At Matsumoto Yu you can relax in a Finnish dry sauna, enjoy a rose herbal bath and try a jet massage.
The historic Matsumotoyu public bathhouse in Nakano Ward has undergone a major renovation for the first time in its 85-year history. With the help of local residents, the bathhouse raised enough money to undergo a complete renovation and become a more modern public bathhouse with new bathrooms and saunas.
The newly renovated Matsumotoyu features a classic dry stone sauna, complete with a Finnish stove and automatic sprinkler (an automatic sprinkler is a device that gently sprays water onto hot stones, maintaining a constant and even steam).
There is also a steam room, especially for women, which is very luxuriously decorated. The benches in the room are covered with small tiles made from minerals from the famous Austrian mountain town of Bad Gastein and lava from Mount Fuji. The bathhouse claims that the tiles emit far infrared rays, which are said to help the body recover faster.
After a good soak in the sauna, head to the bathing area to wash up. You can relax in a bright pink tub filled with healing Kampo herbs.
If herbal baths aren’t your thing, try more unique options like the sleep bath, sitz bath, and jet massage bath at the back of the room. The Jacuzzi bath has four settings designed to relieve back pain, and there’s also a high-pressure shower with multiple jets for a relaxing hydromassage.
If you prefer something less high-tech, you’ll find two deeper, colder baths: a warm bath (around 25-30 degrees Celsius) and a cold bath at 15-17 degrees Celsius. Motonobu Matsumoto, a third-generation bathhouse owner, said it’s best to try the sauna and cold bath first, then the warm water.
If you want to take a break between baths, there is a place at the entrance where you can rest on a tatami mat and let the cool air dry your body.
After your bath, you can head to the Japanese-style living room and lie down to rest. Don’t forget to notice the antique stained glass window in the room – this is one of the original features of the public baths, and it’s not going anywhere.
Be sure to look out for Matsumoto-Yu exclusive merchandise, such as sauna caps and stickers featuring Kamekichi, the friendly soft-shell turtle that lives in the bathhouse. You can also see these for yourself when you enter.
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