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If cleanliness is next to godliness then Tokyo is a lot closer to heaven than you think. Here's how to bliss out by getting naked with strangers
By Lisa Takeuchi Cullen
MAP: Tokyo
I like to bathe in public. This inclination has so far failed to attract much attention because I live in Japan, where hot-spring hopping is a national obsession and the remarkable benefits of bathing are heralded on a daily basis in the media. While growing up here, I harbored violent objections to displaying my everything to a bunch of naked strangers. Only as an achy, fatigued adult has it begun to sink in: What better way to slow the insane pace of this jam-packed country than with a good, long soak?
If you can't squeeze in a trip to a remote mountain spring, you can take the plunge even in the steel-and-glass capital of Tokyo. Like the best public baths, my favorite is a neighborhood secret. Hidden on the seventh floor of a department store building in old Asakusa, Matsuri-yu is frequented by locals who come in the morning and stay all day. That's because it's more a spa than a tub. For starters, each of the many baths boasts different mineral infusions for a variety of benefits. There are Jacuzzis, outdoor baths, aromatherapy saunas, massage rooms, facialists, darkened resting rooms, even a vast tatami-mat eatery complete with sequin-clad balladeer. Bathers lounge all day in pajamas provided by the spa, slipping in and out to take another dip.
The oldest, best-known bath in Tokyo is the Azabu Juban Onsen, a real hot spring spouting from 500 m underground. This is an old-fashioned, no-frills establishment; you get a thin tenugui, or washcloth, upon admittance and nothing else. The locker room is grotty and the bath tiles stained. But aficionados travel from across the country to partake of the brownish waters, whose minerals are said to ease arthritis and other ailments. On weekends, bathers pack the large hall to lounge and eat noodles. Despite the grungy surroundings, it's an authentic taste of true onsen, or hot spring, culture. Besides, you'll notice the waters really do leave your skin baby-soft.
The weirdest public bath I've found in Tokyo is located hard by the railroad in Kabuki-cho, the famous red-light district. I was intrigued by its position when I stumbled upon a mention of the Green Plaza Shinjuku in a magazine, but grew alarmed at the cheesy, basement entrance. I ascended to the 10th floor, and was relieved to find the 24-hr. spa clean and respectable. Moreover, it features a gem on its roof: the rotenburo, or outdoor bath. There's something gleefully luxurious about floating in a steaming hot bath the size of a small swimming pool, gazing out at the city lights.
For the bliss of a beer chaser after your bath, there's the Hanezawa Beer Garden. Built on an old estate, the torch-lit outdoor bar is the ideal place to sit and sip an ice-cold brew under the stars. From there it's a quick cab ride home to the sleek new Cerulean Tower Tokyu Hotel, where stunning views extend as far as Mount Fuji. Did I mention the marble baths?
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