Japanese Bathhouses Awash With Post-lockdown Customers

Yokohama, Japan, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 30th May, 2020 ) :Masazumi Kato sighed deeply as he lowered himself into a tub at a public bathhouse in a Tokyo suburb, enjoying a return to a Japanese tradition largely off-limits during the city's coronavirus lockdown.

With the lifting of a nationwide state of emergency over the virus, Japan's onsen -- large bathhouses where patrons bathe naked in a series of warm pools and tubs -- are gradually reopening.

And fans like 52-year-old Kato have few qualms about returning.

"I believe they are taking anti-virus measures, like chlorine," he told AFP as he soaked in an outdoor tub, with other naked men submerged in pools nearby.

"I trust them and I like to use this place," said Kato, a frequent patron of the Yumominosato facility in Yokohama, outside Tokyo.

The five-storey bathhouse is typical of the hugely popular onsen that dot the country.

It hosts a range of indoor and outdoor pools, usually with spring water and sometimes equipped with jets to massage pressure points or mineral-rich water said to offer health benefits.

The facility is also home to a restaurant, massage rooms, a comic book library and various relaxation rooms. For many Japanese an onsen trip is a day-long experience, with bathing punctuated by naps, massages and lunch.

But most large onsen shut their doors when the government declared a state of emergency in April, initially in Tokyo and a few other regions but the closures eventually expanded nationwide.

The government designated smaller bathhouses called sento -- which in the past often catered to people with no bath at home -- as essential businesses, allowing them to remain open.

They were asked to increase ventilation in closed areas, maintain distance between customers and wipe down areas that people touch, including lockers and door knobs.