Bathhouse Offers ‘Naked School’ To Revive Communal Baths
A Tokyo bathhouse is offering classes on topics ranging from comedy to gaming in hopes of luring younger bathers and reversing Japan’s dying tradition of communal baths.
During one recent session of the “Naked School” at the Hinodeyu bath house, nine men sat around the bath, listening to an expert on the ancient board game go.
“I think young people would be interested and come back to communal baths if they knew these kind of classes are offered here,” Tadashi Manayama, a 37-year-old architect, said after class.
Yuichi Tamura, manager of the Hinodeyu, operated by his family since 1939, said many young people had never been to a communal bath because most homes have modern bathrooms.
“I wanted to give them a reason to visit us by offering an odd event like this naked school,” Tamura added.
In its heyday, more than 500 people bathed daily at Hinodeyu near Tokyo’s Asakusa district.
Today that number is around 100, he said.
