Various entities take a dip together to save a community institution and preserve public bath culture for the next generation to enjoy.
Public bathhouses, known as sento in Japanese, have long served as important community gathering hubs where different generations can interact with one another. Unfortunately, not all public baths are able to stay afloat in this age of rising costs and other factors. Case in point: from 2015 to 2025, the number of public bathhouses operating in Tokyo dropped from 628 to 417 locations.
Thankfully, one public bath in Tokyo’s Nerima Ward called Sengenyu is not going to join those statistics anytime soon. First opened in 1927, the third-generation previous owner was on the verge of closing the beloved community staple due to their family’s increasing age and the deteriorating facilities. However, thanks to the Tokyo Public Bathhouse Succession Matching Program offered jointly by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo Public Bathhouses Association, a new owner in company Ofuro Works was found. Now, instead of being demolished, Sengenyu is currently being renovated and will reopen to the public in early December.
▼ The current exterior of Sengenyu
The project includes large-scale remodeling of Sengenyu’s entrance, lobby, changing rooms, and saunas to update certain facilities.
▼ Rendition of the completed exterior, designed to blend in with the surrounding area
The lobby is particular is intended to become a spacious, relaxing entryway where patrons can soak in the warmth of the natural wood theme inside.
In addition, a new electric heater from Japanese bath company Metos will be installed within the saunas. Patrons can continue to throw water on the rocks themselves in order to increase the steam to their desired level.
These new updates don’t mean that Sengenyu will lose all of its original charm, though, as features such as the retro-style bathroom with its colorful tile art and the Shigaraki ware tanuki statue outside will be preserved in its redesign.
In a delightful community collaboration, Ofuro Works is also partnering with students at the local Nihon University College of Art to design an updated logo and mascot character based on the tanuki statue. It’s a true full-circle moment, as students from this school as well as other local universities have long been going to Sengenyu and can now leave their own personal mark on the space for many more years to come.
Finally, widespread public fundraising efforts are set to begin on November 1 through Japan’s largest crowdfunding site, Campfire. The project aims to raise 1 million yen (US$6,375) to help offset the costs of remodeling and updating the bath facilities. Financial backers will receive a towel, t-shirt, and a sneak-peek of Sengenyu behind the scenes before it reopens for business.
▼ The art students’ new logo combines the steam of a bathhouse with the puff of smoke that occurs when a tanuki transforms in Japanese folklore.
Despite the decrease in the total number of Tokyo public bathhouses, we can only hope that the statistics showing that the number of users is actually going up will allow Sengenyu and other bath facilities in the Greater Tokyo Area to flourish for 100 more years and beyond.
Bath information
Sengenyu / 浅間湯
Address: Tokyo-to, Nerima-ku, Sakae-cho 38-3
東京都練馬区栄町 38-3
Reopens in early December
Open (new hours): 3 p.m.-11 p.m.
Closed (new day): Mondays
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Source, images: PR Times
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