I went to a public bath (sento) in a small town outside Tokyo. I was super nervous because I'm not Japanese and didn't want to break any etiquette rules.

An old man saw me looking confused and helped me out. Showed me where to put my shoes, how to wash before getting in the bath, where to sit, everything. We didn't speak English but we managed with gestures and my broken Japanese.
We ended up sitting in the bath together for a while. He asked where I was from, what brought me to Japan. I told him I was traveling after a bad breakup, and needed to clear my head.
He nodded and didn't say anything for a long time. Then he said in simple Japanese "water washes everything. Not just the body. Heart too."
We sat in silence for like 20 more minutes. When I got out, he was already gone.
I went back to that sento three more times during my trip. Never saw him again. But I thought about what he said a lot.
Water washes everything. Not just the body. Heart too.
He was right.