Tokyo sento

• Sento (public bathhouses) in Tokyo also attract attention for their art!

  A visit to a sento readily gives you a holiday glow and recharges your batteries at a reasonable cost. There is a growing number of sento that also feature a sauna where you can comfortably decompress. In recent years, they’ve also been attracting attention for their art, including architecture, wall and ceiling paintings, and attendant’s booths that are less common these days. Some people even travel by train from afar to enjoy sento!

• Rich distinctiveness is the greatest attraction.

  Traditional Tokyo-style sento are characterized by a shrine-shaped architectural style called karahafu, a grid-patterned ceiling, and an inner courtyard. In addition, the bathtubs are square and placed along the front wall of the bathing room. Nonetheless, the fact that they can’t easily be lumped together is what makes Tokyo sento so interesting. There are also sento boasting state-of-the-art facilities and modern ones called designer sento. Perhaps the greatest attraction of sento in Tokyo is their rich distinctiveness.