Kosugiyu

I really love this place, I do. I’ve lived in Tokyo for several years now and have been going to this sento for most of that time. I have brought many foreign friends here, some with tattoos, and have never had any trouble… until tonight.

Tonight I brought two friends with me, one who cannot see much of anything without her glasses and one who had never been to a sento before. They had placed their water bottles on a ledge that they were not supposed to, and one of the regulars took it upon herself to scold them loudly. I apologized on their behalf in Japanese, after which she turned her attention to me. I have never been screamed at in such a way in my life. She asked me why I didn’t warn my friends of such a rule if I can speak Japanese. She also told me that I should have learned the rules of Japan before coming here. I’d like to point out that my friends immediately corrected their mistake — at this point, several minutes into yelling at me, she was simply looking for a fight.

She continued to harass me specifically for 30 minutes to an hour — it was hard to tell the time when I was so shaken, but the verbal abuse began around 8 and we didn’t end up leaving the sento until about 10. Some remarks crossed the line into outright racism. She splashed one of my friends with water (the one who can’t see), and made another cry. One of the women bathing with us got involved — apparently, the owner. Her attempt at deescalating the situation was to tell my friends and I that we should leave, rather than the other woman. (She also told me that there would be another Kosugiyu location opening in Harajuku soon. It seemed like a hint to pack up and go somewhere else rather than deal with the harasser herself.) Other customers looked uncomfortable at the woman’s abuse and supported us quietly, but in the end the woman was only told to bring complaints to the staff next time.

Looking at the other low reviews, it seems that the owner’s unwillingness to deal with the behavior of the regulars is a common issue. The young staff members, on the other hand, were absolutely wonderful. They did everything they could for us, but the situation was out of their hands. This is the first time I’ve had such an issue, and I believe most people who decide to come here will have an unbothered bathing experience. However, be warned that if someone DOES happen to harass you, they will probably go unpunished. As this is one of the only tattoo-friendly establishments in Tokyo and reputed to be very foreigner-friendly, I am deeply disappointed by this. I wonder if other English-speakers have had similar experiences.

After finding out that the woman was a regular, I don’t know if I can return to this place for a while. Although she was instructed to bring complaints to the staff, I am not confident that she has taken this to heart. And if another incident occurs, I am not confident that it will be handled properly.