The view from the bath is picture-perfect. Through the thick steam rising from the piping hot water, foothills dotted with lush pines and rolling fields of greens and gold give way to a turquoise-blue ocean. From the center rises Mount Fuji, its snow-dusted peak circled in a halo of marshmallow-like clouds.
There's no smoggy pollution or high-rises obscuring this view -- even though it can be enjoyed from a spot just a 15-minute walk from my downtown Tokyo apartment.
What's more, it is one of hundreds of such vistas in Tokyo, many of them created by Morio Nakajima. In his 36 years as a sento(public bathhouse) artist, Nakajima has painted enough views of Japan's fabled peak to make Hiroshige and Hokusai look like a pair of slouches.