Sitting in a hot bath with a forest view and a light breeze is pretty close to our idea of heaven, and we have the soaking tub to thank for it. We've collected 12 of our favorite Japanese-inspired soaking tubs—most in Japan and some, not all, with green spaces just a few feet away.
(For the more traditional indoor version, see our Japanese Soaking Tub Roundup on Remodelista.)
Above: A soaking tub at Aoneonsen Eco Hotel in Miyagi, Japan. Photograph via Tofuist on Tumblr.
Above: An indoor/outdoor tub in Karuizawa, a mountain resort town outside of Tokyo, by Ken Yokogawa Architect Associates. The cypress soaking tub and black granite sunken tub look through a fully glazed and operable window wall onto a forest screen beyond. Photograph via ja+u.
Above: A sunken tub clad in thin vertical ceramic tiles looks onto a courtyard by Yasushi Horibe Architect + Associates. Photograph via ja+u.
Above: This tub is Japanese-inspired but lives in the mountains of Northern Montana in a Zen sanctuary on a 15-acre estate. The spa room's wall of teak windows folds away completely to open to the forest. Photograph via Interior Design.
Above: A sunken stone bath with breeze via Boutique Homes.
Above: A wood soaking tub in a bath by Yasushi Horibe Architect + Associates in the resort town of Karuizawa. The glazing wall opens completely to the outdoors, illustrating the perspective of the architect: "Residences fuse or layer public and private...The exterior and general appearance are public, with the roof and outside walls becoming a part of the landscape itself.” Photograph via ja+u.
Above: Melbourne architects O'Connor and Houle designed their own house with an intent to teach their children how to live slowly with an appreciation for nature. See the full house in Slow House: A Serene Cabin in the Woods and other rustic bathrooms in 11 Camp-Style Bathrooms from Around the World.
Above: A tiled soaking tub at the Arcana Izu hotel and spa in Izu-shi, Japan. Photograph by Ken Lee via Flickr.
Above: A soaking tub in a house by A.H. Architects in Tokyo leads to an interior courtyard via a sliding glass door. Photograph via ja+u.
Above: A hinoki wood-lined spa room in a house by Kidosaki Architects Studio. Photograph via ja+u.
Above: In an LA residence by Aidlin Darling Design, a room with a sunken bath and shower opens onto a bamboo screen and hot tub connected to a larger backyard swimming pool. Phtograph via Karmatrendz.
Above: A house in Tokyo by KEN Architects/Kenichi Kohmura faces a bamboo grove, echoed in the bathroom's sloped bamboo ceiling. Photograph via ja+u magazine.
Keep exploring envy-inducing garden spaces:
- Outdoors: Modern Townhouse Garden Roundup
- Outdoors: Adirondack Roundup
- Architect Visit: Garden Building Roundup
- Designer Visit: Shower Roundup
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