Kosugiyu — Attraction in Tokyo

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...

It was an amazing first sento experience! A sento is a hot bath without naturally sourced hot water, while onsens are naturally sourced mineral water and is more common outside of the urban areas. Staff were very friendly and there were a lot of nice young people that don’t judge here. I went at 10:30pm. It’s great that it closes at 1:30am and tattoos are welcomed! Below are some tips for other foreigners that I would’ve appreciated! C:

Take off your shoes before you step up onto the wooden platform There are free small lockers in the front where you can store them. The key is a wooden slab. There’s even a umbrella holder that borrows a 100 yen coin which you can take back You can rent a small towel inside, and shampoo/conditioner/body wash is free inside the washroom The women’s locker room and bath is on the left side of the front desk and the right side is the mens. Once in the locker room, find a locker with a key in the lock to put your clothes. Wash your hair if it is dirty, and wash/rinse off your body, it’s okay to just rinse off your body if your hair is already clean. I think you can use the shower head to wash your hair, and use the bucket to pour water on yourself and wash your body. Try to keep the splash to a minimum xD Based on what I saw, I think you leave the stool/bucket there and go into the bath to soak. You can bring the towel they gave you and put it on your head or leave it on the side, but don’t let it touch the water. Stay a few minutes, until your nose/forehead starts to sweat or until you feel slightly lightheaded Come back and rinse your stool/bucket once you’re done and return them Try to dry yourself a little before you return to the locker room so you’re not making puddles in there Bring the wet towel they provided you to the front desk where they have a used towel basket And lastly there are hot/cold drinks you can buy to nourish yourself and feel extra refreshed after the hot bath! There’s a little corner with manga to read and where you can chill and cool down a bit before leaving. It was a little crowded in there so I just bought a drink and left with my friend right afterwards c: Although it closes at 1am, keep in mind to not miss the last train if you have to travel! I think the last one for me was 1am, but unsure if its the same for every train

I hope this helped you and that you enjoy...

After checking Kosugiyu website I decided to visit, very beautiful tradition building, simple, clean, bright and tidy... With a cozy relaxing area and you can find different drinks and snacks... The cashier lady and gentlemen (I guess they are owner) they are very friendly can feel....can see they put lots of afford to keep this place bright and shine....

Place is good "BUT" same feeling with the one of the comments before... Some of regular customers ( can see they chit chat with each other and you can tell they come very often) seems not very friendly to foiergener...

Reason : their bath water temperature are pretty hot between 41.2 - 43 degrees, when you enjoy for a while you need to get out from the hot water and take a rest, you can't directly stand up otherwise easy to feel dizzy, so I seat a bit on the side of the bathtub to calm down a bit than move to other bath.... I think this movement stimulate the middle age/Old regular customers and they start to stare at you and come up to lecture you saying you can't seat there.... (I feel so bad if some people really feel dizzy or unwell after using the 43 degree bath and still need to follow their own group rules????)

Not finish yet, once they find out you are foiergener, all your movements in under their eyes, come to remind me I still have a little bubbles on my upper back ( I think they scare I will go to the bath again but the shower is after I enjoy the bath and going to leave!) And when I use their design cold water bath bucket (they have a cold water bathtub) to SLIGHTLY rinse my feet and LEGS, and the other regular senior customers voice out again say I can't rinse beside the bathtub.......

I visited more than 20 public public bath 錢湯 in Japan (mostly in Tokyo) in local place, luxury hotel place, mega big for many many people place... I never have this kind of terrible experience by other " Regular customers" ( mostly senior ladies) and I also seen people seating on the side of the bathtub to take a little rest avoid faint....

So I really like the atmosphere of this beautiful tradition building and onsen, nd the owner, special the gentle man he is super friendly.... But the experience from other customers that make me feel I will not come back again even I need to warn other foiergener, if you visit this place get ready to go a lot of stress from other "regular...