We had some communication problem in the beginning because some mails were captured by the spam filter .
(IN CASE YOU DO NOT HEAR BACK FROM US, SEND A FAX OR CALL US.)
Anyway, once found the problem everything proceeded smoothly and we could ship this hinoki tub, custom size sunoko and accessories in record time.
Every detail such as tub size adjusments, wall joint, floor duckboard modular units were agreed together with the client.
We just recently acquired the bath from Bartok for a new country house and consequently we have not yet used it, but I have had one in London since about 1995. Mine also came from Japan, from a maker called Kodai (as in, “past era”) who sadly seem themselves to have been consigned to the past, as they appear no longer to be in business.
We found Iacopo and Bartok on the web. He was much less expensive than local tub manufacturers and offered a genuine hinoki product constructed the traditional way, so we did no further comparison shopping. Having seen the tub, I can strongly recommend him. Also, he was very helpful and communicative, which is important because your builder likely will be unfamiliar with the idea and will need information and reassurance. He also sorted out the shipping, so this presents no big obstacle compared to local
alternatives.
My experience with the tub in London might not be representative, because I am there less than half the time and the tub is used only occasionally. As you might know, this is in some ways more wearing for the tub than continuous use, because it is usually quite dry. I think the average life expectancy is about 10 years, but after several years past that, mine still is in good shape.
I think the most important thing is to put the tub in a “wet room” because it will “weep” and the water should be collected and drained. This will enable a proper bathing experience anyway, because you can have showers and taps in the room but outside the tub, as in Japan.
I also strongly recommend incorporating a recirculation system so that you can keep the water hot.
So, you can see that the builder has to be familiar with the concept of a wet room (this is becoming fairly standard technology) and has to know a bit about spa recirculation systems.
For cleaning, Kodai supplied a solvent containing tree oil, which i quite liked, but with their demise I have not been able to find a similar product.
Absent this, when i empty the tub, I wipe it with a towel (no cleaning products) and sand it occasionally. This seems to work well.
My tub is in a reconstructed pre-Victorian house, and i just leave the sash window to the room slightly open. No special ventilation measures.
I hope this helps. I strongly recommend you get the tub and hope you enjoy it.
Regards,
D J
Dear Iacopo,
We just received the tub today on the site.
I did not see it yet… but tomorrow morning.
We will be having some difficulties getting it to the 8th floor, but we will manage…
I will let you know how things will work out.
I am sorry I did not get in touch earlier with you, but our project was quite difficult and it took us some time to install the tub in place, as there were access difficulties, and structural problems to be solved.
But now everything is fine and we think that it is wonderful that, thanks to your help, we have been able to install such a great piece in such a unique place in Paris.
Thank you again.
A.
Wood & water: a natural heaven. Japanese wood baths are used for soaking, not for washing. While we relax our body in the bath, natural oils with medical properties and soothing fragrances are released in the warm water for a sensation of extreme wellbeing.
An outdoors hinoki wood "rotenburo" ->
Soaking in warm water for 30 minutes to 1 hour everyday:
It may sound strange to our westerner`s ears but your body will get instinctively in harmony with this healthy custom. Bathing in a wood tub: the scents, the soft touch of wood, the tidy beauty of its grain magnified thru the clear water, represents the ultimate holistic experience.
You will find yourself energized, rejuvaneted, relaxed. Read thru the bottom of this page to see WHY.
Why are the japanese so proud of their baths and hot springs? The Japanese ritual of the bath has several reasons besides the obvious purpose of hygene. A warm bath stimulates blood circulation and decongestionates the linfatic system: this is effective both in washing off the sweath of the torrid summer and in preventing cold and influenza during the rigid japanese winter. Medical evidence has been found that a correct warm bath has positive effects on the health of body and mind, also thanks to the curative and emollient effect of minerals and oils present in the water. Recent research proves how negatively charged ions present in the water and steam of a bath “scrub off” magnetic tensions and free radicals, having an “antiage” effect on the whole body. Negative ions also have experimented psychological benefits, imparting a feeling of security and sense of refreshment while they soothe the body. Such ions tend to be generated by waterfalls, fountains, and other sources of agitated water. When bathing japanese style, we first soap and scrub, then we rinse and only when we are “physically clean”, we enter in the bathtub for soaking (at least 30 minutes). Because the body is washed outside the bath, the bath water stays clean and deeply refreshing.
Why are the japanese so proud of their baths and hot springs? A HINOKI bathtub is ideal for a provides a full sensory experience: beautiful white cedar with a rich grain, smooth texture, soothing lemony fragrance, and the warm comfort of soaking away all the tension and stress of the day.
Why are the japanese so proud of their baths and hot springs? A HINOKI bathtub is ideal for a provides a full sensory experience: beautiful white cedar with a rich grain, smooth texture, soothing lemony fragrance, and the warm comfort of soaking away all the tension and stress of the day.
When we talk about Japanese dwellings and lifestyle, its association with the culture of wood is almost automatic. Still today most of private homes are built with a wood post-beam structure. Wood is used to manufacture cooking utensils, shoes, children`s toys. And of course, bathstubs. The remarkably straight SUGI might be best choice for buildings, as the SAKURA (cherry) is for producing objects or the MATSU (pine) is for panels and doors. But wood bathtubs are only made in HINOKI, the wood of the 1300 years old Horyuji Temple in Nara, the wood chosen by the emperors…
As hinoki trees suffer polluted environments, they grow mainly in "virgin" areas, where the air and water are pure. Aomori and Ishikawa in the north, Gifu prefecture, the Kiso Valley in the Chubu district and the Kochi prefecture in Shikoku are the regions with largest hinoki forests. This "purity" reflects in the wood’s appearance : light-colored, has a rich but compact straight grain. A natural clear resin permeates homogeneously the pores thus creating a natural protection against insects and rot. When cut or scrubbed, hinoki wood emanates a pleasing lemon scent for which it is famous.
Straight hinoki wooden bathtub: 1220 x 865mm x 610mm deep. A very nice natural pattern for this simple composition.
Several years ago I purchased a tub from Japan and it came with a container of a kind of cleaning/conditioning fluid for the tub, which included a hinoki oil base.
Do you offer, or know where I could obtain, something similar?
Cleaning liquid: I am sorry, we do not have this product. In Japan,
as in other countries, hinoki oil is available for aromatherapy in different formats, including a liquid emulsion to be poured inside the hot water to have a hinoki-tub-like aromatic effect.
This is not used for cleaning. Hinoki wood contains within its fibers the resinous product commonly known as hinokitiol. Usage of cleaning products such as detergents or waxes/oils will clog the natural wood pores thus sealing inside the hinokitiol. If you want to take maternal care of the tub, you may wipe it with a towel after use which will prevent any darkening caused by mold.
Then keep a hygrometer inside the bathroom and avoid the relative humidity to drop below 50%.
UPDATE 2008.08.01
See also our news and products page. We have now a natural oil extract which can be used to clean, protect and regenerate the tub.
how are the modern Japanese recirculating water through a heater?
Or are they mainly designed for one session of hot water?
Thank you for your interest in our japanese bathtubs.
The japanese tub is a very simple, low tech, minimalist box made out of wood. For this reason it is also very flexible and can adapt to different uses.
In our experience, most of the private clients drain it after use. Anyway one session can be extended for a whole day with the use of tub covers and by adding hot water at need.
Most of the business users add on site recirculating/filtering systems in line with a heater. We do not supply this systems ourselves for the following reasons:
1) US or european makers of pumps/cartridge filters/ozone systems etc. are more advanced than products available in japan
2) Considerations about maintenance and spare parts
3) It is very easy to open a hole in solid wood with the pitch and diameter matching your equipment.
I hope I answered your question. Our tubs are custom made to fit the particular needs/sizes of each site and most of the solutions are evaluated case by case.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for any question or problem.
Please find below a scheme kindly participated by a client. (Wabi Sabi Culture – Pescara – Italy)
My builder also enquired if it would be possible to get something like a VAT registration statement in respect of Bartok Design in Japan, if such a thing exists in Japan (it can be in japanese, I can get it translated locally). Or is this information going to be contained on the invoice? This is becase – I assume – since the tub was produced for export, there would have been no VAT or equivalent sales tax chargeable in Japan, but it will fall to be paid by me once I take the house with the tub in it from the builder. The builder would like some sort of documentation to support this.
May we use credit cards?
updated on 2009.4.27.
Yes, we will accept payments thru PayPal.
We had some communication problem in the beginning because some mails were captured by the spam filter .
(IN CASE YOU DO NOT HEAR BACK FROM US, SEND A FAX OR CALL US.)
Anyway, once found the problem everything proceeded smoothly and we could ship this hinoki tub, custom size sunoko and accessories in record time.
Every detail such as tub size adjusments, wall joint, floor duckboard modular units were agreed together with the client.
We just recently acquired the bath from Bartok for a new country house and consequently we have not yet used it, but I have had one in London since about 1995. Mine also came from Japan, from a maker called Kodai (as in, “past era”) who sadly seem themselves to have been consigned to the past, as they appear no longer to be in business.
We found Iacopo and Bartok on the web. He was much less expensive than local tub manufacturers and offered a genuine hinoki product constructed the traditional way, so we did no further comparison shopping. Having seen the tub, I can strongly recommend him. Also, he was very helpful and communicative, which is important because your builder likely will be unfamiliar with the idea and will need information and reassurance. He also sorted out the shipping, so this presents no big obstacle compared to local
alternatives.
My experience with the tub in London might not be representative, because I am there less than half the time and the tub is used only occasionally. As you might know, this is in some ways more wearing for the tub than continuous use, because it is usually quite dry. I think the average life expectancy is about 10 years, but after several years past that, mine still is in good shape.
I think the most important thing is to put the tub in a “wet room” because it will “weep” and the water should be collected and drained. This will enable a proper bathing experience anyway, because you can have showers and taps in the room but outside the tub, as in Japan.
I also strongly recommend incorporating a recirculation system so that you can keep the water hot.
So, you can see that the builder has to be familiar with the concept of a wet room (this is becoming fairly standard technology) and has to know a bit about spa recirculation systems.
For cleaning, Kodai supplied a solvent containing tree oil, which i quite liked, but with their demise I have not been able to find a similar product.
Absent this, when i empty the tub, I wipe it with a towel (no cleaning products) and sand it occasionally. This seems to work well.
My tub is in a reconstructed pre-Victorian house, and i just leave the sash window to the room slightly open. No special ventilation measures.
I hope this helps. I strongly recommend you get the tub and hope you enjoy it.
Regards,
D J
Dear Iacopo,
We just received the tub today on the site.
I did not see it yet… but tomorrow morning.
We will be having some difficulties getting it to the 8th floor, but we will manage…
I will let you know how things will work out.
I am sorry I did not get in touch earlier with you, but our project was quite difficult and it took us some time to install the tub in place, as there were access difficulties, and structural problems to be solved.
But now everything is fine and we think that it is wonderful that, thanks to your help, we have been able to install such a great piece in such a unique place in Paris.
Thank you again.
A.
Wood & water: a natural heaven. Japanese wood baths are used for soaking, not for washing. While we relax our body in the bath, natural oils with medical properties and soothing fragrances are released in the warm water for a sensation of extreme wellbeing.
An outdoors hinoki wood "rotenburo" ->
Soaking in warm water for 30 minutes to 1 hour everyday:
It may sound strange to our westerner`s ears but your body will get instinctively in harmony with this healthy custom. Bathing in a wood tub: the scents, the soft touch of wood, the tidy beauty of its grain magnified thru the clear water, represents the ultimate holistic experience.
You will find yourself energized, rejuvaneted, relaxed. Read thru the bottom of this page to see WHY.
Why are the japanese so proud of their baths and hot springs? The Japanese ritual of the bath has several reasons besides the obvious purpose of hygene. A warm bath stimulates blood circulation and decongestionates the linfatic system: this is effective both in washing off the sweath of the torrid summer and in preventing cold and influenza during the rigid japanese winter. Medical evidence has been found that a correct warm bath has positive effects on the health of body and mind, also thanks to the curative and emollient effect of minerals and oils present in the water. Recent research proves how negatively charged ions present in the water and steam of a bath “scrub off” magnetic tensions and free radicals, having an “antiage” effect on the whole body. Negative ions also have experimented psychological benefits, imparting a feeling of security and sense of refreshment while they soothe the body. Such ions tend to be generated by waterfalls, fountains, and other sources of agitated water. When bathing japanese style, we first soap and scrub, then we rinse and only when we are “physically clean”, we enter in the bathtub for soaking (at least 30 minutes). Because the body is washed outside the bath, the bath water stays clean and deeply refreshing.
Why are the japanese so proud of their baths and hot springs? A HINOKI bathtub is ideal for a provides a full sensory experience: beautiful white cedar with a rich grain, smooth texture, soothing lemony fragrance, and the warm comfort of soaking away all the tension and stress of the day.
Why are the japanese so proud of their baths and hot springs? A HINOKI bathtub is ideal for a provides a full sensory experience: beautiful white cedar with a rich grain, smooth texture, soothing lemony fragrance, and the warm comfort of soaking away all the tension and stress of the day.
When we talk about Japanese dwellings and lifestyle, its association with the culture of wood is almost automatic. Still today most of private homes are built with a wood post-beam structure. Wood is used to manufacture cooking utensils, shoes, children`s toys. And of course, bathstubs. The remarkably straight SUGI might be best choice for buildings, as the SAKURA (cherry) is for producing objects or the MATSU (pine) is for panels and doors. But wood bathtubs are only made in HINOKI, the wood of the 1300 years old Horyuji Temple in Nara, the wood chosen by the emperors…
As hinoki trees suffer polluted environments, they grow mainly in "virgin" areas, where the air and water are pure. Aomori and Ishikawa in the north, Gifu prefecture, the Kiso Valley in the Chubu district and the Kochi prefecture in Shikoku are the regions with largest hinoki forests. This "purity" reflects in the wood’s appearance : light-colored, has a rich but compact straight grain. A natural clear resin permeates homogeneously the pores thus creating a natural protection against insects and rot. When cut or scrubbed, hinoki wood emanates a pleasing lemon scent for which it is famous.
Straight hinoki wooden bathtub: 1220 x 865mm x 610mm deep. A very nice natural pattern for this simple composition.
Several years ago I purchased a tub from Japan and it came with a container of a kind of cleaning/conditioning fluid for the tub, which included a hinoki oil base.
Do you offer, or know where I could obtain, something similar?
Cleaning liquid: I am sorry, we do not have this product. In Japan,
as in other countries, hinoki oil is available for aromatherapy in different formats, including a liquid emulsion to be poured inside the hot water to have a hinoki-tub-like aromatic effect.
This is not used for cleaning. Hinoki wood contains within its fibers the resinous product commonly known as hinokitiol. Usage of cleaning products such as detergents or waxes/oils will clog the natural wood pores thus sealing inside the hinokitiol. If you want to take maternal care of the tub, you may wipe it with a towel after use which will prevent any darkening caused by mold.
Then keep a hygrometer inside the bathroom and avoid the relative humidity to drop below 50%.
UPDATE 2008.08.01
See also our news and products page. We have now a natural oil extract which can be used to clean, protect and regenerate the tub.
how are the modern Japanese recirculating water through a heater?
Or are they mainly designed for one session of hot water?
Thank you for your interest in our japanese bathtubs.
The japanese tub is a very simple, low tech, minimalist box made out of wood. For this reason it is also very flexible and can adapt to different uses.
In our experience, most of the private clients drain it after use. Anyway one session can be extended for a whole day with the use of tub covers and by adding hot water at need.
Most of the business users add on site recirculating/filtering systems in line with a heater. We do not supply this systems ourselves for the following reasons:
1) US or european makers of pumps/cartridge filters/ozone systems etc. are more advanced than products available in japan
2) Considerations about maintenance and spare parts
3) It is very easy to open a hole in solid wood with the pitch and diameter matching your equipment.
I hope I answered your question. Our tubs are custom made to fit the particular needs/sizes of each site and most of the solutions are evaluated case by case.
Please do not hesitate to contact us for any question or problem.
Please find below a scheme kindly participated by a client. (Wabi Sabi Culture – Pescara – Italy)
My builder also enquired if it would be possible to get something like a VAT registration statement in respect of Bartok Design in Japan, if such a thing exists in Japan (it can be in japanese, I can get it translated locally). Or is this information going to be contained on the invoice? This is becase – I assume – since the tub was produced for export, there would have been no VAT or equivalent sales tax chargeable in Japan, but it will fall to be paid by me once I take the house with the tub in it from the builder. The builder would like some sort of documentation to support this.
May we use credit cards?
updated on 2009.4.27.
Yes, we will accept payments thru PayPal.