2019.12.24
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[Tokyo] Experience the Japanese Lifestyle with a Public Bath at Kosugiyu Tonari!

“By the Kosugi-yu” seeks to recreate the lively communal spirit of the traditional Japanese bathhouse, and is set to open soon! Here is all you need to know about this new facility.

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”By the Kosugi-yu”
The concept of a “bathhouse lifestyle”

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”By the Kosugi-yu”

The Kosugi-yu bathhouse is located in Koenji, a 10-minute ride from Shinjuku Station on the Chuo Line, and opened in 1933. Over its 86 years of operation, it has become a well-established bathhouse and served as a lively meeting place for locals. Next door to this bath, a new facility will open that allows you to experience the “bathhouse lifestyle”.

The concept of a “bathhouse lifestyle”

This new facility, “By the Kosugi-yu”, seeks to provide a full “bathhouse lifestyle” adjacent to the bath. It is a commons space where customers who are done bathing could enjoy a meal, read a book, or get some work done as they please, as though they were in their own home.
The facility will be three stories tall and, like the bathhouse itself, bathed in natural light. The first floor features a kitchen and dining area, where customers can enjoy a drink or a well-balanced meal; the second floor includes a living room with tatami flooring as well as a library suited for work or study. The third floor has private rooms that can be booked.

The bath, as a communal meeting place, used to hold a valuable spot in people’s daily lives. People of many varying generations and cultures, who might not otherwise cross paths, would relax together at the bath and mingle. Yet, as individual home baths have become commonplace, public bathhouses have fallen out of use, weakening locals’ connections with their neighbors and with their community. “By the Kosugi-yu” seeks to recreate this sort of space for the modern day, where people can take a break from daily life and find some peace.

By the Kosugi-yu

3-32 Koenji-kita, Suginami-ku, Tokyo

“By the Kosugi-yu” seeks to add some richness to daily life. If this strikes your fancy, make sure to check out the space once it opens.

*Please note that the information in this article is from the time of writing or publication and may differ from the latest information.