The Future of Neighborhood Bathhouses in Tokyo

It seemed like demand for both Korean bathhouses and Japanese sento was decreasing, but with COVID-19 as the trigger, the number of businesses closing down has begun to increase.
The number of business closures in Japan was much higher than in Korea, and the pace was faster.
However, recently, Japanese bathhouses are experiencing meaningful changes, led by the MZ generation.
The Japanese culture of inheriting family businesses also plays a role here.
Unlike Korea, where businesses close when the number of customers declines, the accumulated results of research and consideration on how to continue running these shops inherited from their predecessors are now creating a sento boom.


A bathhouse where you can drink beer provided by a master certified by Asahi Beer, a bathhouse where you can listen to music from the lounge with an LP bar to the bathhouse, a bathhouse where pop-ups by famous brands such as Minetin Dew, Sabon, and Georgia Coffee are held, a bathhouse that holds over 7,000 comic books and operates care classes, etc. It is gradually evolving beyond a space to simply wash your body into a space where you can share your daily life and reflect on yourself.


In Tokyo, the focus is more on the essence of the neighborhood community than on the external vessel of the bath.
If the neighborhood disappears, the bathhouse will eventually lose its meaning.
Take a fun look at 10 of Tokyo's most iconic bathhouses, which are shaping the future of neighborhood bathhouses ahead of us.

The Bathhouse in Front of My House will be divided into three volumes, introducing Tokyo's bathhouses and the people who are shaping the future of bathhouses together.
So, would you like to go on a trip to Tokyo's bathhouses with us?