If you want to try a public bath experience, I suggest booking a hotel near airport having this amenity: 大浴場 (literally "big bath" meaning there is a public bath in the accommodation). Because Japanese have an affinity for bathing, quite a few hotels offer a public bath in addition to the a small bathroom inside one's room, called "unit bath."
This should be a good experience because
a "big bath" in a hotel is usually not very crowded in the earlier and later hours and it is convenient. Also, you can come back to your room and use your own bathroom if you don't feel good about the public bath for any reason, or you can come back later when they have less people. I think it's an ideal opportunity for your first try.
I look for these places because it is a great chance to relax after a long international flight; also, it's a good way to say farewell for awhile to all of my favorite things in Japan.
Narita (Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo)
In the Narita area, the Hilton Narita, Excel Hotel Tokyu, Marroad Narita International and Apa Hotel Narita have public baths. Most of them have a shuttle service. Some of the bath facilities may be only one room. Guests use the bath facility in rotations: men-hours and women-hours. Marroad, Hilton and Tokyu are big chain names, so you can find the information in English. Among them, I have used Apa Hotel. It's the cheapest and more local.
- Apa Hotel Narita Report
Apa Hotel is a big chain hotel brand too. Their hotels are close to the train station and most of them have a public bath. Narita is close to Narita station (which is 5 minutes from the Keisei Line or JR train ride from the Narita Airport) or use their (not too frequent) shuttle service. Their men's and women's baths are separated so there is no wait; use them anytime during open hours. The con of their hotels is that rooms tend to be very small. I don't have a big concern about that, but some people might.
How to Use a Public Bath in a Hotel
The bath is on the 2nd floor. When you get out from the elevator, there's a Noren curtain with "ゆ (yu)" indicating the bath area like the photo above.
You leave your slippers (provided in your room) at the entrance of the bath area; you'll put them on a shelf. Then you take off your clothes and put them into the locker. You have to carry the locker key into the bathroom. Usually Japanese people wear it like a wrist band or anklet. It is common to say hi especially when the locker room doesn't have many people.
It may be hard to see in this picture but each washing section is divided by small walls, each section has a shower, faucet, bowl and plastic chair.
Pick a washing bay and take a shower while seated; use the bowl to rinse off. Jumping into the tub as soon as you enter the bath area is really bad manners. Everyone shares the bath tub, everyone has to be conscious to keep it as clean as possible. I remove my makeup before getting entering the bath but some people never remove makeup. Paying attention to someone that might be behind you when you take a shower is also Good Manners 101.
A good thing about this hotel is that they have separate bath rooms for men and women. Although hotels never have the co-ed sharing hours, it is inconvenient the bath hours are divided for men's and women's use. Because most business-use hotels are men oriented, women's hours are mostly less convenient.
After the bathing and washing, you wipe off the water from your body to prevent the changing area floor from getting wet. A wet towel probably can be left in a repository in the changing room. Put your clothes back on and take the elevator back to your room. Then get a good night's sleep. This is my favorite first day activity of a Japanese trip.
Note: The bath water is not from a natural hot spring.
Other Areas:
- Haneda (Tokyo):
In Kamata, a 15-minute ride from Haneda Airport by Keikyu (Keihin Kyuko) Line train, there are a couple of hot springs and a few bath houses. Their spring water is dark, so it is called kuro-yu (black hot water). Most of them are Sento type bath houses but the Spa & Hotel Nagomi is a relatively a new property (it opened in 2006). I've never been there so can't write too much about it, but it's in a busy part of town, in a residential area. I think there are many assorted shops and businesses in this area. Lily knows Kamata a lot better than I do; she'll probably be able to answer your questions about the area.
- Central Japan "Centrair" (Nagoya):
The International Airport of Nagoya, Central Japan International Airport "Centrair", has a public bath house inside the terminal building. Refer to the English page here. Other airports like Chitose (Hokkaido), Okayama (Okayama), Matsuyama (Ehime) and so on have a public hot spring bath house inside or by the airport. I've never been any of them, please post your comment if you have visited them!
- Kansai International, "Kanku" (Osaka):
Around the Kansai International Airport, the Hotel Garden Palace and Best Western have public baths. I've never used the airport in Osaka either but if I have a chance, I would probably go this place: Rinku no Yu. It is not in a hotel; instead, this is an amusement Spa type of facility with Onsen hot springs. It's just five minutes train ride from the airport on Nankai Kuko (Nankai Airport) Line. If your flight is in late afternoon or evening, go to the airport, leave your things in an airport locker, and go to the bath house. This would be a very nice way to spend your last half day in Japan.
If fact, you'll find that in Japan there are many public baths close to the train station. Some of them are hot springs. I'll talk about them later.
Note: We do not have any attachment to the above mentioned facilities. The information is purely from the sources available in the internet or my personal experience. However, we'll report your service if you want us to; please contact us by mail!
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