The bath called Komparu-yu is just three doors down from Kyubei, probably Tokyo's most famous sushi places, where the top course, served by ladies in kimono on dishes by Rosanjin, a famous potter and restauranteur of the 1930s, goes for 30,000 yen. A particular delight, then, is first to endulge in this sushi (let's say 70,000 yen in all for two), followed by a leisurely bath (770 yen for two). Komparu-yu is pre-Meiji and is still run by the same family, the matriarch of which sits on tatami at her old-fashioned wooden bandai which lets her keep an eye on both the men's and women's baths. There is a magnificent kamidana, Shinto altar, up in the rafters. Like all old sento, it's very simple. There's no sauna, no stand-up showers, and no rotemburo. There are only two baths for each sex, one labeled atatakai ("hot") and one labeled nurui ("tepid"). Believe me, nurui is hot enough. Submersion in very hot water is wonderfully relaxing, of course, because your muscles cannot resist the heat and so after about ten seconds just collapse. You can buy everything you need to take a bath here: soap, towel, your choice of a razor for 30, 60 or 90 yen, and tiny vials of shampoo and rinse, as well as a change of underwear and a new pair of socks. You'll be given a plastic bag to take your wet towel away with you after the bath. I'm thinking that only in Tokyo would you find a public bath house on one of the city's most expensive and glamorous streets.

Reviewed by Alex Urbansky, January 1999