Soak with locals in an old Tokyo bathhouse
Sento are neighborhood public baths where Tokyo residents have soaked for generations. Some still have temple-style roofs, an attendant's seat raised between the men's and women's changing rooms, and murals painted above the baths. Wash at the faucets before you get in, then soak the way locals do.
Open since 1933, this bathhouse is easy to spot by the curved, temple-style gable over its entrance. Inside are a milky-white bath, a special bath that changes daily, and tubs at different temperatures, so regulars move back and forth between hot and cold. Shampoo and body soap are provided.
This bathhouse has been in business right in the middle of Ginza since the Edo period, before 1868. The attendant's raised seat, a coffered wooden ceiling, and a small Shinto altar remain, with a painted mural and a tile mural above the baths. It's a short walk from Shimbashi Station, so it fits easily into a day in Ginza.
With its temple-style roof and Mt. Fuji painted across the wall above the bath, this bathhouse looks exactly like a classic sento, and it is often used as a set for Japanese commercials and TV dramas. There is also an herbal bath that changes daily. It sits in a quiet residential neighborhood, about a 15-minute walk from Yukigaya-otsuka Station.