Mikoku-yu does not have as many “frills” as the sentos I have written about thus far. It doesn’t have a sauna, a large outdoor bath or anime campaigns. It doesn’t have room for all that. Mikokuyu does, however, get the best-use-of space award. That is beyond a doubt. Mikokuyu is not just clean, it is …
Read more “The Great Shitamachi Sento Crawl, Part 3: Mikoku-yu”
Another reason I love Yudonburi, is its posters. These signs feature original images of anthropomorphic pink rabbits (or bears?…). The rabbit-bears exhibit atrocious manners while grinning mindlessly, in order to remind sento-goers of all the things we shouldn’t do. And I love them, whatever they are, because they do not look like me. “Manners,” are …
Yudonburi is the best. In a way, that’s all that needs to be said here. If you have the time to visit only one sento in the Shitamachi area, and you are wondering which one would be most worth your time, you can stop reading right now and just go to Yudonburi. The directions are …
Read more “The Great Shitamachi Sento Crawl, Part 2: Yudonburi-Sakaeyu”
Disclaimer: Gaijin Mommy is not your average sento reviewer. For an English language review with extremely useful, factual-type information, I recommend you check here. Ok, so the most important thing to do before visiting Daikoku-yu is to check this easy-to-understand schedule. Luckily, the only truly important part to note here is in the bottom left-hand …
Read more “The Great Shitamachi Sento Crawl, Part 1: Daikoku-yu”
Daikoku-yu is one of my favorite sentos. Sentos are kind of my thing lately. Over the past few weeks, I’ve passed under the public bathhouse’s new noren banner several times, though I never thought much of it. I’m not a big anime fan, so I didn’t realize that it was a one-of-a-kind work of art, …
Read more “Pray for Daikokuyu. (Or don’t. They’ll probably be fine.)”