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Before getting into the bath itself, you have to make sure you’re clean. You don’t want to be bathing in other people’s grease, right? Sit down at a shower station on a stool — there might be one there already, or else you can grab one from the pile. Some recommended public baths in Kyoto are Daikoku-yu, Idutsu-yu, Sakura-yu, Higashiyama-yu and Funaoka Onsen.
Kyoto’s Best Sentos – Japanese Public Baths
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The dressing room is approximately 10 m by 10 m, sometimes partly covered with tatami sheets and contains lockers for clothes. Often, there is a large shelf storing equipment for regular customers. Built in 1930, Inari-Yu is a timeless Japanese bath where you can soak in the warm waters while admiring a painting of Mt. Fuji on the wall. The main things to remember are no bathing suits, wash beforehand, and keep your towel out of the tub. In my eight baths at four different locations, I was always the only Western guest.
How to Use a Sento: Japanese Bathhouse Etiquette
Here we’d like to mention some manners and rules that you should keep in mind when visiting onsens and sento, so as to avoid any misunderstandings or anything unpleasant. Japan is home to many volcanoes, which is why there are more than 20,000 onsen facilities located across the country. While there are onsens in Tokyo, if you head to more rural areas, you will discover many more onsens, as well as onsen towns where traditional Japanese inns are gathered in abundance. Often, there will be a small waiting area, so you can wait for your partner or friends of the opposite sex. An ice-cold milk, juice, or beer all taste much better after a hot bath.
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Things to Know Before You Use Onsen and Sento
Some of the treatments at the bath house required additional payment and a reservation, while others are included in the entry fee. The salt sauna involved laying down on chunks of pink salt in a sauna for 30 minutes, and the massage was a traditional massage. To avoid the floor getting slippery and dangerous, bathhouses often have shelves at the entrance to the bathing area.
There is a changing area where you strip down, and then you grab a towel and go into the baths. There were several pools at different temperatures, including cold baths. My favorite part was the small wooden tubs that were filled with hot water and placed outside. MATCHA is a media platform that introduces travel information for international visitors to Japan.
If the facility doesn’t have a vending machine at which to pay, simply pay directly to a staff member. Read more about Public baths (sento) in Kyoto and the Best Onsen in Kyoto. While discovering a bath house by yourself is fun, there are a few web sites that can help you on the way. Sentos are civil and respectful arenas, and privacy is respected. However, it is important to note the existence of a certain fascination with gaijin anatomy. As stereotypes abound in every society, those pertaining to the size of foreigners' genitals are pervasive in Japan.
Kyoto’s Best Sentos
According to a document of the time, the first public bathhouse in Edo (the former name for Tokyo) was built in 1591 by a man named Ise Yoichi. It was located by a bridge near what is now the Bank of Japan headquarters in central Tokyo. The sentō’s success led to the establishment of similar facilities. A decade later, there were bathhouses in every part of the city.
Okada-yu aims to become more of a leisure facility, rather than a bathhouse meant just for daily necessities. Expect luxurious facilities, such as a jet bubble bath, and another made of hinoki cypress wood, which gives off a relaxing fresh and earthy scent. Armed with knowledge and expertise in running a traditional Japanese bathhouse, they are also dedicated to keeping the family business relevant and prosperous. Here are ten Tokyo sento that represent the best Japanese bathhouses of the modern era. The sento that remain are battling for customers, modernizing their facilities and their image in order to lure younger crowds.
Do I Have to Wash First?
Of course, now with modern times, most people have baths in their house but still enjoy the sento bathing experience. Both sentos and onsens are very important to Japanese culture. Still, sadly due to the accessibility of baths, modern culture, and rising costs, sentos around Tokyo and all of Japan are closing. There are some baths where swimsuits are required in certain areas and prohibited in others.
Furthermore, as most houses were damaged or destroyed, few people had access to a private bath, resulting in a great increase in customers for the bathhouses. New buildings in the post-war period also often lacked baths or showers, leading to a strong increase in the number of public baths. In 1965 many baths also added showerheads to the faucets in baths. Some public baths provide natural hot spring water, although the typical sento uses heated tap water. Coincidentally, Japan has never been the most PC of countries and rumors abound regarding the barring of foreigners from entering these least private of public places. Hotels or some onsen may offer private baths that allow for a mixed party to enter together.Tattoos, generally speaking, are highly discouraged if not forbidden.
The short answer is a sento is a Japanese public bathhouse usually separated by sex and open to all. Public bathhouses can be found in most neighborhoods in Japan. My first Japanese bath experience at Keio Takaosan Onsen Gokurakuyu near Tokyo was the most boutique bathhouse I visited.
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