Sentō
2=銭湯 is a type of Japanese communal bathhouse where customers pay for entrance. Traditionally these bathhouses have been quite utilitarian, with a tall barrier separating the sexes within one large room, a minimum of lined-up faucets on both sides, and a single large bath for the already washed bathers to sit in among others. Since the second half of the 20th century, these communal bathhouses have been decreasing in numbers as more and more Japanese residences now have baths. Some Japanese find social importance in going to public baths, out of the theory that physical proximity/intimacy brings emotional intimacy, which is termed skinship in pseudo-English Japanese. Others go to a sentō because they live in a small housing facility without a private bath or to enjoy bathing in a spacious room and to relax in saunas or jet baths that often accompany new or renovated sentōs.
Another type of Japanese public bath is onsen, which uses hot water from a natural hot spring. In general, the word onsen means that the bathing facility has at least one bath filled with natural hot spring water. However, throughout the Kansai region of Japan, the word "onsen" is also a commonly used naming scheme for sentō. Sentō and supersentō in Kansai that do have access to a hot spring will often differentiate themselves by having "natural hot spring" somewhere on their signage.
Layout and architectural features
Entrance area
There are multiple different layouts for a Japanese sentō or public bath. Most traditional sentō, however, are similar to the layout shown on the right. The entrance from the outside looks somewhat similar to a temple, with a Japanese curtain across the entrance. The curtain is usually blue and shows the kanji 湯 or the corresponding hiragana ゆ. After the entrance, there is an area with shoe lockers, followed by two long curtains or doors, one on each side. These lead to the datsuijo, also known as datsuiba for the men and women respectively. The men's and the women's sides are similar and differ only slightly.Changing room
A public bathing facility in Japan typically has one of two kinds of entrances. One is the front desk variety, where a person in charge sits at a front desk, abbreviated as "front." The other entrance variety is the bandai style. In Tokyo, 660 sentō facilities have a "front"-type entrance, while only 315 still have the more traditional bandai-style entrance.Inside, between the entrances is the bandai, where the attendant sits. The bandai is a rectangular or horseshoe-shaped platform with a railing, usually around 1.5 to 1.8 m high. Above the bandai is usually a large clock. Immediately in front of the bandai is usually a utility door, to be used by the attendants only. 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.
The ceiling is high, at 3 to 4 m. The separating wall between the men's and the women's side is about 1.5 m high. The dressing room also often has access to a small Japanese garden with a pond and a Japanese-style toilet. There are a number of tables and chairs, including some coin-operated massage chairs. Usually, there is also a scale to measure weight, and sometimes height. In some old sentō, this scale may use the traditional Japanese measure monme and kan. Similarly, in old sentō the height scale may go only to 180 cm. Local business often advertises in the sentō. The women's side usually has some baby beds and may have more mirrors. The decoration and the advertising are often gender-specific on the different sides. There is usually a refreshment cooler there where the customers can self-serve and pay the attendant. Milk drinks are traditional favorites and sometimes there is ice cream.
Bathing area
The bathing area is separated from the changing area by a sliding door to keep the heat in the bath. An exception are baths in Okinawa, where the climate is warmer and there is no need to keep the hot air in the bath. Sentō in Okinawa usually have no separation between the changing room and the bathing area or only a small wall with an opening to pass through.The bathing area is usually tiled. Near the entrance area is a supply of small stools and buckets. There are a number of washing stations at the wall and sometimes in the middle of the room, each with usually two faucets, one for hot water and one for cold water, and a showerhead.
At the end of the room are the bathtubs, usually at least two or three with different water temperatures, and maybe a 'denki buro'. In the Osaka and Kansai area the bathtubs are more often found in the center of the room, whereas in Tokyo they are usually at the end of the room. The separating wall between the men and the women side is also about 1.5 m high. The ceiling may be 4 m high, with large windows in the top. On rare occasions, the separating wall also has a small hole. This was used to pass soap. At the wall on the far end of the room is usually a large ceramic tile mural or painting for decoration. Most often this is Mount Fuji, but it may be a general Japanese landscape, a European landscape, a river or ocean scene. On rarer occasions, it may also show a group of warriors or a female nude on the male side. Playing children or a female beauty often decorates the women's side.
Boiler room
Behind the bathing area is the boiler room, where the water is heated. The boiler may be powered by heating oil, electricity, or be fuelled by wood chippings or any other suitable fuel source. The tall chimneys of the boilers are often used to locate the sentō from far away. After World War II, Tokyo often had power outages when all bathhouse owners turned on the electric water heating at the same time.Sauna
Many modern sentō have a sauna with a bathtub of cold water just outside it for cooling off afterward. Visitors are sometimes expected to pay an extra fee to use the sauna and are often given a wristband to signify this payment.Etiquette
The Japanese public bath is one area where the uninitiated can upset regular customers by not following correct bathing etiquette designed to respect others; in particular, not washing before bathing, dipping your towel into the water, introducing soap into the bathwater, and horseplay. Sentō commonly displays a poster, a leaflet, and/or a brochure describing bathing etiquette and procedures in Japanese or occasionally in other languages for international customers.Some ports in Hokkaidō, frequently used by foreign fishing fleets, had problems with drunken sailors misbehaving in the bath. Subsequently, a few bathhouses chose not to allow foreign customers at all.
It is common to hear people say, "gokuraku, gokuraku" when they get into the bath. It means something to the level of divine pleasure; it is a good feeling for the body and the soul.
Equipment
Taking a bath at a public sentō requires at a bare minimum a small towel and some soap/shampoo. Attendants usually sell these items for 100-200 yen. A number of people bring two towels; a hand towel for drying and a hand towel or washcloth for washing. A nylon scrubbing cloth or scrub brush with liquid soap is normally used for washing. Other body hygiene products may include a pumice stone, toothbrush, toothpaste, shaving equipment, combs, shower caps, pomade, makeup products, powder, creams, etc. Some regular customers store their bucket of bathing equipment on open shelves in the dressing room.Entrance and undressing
In Japan, it is customary to remove one's shoes when entering a private home. Similarly, shoes are removed before entering the bathing area in a sentō. They are kept in a shoe locker. The locker is usually available free of charge. In a gender-segregated sentō, bathers go through one of the two doors. The men's door usually has a blue color and the kanji for man and the women's door usually has a pink color and the kanji for woman. The attendant usually provides at extra cost a variety of bath products including towels, soap, shampoo, razors, and combs; ice cream or juice from the freezer can also be paid for here.There are usually free lockers with keys or large baskets provided to put personal effects.
Bathing area
At onsen or hot springs, the water contains minerals and a number of people do not rinse off the water from the skin, to increase exposure to the minerals. In a regular sentō, people usually rinse off at the faucets.Tattoos
Some public baths have signs refusing entry for people with tattoos. However, one may be allowed in if the tattoos are not too obvious. If one ventures to a public bathing place that is publicly owned, this should not present a problem as they have a duty to let all tax-paying citizens in. The original reason behind the ban was to keep out the yakuza.Sanitation
Japanese public baths have experienced infrequent outbreaks of dangerous Legionella bacteria. In order to prevent such problems, the sentō union adds chlorine to its baths. At the cost of higher levels of chlorine, bacteria outbreaks are practically non-existent at sentō facilities of today.Pricing
Rules and pricing are regulated per prefecture based on local committees. In 2022, basic admission for adults in Tokyo is ¥500. Citing a rise in oil prices, the price rose from ¥400, to ¥430 and again to ¥450. The price for child admission was unchanged until 2022 when the price for 6- to 11-year-olds rose to ¥200 and that for younger children to ¥100.Girls 13 years or younger and boys 8 or younger are usually permitted to enter the baths of either gender. In other prefectures, the cut-off age can be as high as 16 in Hokkaidō or as low as 5 in Hyōgo.
Most sentō in Tokyo also offer a premium service for which each facility sets its own price, usually around ¥1,000. This option is usually called a sauna since at least a sauna is included. At Civic Land Nissei, for example, the sauna option includes access to more than half the facilities available.
Larger-scale public bathing facilities are called super sentō and kenkō land, both more expensive than sentō, though super sentō offer a more modest price compared to kenkō.
At ¥300 per adult, the cheapest prefectures for sentō baths are Yamagata, Tokushima, Nagasaki, Ōita, and Miyazaki.