Rare views of Mount Fuji: Japan's last sentō artists
A dying craft, sentō (public bathhouse) painting now has just three artisans continuing the art form. Can interest in Japanese culture, sparked by the 2020 Olympics, help renew an appreciation for the stunning murals?
Good, clean dining in the alleyways of Shiba
Minutes from Tamachi Station, the area of Shiba, is a maze of weathered watering holes, chain restaurants, karaoke joints and gritty izakaya (Japanese pubs), like an east Tokyo version of Shinjuku's Golden Gai.
Young operators turn to social media to revive Tokyo's sento neighborhood bathhouses
Younger operators of sento (public bathhouses) in Tokyo are breathing new life into the facilities, which have long helped residents in communities feel refreshed and relaxed. There are fewer sento these days because more people have baths at home. But some operators have achieved a ...
Mural painter can't relax in bathhouses
Name: Mizuki Tanaka Age: 35 Nationality: Japanese Occupation: Sento (public bathhouse) mural painter Likes: Reading, art, movies Dislikes: Headaches 1. When did you first go to a public bathhouse and how did you like it? I went in my second year of university when I started to consider writing a ...
Bathhouse offers 'Naked School' classes to lure younger bathers
A Tokyo bathhouse is offering classes on topics ranging from comedy to gaming in hopes of luring younger patrons and reviving the dying tradition of communal baths. During one recent session of the "Naked School" at the Hinodeyu bathhouse, nine men sat around the bath, ...
Washed up? Tokyo's iconic communal bath houses face an uncertain future
Walking around Tokyo, you may have noticed a number of tall, narrow chimneys rising above the skyline every so often. Such stacks are a good indication that you've stumbled across a sento, or communal bath house. Long-time residents, however, will perhaps have noted that such ...
Sarasa Nishijin: A curious cafe in the bones of an old bathhouse
Sarasa Nishijin is a sentō (bathhouse) — well, it used to be. But using the past tense here belies how much of its old spirit still lives on. The waters may have drained away — replaced by sofas, tables, chairs and people lounging about ...
Creator of 'sento' website bathing in early success
A website providing information about sento public bathhouses in parts of Japan is proving popular despite the decline in such communal baths, which have been a major part of Japanese culture. Tokyo Sento, launched in 2015, now attracts about 100,000 views a month, mainly from ...
Japan's public baths hope foreign tourists will help keep the taps running
Japan's public baths, known as sento, represent an institution with hundreds of years of history. They provided an important public service in the days before homes had their own hot-water bathtubs. The entrance of the Inariyu sento in Tokyo's Kita Ward is designed like that ...
True Edo spirit can be found while soaking in a public bath
"Public baths are the shortest route there is to moral and spiritual enlightenment. Careful reflection shows this." It does — comic novelist Shikitei Sanba (1776-1822) is quite right — and it's a theme worth developing. First, however, a digression. "The lord of Iyo (in Shikoku) lost ...
'Sento' attract modern clientele but tradition isn't circling the drain
"Sento" in Tokyo that try to stand out are drawing new customers even as the popularity of communal bathhouses continues to decline from the days when most Japanese homes lacked baths. Shimizu-Yu in Minami-Aoyama, a fashionable part of Minato Ward, now looks like a cafe ...
Tokyo bathhouses look to tap foreigners but ensure they behave
Bathhouses in Tokyo are taking greater steps to welcome foreigners visiting the capital by preparing a guidance manual and poster in several languages to help them understand the proper etiquette for communal bathing so they can avoid embarrassments. "We would like to receive foreigners with ...
