Tattoos are still taboo when it comes to sento (communal bathhouse) culture in Japan. While they are seen as an expression of individuality in other parts of the world, Japanese society at large still ...

This article is part of a collaboration between FT Globetrotter and Nikkei Asia. FT Globetrotter showcases the best journalism from Nikkei Asia writers about cities across the region, starting with ...

Japan's public baths, known as sento, represent an institution with hundreds of years of history. They provided an important public service in the days before homes had their own hot-water bathtubs.

Does the thought of getting nude with other people in your local sento, or public bath, raise a smile or make you cringe? Whatever your personal take, the process of bathing in true Japanese form has ...

Onsen (hot springs) have been part of Japanese culture for centuries, but they’ve been seriously surging in popularity over the past 20 years. At the same time that there’s an onsen renaissance going ...

Yoga classes and vinyl records aren’t typical features of the traditional Japanese sento (public bathhouse) but these are challenging times for the bath business and Takuya Shimbo, owner of two such ...

One way to get around and familiarise yourself with a new city when travelling is to explore it on foot. If you are a runner, you get to cover more ground. Fitting a long-distance run into a tight ...

Tokyo’s traditional sento bathhouses steaming ahead – in pictures Once ubiquitous in Japan’s crowded capital where many homes did not have baths, sento are closing fast – but some of these public ...

TOKYO -- As Japan's traditional bathhouses, or sento, face a wave of closures across Tokyo, the metropolitan government is launching initiatives to help find new ownership and to assist with ...