Zip and loc it

To many Japanese, including this old geek who grew up in Japan, nothing is more relaxing than soaking in a bath. Mind you, not your typical tub full of bubbled lukewarm water but, for yours truly, the best kind often referred to as hot springs. The typical temperature of hot springs in Japan is around 106 degrees Fahrenheit.

I like how my go-to Wikipedia describes "onsen," a Japanese word for hot springs: "In Japan, onsen (温泉) are hot springs and the bathing facilities and traditional inns around them. There are approximately 25,000 hot spring sources throughout Japan, and approximately 3,000 onsen establishments use naturally hot water from these geothermally heated springs."

As a comparison, Japan is a little smaller than California in land area and the same source states that there are 3,112 Starbucks locations in the state of California as of New Year's Day 2024. You know Starbucks is popular so you can imagine the popularity of onsen over there!

Recently, as I was about to enjoy my daily improvised onsen (sans health-benefit-carrying-minerals often found in natural hot springs), an urgent text message came in needing my reply.

I had the choice of having my hot water turn lukewarm while I replied to the text message or reply to the text message while soaking in hot water. Yes, the latter is a risk, just like how I used to not have any drinks near my keyboard.

If you search online stores like Amazon, you will probably find a waterproof case for your smartphone/tablet or a waterproof pouch that you can put the device in when near water. But since this old geek never, even remotely, thought of taking my device into my relaxation sanctuary, aka improvised onsen, I don't have a waterproof case or pouch on hand. Imagine the angel sitting on one side and a devil on the other side of my shoulder … what should I do?

I decided to try a Ziploc – the reusable, resealable plastic bags. Did you know that the taps and swipes you make with your fingers on your device's touchscreen work even when your device is in the Ziploc bag?

On my way to the awaiting hot bath, I plucked a Ziploc freezer bag from the pantry and put my device in it. I still would not submerge it as it is only an insurance from dropping my device into the hot water. I also made sure that the bag was tightly closed with no chance of water seeping in.

Needless to say, I replied to the urgent text message while soaking in my improvised onsen for my daily relaxation ritual. You are welcome to try it too. Even though I know putting the device in a Ziploc bag protects the device while using it around water, I take no responsibility!