the shower for the day and have one as soon as I reached the next place.
Also, this is why I’m so happy to be on the pill these days. I can actually adjust timings so I don’t have my period on holiday anymore. But obviously for pills you need to have that chat with your doctor and obviously that’s not what it’s for.
I was in a smaller bath at a minshuku years ago, and there was just about lady with her two little kids. Suddenly I look over and see red from her period. I was a little put off but she clearly didn’t worry too much about it. If you’re really worried, just wait till no one else is in the bath area to wash up. Or wear a tampon.
Get the cup!!
Most of the toilets have bidets, so you can probably just use that carefully before you walk into the shower/baths. And if that’s not enough I would say a diva cup or tampon will solve your problem.
Pre covid I went to Korean spas on a frequent basis. Wear a tampon and snip the string with a scissor so it’s not visible.
Is there some reason why you don’t like to use tampons and menstrual cups? Both are a very simple solution to this problem.
Some people are saying wear a tampon and hide the sting. I had this issue too, but when I asked my Japanese friends they assured me that nobody is looking and will see the string, and if they do, nobody will care!! It’s not like in the US where you have to hide these things like they are embarrassing or something :p
Edit: most traditional ryokan will have a single private bathroom with a shower and tub that is shared among all guests. It is a hundred percent courteous to wear a tampon or cup in that situation because even if no one will see it going down the drain it’s a shared space. they don’t change the water in these tubs so obviously you don’t want to be bleeding all over it
Do you take birth control pills? You could just go straight to the next week aka skip that months period.
Super grateful for all the answers! I did bring tampons with me (no need to buy them here), so that will be okay. I wasn’t sure how others would deal with it, that’s how I asked. It gave me a lot of reassurance to read through your solutions.