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Most
baths are laid out on a square grid. Everything is at right angles,
as though to accommodate troops being drawn up for review. Yuamilando's
layout is a good deal more relaxed. The roomy cold bath is triangular
and the electric bath and the massage bath are kidney shaped. The
washing stations are scattered about in nooks so you can scrub down
away from the crowd if you like.
There is a baroque sensibility at work here. In the sauna, which is
arranged like a mini Greek amphitheater and costs a reasonable 300
yen with two towels thrown in, the music might be Scarlatti. There
are Greek columns at the entrance and Egyptian columns in the carpeted,
movie-palace lobby. In one washing area, there is a faux 18th-century
mosaic of a Christ-like figure ascending to heaven accompanied by
winged cherubs fresh from the bath.
It should be noted that the water in the cramped roofed rotemburo
is lit from below by blue lights, an annoying distraction, but there
is a little garden (curiously uninspired, though, after all these
other flights of fancy) with a little bench to recover on. There is
a pleasant pine-scented mist bath.
Beer is available on the premises for 300 yen a can.
current review
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