Manyo Club (Toyosu) — Restaurant in Tokyo

Mixed feelings about Tokyo Toyosu Manyo Club.

For those with Tattoo's - As a regular traveller to Japan, and a foreigner I understand the stigma towards tattoos especially in public onsen. So we did a lot of research prior to coming and found the website to be very unhelpful to the point of being purposely vague or misleading. The website says "persons with tattoos, tattoo stickers and body paint will not be allowed in the building unless they follow our rules". After more searching than should be needed we found the rules that state "customers may use our facilities if their tattoo design can be completely hidden by a maximum of two of our specified cover stickers" which would lead one to understand that each individual design needs to fit under 2 stickers, especially as this is demonstrated in an illustration at the entrance. Not that a maximum of 2 stickers will be allowed to cover all designs on the body, which we didn't find out until travelling a distance to the facility only to be turned away at the door.

Foreigner Friendly - for an establishment that is so heavily advertised to foreigners, there is a lack of services for non native speakers with no designated bilingual staff. Even as someone that understands the customs and rules of an onsen I was confused until I was able to see what other patrons were doing and follow suit. The services menu isn't translated and I didn't fully understand what I was paying for even with basic language skills. The staff did try to point me in the right direction and pass information on between them to the best of their ability. Being in a foreign country I don't expect to have everyone speaking fluent English, however if an establishment is advertised to English speakers I would expect more accomodations to bridge the language gap.

Services - after battling the language barrier and my minimally tattooed girlfriend sent away (she insisted I still try the establishment since we travelled so far and were looking forward to it) I found the services I was able to enjoy inside to be quite nice. The lockers were convenient, the Yukata robes were comfortable and labelled well for sizing, there was some confusion getting around and finding things at first, but after doing a lap over the floors I was able to find everything. Having everything paid at the end via a fob attached to my wrist was helpful, but easy to rack up a bill if left unchecked. The onsen was wonderful, however I'm surprised by the lack of signs and information provided to someone as clearly foreign as I am. Luckily I knew the rules, but even I took a moment to adjust and find my way. The rooftop view was lovely, but also lonely after having my girlfriend sent off for having small easily coverable tattoos. I wasn't able to fully take advantage of the buffet or the other services because of this so I can't comment on them.

TL:DR The services once inside are good after some self learning and prior experience, however more attention is needed to catering to foreigners if the goal of the establishment is to...

There used to be a really cool spa called Ōedo-Onsen Monogatari in Odaiba which is now rubble. Tokyo Toyosu Manyo Club has some of the charm but it doesn't quite live up to it.

Although the name makes it sound quite exclusive, it's really just a public onsen and it's easy to visit and enter as a tourist. Like a lot of things in Odaiba, the location is somewhat inconvenient. It takes a long time to get there from anywhere. It is 24 hours, and a spa day pass lets you stay until 3am, but because the Yurakucho line stops running at midnight, you'll probably find you have to leave the premises shortly after 11pm or risk finding yourself stuck in the middle of nowhere. Of course it's not a problem if you plan ahead.

The spa is just part of a big complex has some of that old Ōedo-Onsen charm, with a recreation of some traditional Japanese streets. But, when I visited on a Thursday evening, it was deserted and everything was closed apart from the spa.

Like most onsen they have a system where you sign in, get a locker key (that you can also use to pay for food and drinks inside), grab your spa clothes, get changed and then enjoy the baths. On exit you tap your key on the automatic machine, pay the balance for your ticket and anything you bought inside, and then simply leave. The process was quite smooth overall.

Inside the onsen itself, you have a clean, perhaps slightly sterile environment with touches of traditional Japanese style, warm lighting and lots of wood everywhere.

The men's baths are fine, but not the best I've been to. Probably the biggest selling point is the outside terrace and bath, with a beautiful view across the bay and the shining lights of Toyosu Bridge (apparently the view from the women's baths isn't so good). The other baths seemed a little bit limited and if you're an onsen connoisseur (if such a thing exists) you might be disappointed. There is a salt sauna, though, which was pretty cool.

The rest of the spa is overnight rooms and the big relaxation rooms with comfy TV chairs and a large library of books. I didn't get a chance to use these but they looked quite nice.

I had curry-rice at the restaurant - the food was good and you have a nice view, although the seating in the restaurant itself feels a little like a school canteen and again quite sterile.

I don't have tattoos myself, but it's nice that their tattoo policy is quite progressive compared to other onsen - tattoos are allowed if they can be covered up with patches (up to a certain size limit).

Overall, a pretty nice onsen/super sento - I wish I had had a bit more time to stay. The interior is a bit sterile and bland, which is a shame contrasted to the cool traditional Japanese-style layout of the wider complex. I think there are better onsen in Tokyo to visit if you can see only one. But the tattoo-friendly rules are...

Arrived at around 1130am on a Monday, and it was quite busy to line up for the single elevator to get to the lobby. The line up was long to register at the front desk, but everything was smooth once we got in.

Buffet was good overall, with a decent variety of food options available. All you can eat sashimi station was nice to have, and while I don’t doubt you would likely get higher quality sashimi with more finesse and attention to detail at a restaurant of your choice, for an all you can eat buffet and having sashimi as an option, I found it delicious. Also having personal hot pot options was a nice surprise. No stand out stars for food options, but everything I had was decent quality and enjoyable.

The onsen itself was very enjoyable. As a foreigner, it did take a moment to get used to entering the onsen without a swimsuit, but it felt very natural and the different pools of water were very relaxing and enjoyable to be in. Having pools outside to enjoy the weather and view was also a nice option to have, though one can stick to the indoor pools if one prefers. The water pressure of the shower stations were great, and there was plenty of good shampoo, conditioner and body wash for use, as well as hairbrushes and razors if needed.

Having a private area for patrons of the Manyo club to enjoy a foot bath, separate from the public one, was very peaceful as well, with a beautiful view of the surrounding area. Spent a good amount of time after the onsen relaxing in the foot bath area with my wife after she enjoyed her onsen experience separately.

While I cannot compare quality of onsen experiences with any other local options as a foreigner, and while this is my first onsen experience I may have a biased opinion, I did very much enjoy my experience here as a convenient place to come and enjoy in Tokyo. A perfect place to rest, relax, and recover from jet-lag and as a...