Thermae Romae Novae

Lucius Modestus, a bathhouse architect in ancient Rome, begins to doubt his talent when he can no longer produce a design that impresses his clients. While trying to clear his head in a public bath, he slips beneath the water and suddenly surfaces in a modern Japanese bathhouse. To Lucius, even ordinary Japanese bathing conveniences look like astonishing inventions from an impossible civilization. Back in Rome, he tries to recreate what he has seen with the materials of his own age. His strange journeys keep happening, and every accidental visit to Japan brings another idea capable of reviving his career and transforming Roman bathing culture in wonderfully unexpected ways.