Skinship is big in Japan: a concept of bodily intimacy via contact through the skin, such as by sleeping on neighboring futon or, most obviously, bathing together.
So while your mom or bestie might not hug you as much, you will bathe with your immediate relatives, such as your kids, siblings, or partner, and it doesn't cease to be a thing even if you only have one of those square bathtubs hardly large enough to fit an average Westerner's body. People just sort of clamber in and sit on top of each other in the bath.
Of course, communal bathing culture extends to bathhouses and hot springs, ...
