World Notes BRITAIN

At home the Japanese enjoy the soothing comfort of a hot ofuro, their traditional bath. On the road it's not so easy. Trying to re-create abroad their beloved steaming, full-tub soak, Japanese tourists have acquired a reputation for wreaking havoc on British hotel bathrooms.

London hotel managers claim that Japanese guests fill up the tubs, leave the taps on, then pull out the drain plugs to ensure a constant flow of clear water. The result: heavy damage from the overflow flooding through carpets and cascading into rooms below. Says Geoffrey Gold, general manager of the Swallow International Hotel, where 20% of the guests are Japanese: "It got to the point where an average of one bathroom a day was flooded." Some hotels are warning Japanese guests that flooders will face fines; others have made a simple but costly technological adjustment: installing drains in bathroom floors.