Ginza-yu is far removed from any romantic vision you might have of a traditional Japanese bath. It is simply a cleaning machine. This is where Ginza hostesses come in the early evening before work to steel themselves for a long night of smiling or after work to heave a sigh of relief. On the men's side, Ginza characters settle in, mumbling to themselves and studiously not acknowledging the presence of fellow bathers. They sink into the glorious hot, emerging three long minutes later the color of lobsters..

"Ginza-yu is... very noire, don't you know"

There are no separate showers, no sauna, no cold pool, no rotemburo, no massage chair, no television, no drink dispenser. There is just a pool of very hot water, with a jacuzzi section for thrill seekers and a wonderful mosaic of Ginza 4-chome on the current review wall of the men's section and a mosaic of a summertime fireworks display in the woman's. In the immaculate changing room there is only a weighing machine, a fire extinguisher, and a rack holding fans and copies of the latest issue of the Chuo Ward newsletter. The bath is just a few blocks down the street from the Seiyo Hotel, one of Tokyo's three most elegant small hotels, whose bar makes a fine martini. Ginza-yu is in a bleak location, next to an overhead expressway. Very noire, don't you know. The Ginza is Tokyo at its most fashionable. Can you think of any other city where in its most fashionable neighborhood you can take a bath for the equivalent of 385 yen?

Reviewed by Rick Kennedy, December 1998