15 best onsen and sento in Tokyo for people with tattoos

Just this July, the 50-year-old neighbourhood sento Kanazawa Yokujo in Higashi-Shinjuku was reborn as an elevated public bathhouse with modern amenities – including a craft beer taproom and a DJ booth. Renamed Koganeyu Shinjuku, the revamped community hub preserves its iconic bathhouse mosaic while introducing a cave-inspired sauna with a lava stone sauna room, a carbonated microbubble cold bath and an open-air relaxation area.

The newly installed sauna, aptly named The Cave, is the obvious highlight. Open the bright orange door set into the mosaic tile mural in the bathing area to step into an otherworldly steam room reminiscent of a hidden grotto. Built from lava rock, the sauna features automatic löyly control and soft, dim lighting for a deeply therapeutic experience. It’s accompanied by a bubbling ‘beauty bath’ cold plunge and the aforementioned relaxation area, where you can unwind surrounded by greenery.

No visit to Koganeyu is complete without a drink at its signature island-style bar counter. A row of taps serves five craft beers (310ml from ¥700), including a house lager and a fruity IPA.

Kairyo-yu is a modern bathhouse located about a 20-minute walk from Shibuya Scramble Crossing. Its whole vibe is very sleek and minimalist – think dim lighting that softly reflects from the ceiling with the movement of the water below. The bathing area has a 40-degree bath, a moderate 35-degree bath, a cold plunge and a sauna. The hotter bath comfortably fits around five punters and has two jet massage chairs in the corner; the power on these is pretty moderate, but they add some variety to your soak. The adjacent 35-degree bath is filled with carbonated spring water, which is said to promote circulation and tight skin.

The men’s side features a 90-degree sauna that automatically steams every 20 minutes, while the women’s side has a Kelo sauna that offers a milder, more aromatic experience. Kairyo-yu occasionally holds special events such as women’s days or men’s days, where you’re able to use both sides of the bathhouse and experience both saunas.

Daikoku-yu epitomises Showa-era (1926–1989) neighbourhood bathhouses. Its walls are lined with old photos of celebrities, random oil paintings, baseball merch and other knick-knacks. The men’s shower wall features a painting of Kyoto’s Kinkakuji Temple, while the women’s side is decorated with images of Nikko.

The men’s bathing area features 20 hot-water sitting showers, a few standing showers and three baths. The hot bath is set to 45 degrees and features a few jet-massage seats. On one side of that, there’s an 18-degree bath; on the other, a mist room housing a 40-degree bath with a fairly strong electric current on one half.

The sauna is split into two chambers. The slightly larger room was well over 100 degrees on our visit, while the slightly smaller room stays at around 80 degrees and fits around 8 people comfortably. Outside the sauna, you’ll find a deep one-person cold plunge and a wider cold bath – both are incredibly cold.

Its tiled roof and imposing entrance immediately distinguish this classic north Tokyo bathhouse from your average neighbourhood sento. In business since 1916, Teikoku-yu boasts one of the most beautiful buildings of any traditional bathhouse in the capital. The handsome 1952 structure’s high ceiling, tiny gardens with koi carp, tile art featuring the same colourful fish, and unique Mt Fuji mural (complete with a rabbit riding a carrot, for some reason) are all worth a closer look.

As for the baths, expect high temperatures across the board. First-timers will want to start in the smallest and most gently heated tub, which often has a bag of minerals or herbs floating around in it for extra relaxing effect. The two larger baths are usually set to well over 40 degrees, so soak with caution; we could barely manage a momentary dip in the middle one, and didn’t even entertain the hottest tub.

In the face of declining custom, some Tokyo bathhouses have reinvented themselves with sleek interiors, others by opening a pub or eatery on their premises. Yet others, like Daikoku-yu right beneath Tokyo Skytree, have decided to take things back to basics.

A shining example of the old-school neighbourhood sento, Daikoku-yu stays open through the night and fills its tubs with natural hot spring water pumped up from deep under the city. The star of the show is the spacious rotenburo open-air bath, where you can soak while gazing at Tokyo’s tallest structure and taking in the faint nocturnal sounds of the city.

When you find yourself in need of a bath or sauna session out west, make a beeline for Tsurunoyu in Chofu. A traditional bathhouse established in 1952, it was renovated and reopened under new management in April 2026 following a successful crowdfunding drive. The born-again soak spot, open from 6am to 1am six days a week, now stands out with a quirky mix of old-school communal bathing and modern urban wellness.

Tsurunoyu boasts an array of vintage tubs including jet massage baths, an ‘electric’ bath and an ultrasonic bath. The lightly radium-enriched bath, another blast from the past, is gentle in temperature and has the added attraction of hosting hundreds of colourful rubber ducks sure to intrigue young bathers. But the real attraction here are the saunas: aggressively hot steam rooms on both the men’s and women’s sides, plus a considerably more mellow, 85-degree barrel sauna in the men’s area, paired with a cold plunge that lets you immerse yourself in 18-degree well water.

You can rehydrate post-bath with herbal tea, craft beer, a lemon sour or the customary bottle of cold milk. And if you’re looking for a souvenir, know that Tsurunoyu stocks a plentiful selection of original merch, including towels, T-shirts, beer glasses and stickers. Wednesday is Ladies’ Day, when the sides are changed up and women get to sweat it out in the barrel sauna.

Long-standing sento Matsumoto-yu in Nakano turned into a modern bathhouse following a major renovation for the first time in its 85-year history. You’ll have a chance to soak in many different kinds of baths, including one with bright pink water infused with herbs that are used in kampo (traditional Japanese medicine). There are also jet-massage baths, plus a lukewarm bath (25-30 degrees Celsius) and a cold bath (15-17 degrees Celsius).

After you’ve had a relaxing soak, break a sweat in Matsumoto-yu’s classic dry stone sauna or, on the women’s side, its steam sauna made with special tiles, which is said to help your body recover faster.

Once a humble, traditional neighbourhood sento, Koganeyu was transformed into a modern public bathhouse in 2020, complete with a craft beer taproom by the entrance that doubles as a DJ booth.

Rent your towel at the bar and head inside for a relaxing dip. Baths are separated by gender, but both areas share a mural of Mt Fuji by artist Yoriko Hoshi. To improve your blood circulation, you can alternate between baths in different temperatures, ranging from lukewarm to hot. You’ll also find an open-air cold plunge pool to cool down after using the saunas.

Opened 60 years ago and recently renovated, Kugahara-yu sports a majestic Mt Fuji mosaic on its feature wall. The men’s and women’s sections are decorated with different colour schemes (representing the moon and the sun), but you’ll experience both as the bathhouse rotates the changing rooms every two weeks.

At Kugahara-yu, you can expect a spacious bath with massage jets, a warm carbonated bath (from where you can watch TV), an ultrasonic bath, a cold plunge, and an outdoor bath with black onsen water, as well as steam and dry sauna. Despite its less than convenient location, the bathhouse is usually packed with families and kids – in part thanks to its 'junior days' when children enjoy special discounts.

This bathhouse first opened in Ginza in 1863, towards the end of the Edo period (1603-1867), and it hasn't made much effort to update its retro styling since. There's an old-fashioned reception desk on the way in, twin Mt Fuji wall murals by Morio Nakajima, one of Japan’s two remanining sento painters, and an impressive mural of Kutani porcelain tiles depicting carp, spring and autumn flowers and birds, which you can enjoy while soaking in the tub.

There are two baths, one pleasantly warm and the other heated to a fairly toasty 42 degrees Celsius. Twice a month they sprinkle flowers into the baths, so it's worth checking the website before you go.

Sento in Tokyo are famed for their Mt Fuji murals, but the ultra-modern Hisamatsu-yu takes it one step further by featuring a project mapping display instead, which you can marvel at while soaking in the baths. This remarkable concept was honoured with the Good Design Award back in 2015. An outdoor bath with natural hot-spring water and a sauna are also available.

Togoshi Ginza is a traditional bathhouse in a modern setting, and it’s very well equipped too: you’ll find a natural onsen and sauna, plus an open-air bath made from Japanese cypress. The interiors are adorned with two different drawings of Mt Fuji, creating contrasting atmospheres on the two sides of the bathhouse. One is a traditional painting of the sacred mountain by veteran sento painter Morio Nakajima; the other is a more modern interpretation by graffiti-artist duo Gravityfree, depicting Mt Fuji and the Seven Gods of Good Fortune.

Located near Honjo-Azumabashi Station in Asakusa, Mikoku-yu underwent an extensive renovation in 2015. The semi open-air baths with Skytree views were increased in size; the property also installed tubs made from Japanese cypress while making its facilities accessible to disabled people.

Best of all, Mikoku-yu offers family-style baths, where spacious bathrooms can be rented whole and enjoyed by those needing special care together with their families. Natural bathwater baths (or kuro-yu) are also available – and you can adjust the temperature to your liking. 

Ten minutes’ walk from Gakugei-Daigaku Station, this sento offers a variety of hydrotherapy tubs across two floors, and the male and female baths are switched around daily.

The first floor features a 'dream bath' with soft jets that massage your back and legs, and a bath with stronger jets to sooth muscle fatigue. The second floor, on the other hand, has a bath that can work on stiff shoulders, plus a 'pulse massage bath' that gives you a relaxing pins-and-needles-like tingling sensation. The facility also has cold baths on both floors, a dry sauna on the first floor and a salt sauna on the second, as well as an outdoor bath.

Yudonburi Sakae-yu in Minowa is known for its large and fully-equipped warm-bath facility, which was revamped and renovated in 2017. You’ll be glad to know that this bathhouse provides lockers and parking for cars and bikes. Best of all, there are three types of bath here – medicinal, jet and electric – all with natural hot-spring water. New saunas were added on both the men’s and women’s sides in 2024.