Sengenyu (浅間湯), a sento (public bathhouse) in Ekoda, Nerima Ward, Tokyo, will reopen in early December 2026 after a renovation of its exterior, lobby, changing room, sauna, and more. The business has been taken over by OFURO WORKS LLC (representative member: 宮井康太郎) through the Tokyo Public Bathhouse Succession Matching Program (東京都公衆浴場承継マッチング事業), and it will reopen after a temporary closure.
Sengenyu opened in 1927 (Showa 2) and has been a part of the neighborhood for about 100 years. The previous owner's family was aging and the facilities were growing old, so closing the business had been under consideration. To protect Ekoda's sento culture, OFURO WORKS LLC, whose representative member grew up in the surrounding area, stepped in to take over.
The new Sengenyu is also working with the nearby Nihon University College of Art (日本大学芸術学部) on a new logo and original character, which will become symbols of the reborn bathhouse. From November 1, a crowdfunding campaign on CAMPFIRE will raise funds for renovating the facilities. The goal is not only to preserve a historic sento but also to turn it into a new gathering place in Ekoda that students and younger generations visit too.
Protecting the Neighborhood's Sento Culture
Succession Through the Tokyo Public Bathhouse Succession Matching Program
Sento were once an essential part of daily life in the city. Their numbers keep falling because of the spread of home baths, aging owners, a lack of successors, and aging facilities. According to Tokyo Metropolitan Government figures (as of the end of December each year), the number of sento in Tokyo fell from 628 at the end of 2015 to 417 at the end of 2025. That is a drop of 211, or about 34 percent, in ten years. Precious places where local people of all generations can meet are disappearing.
Sengenyu in Ekoda has supported local life for about 100 years since it opened in 1927 (Showa 2). The previous owner was the third generation. The family ran the bathhouse for many years and it was a familiar part of the community, but the aging of the family members running it and the aging of the facilities made it difficult to keep operating.
Under these circumstances, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo Public Bathhouse Business Sanitation Cooperative (東京都公衆浴場業生活衛生同業組合) run the "Tokyo Public Bathhouse Succession Matching Program" together. Through the program, Sengenyu was matched with 宮井康太郎, the representative member of OFURO WORKS LLC. This allowed the historic sento to be passed on to the next generation instead of closing down.
The succession is one example of an effort to connect sento struggling to find successors with people who want to start running a sento. By preserving Sengenyu's history and the sento culture rooted in the neighborhood while evolving its management to suit a new era, the new owner aims for a sustainable future for the sento.
Comment from 佐伯雅斗, Vice Chairman of the Tokyo Public Bathhouse Business Sanitation Cooperative
"Completing the Sento Bearers Training Course (銭湯の担い手養成講座) does not mean that everyone can take over a business. Only those who prepare carefully and wait for their chance earn that right. Mr. 宮井's motivation and drive are remarkable, and I am sure this succession will be further encouragement and a goal for those who follow. I hope that, as a sento owner, he will nurture a Sengenyu that is loved even more by local residents and sento fans."
A Historic Sento Is Reborn
Large-Scale Renovation
To carry Sengenyu, which has been loved in Ekoda for about 100 years, into the next 100, a large-scale renovation will be carried out ahead of the reopening in early December 2026.
The renovation will renew the facilities and spaces, centered on the exterior, lobby, changing room, and sauna. The exterior will have a calm design that blends in with the streetscape, while the lobby and changing room will become relaxed spaces with the warmth of wood. The sauna will have a new electric sauna heater made by Metos and will support self-löyly. The aim is a more appealing sento that long-time regulars, students who attend school in Ekoda, younger people, and sauna enthusiasts can all enjoy.
Rather than simply updating equipment, the project aims to create new value as a neighborhood sento where local people gather in everyday life and connect across generations.
The warmth and friendliness that Sengenyu has built up over its history cannot be created by new equipment alone, and they are the reason it has been loved by the community for so long. The renovation therefore keeps Sengenyu's signature features. These include the bath area that retains its old-fashioned look, the colorful original tile art painted on the theme of "family love," and the Shigaraki ware tanuki (raccoon dog) statue that has greeted customers in front of the shop for many years.
By valuing both what is renewed and what is kept unchanged, the sento aims to give long-time customers a sense of nostalgia and reassurance and first-time visitors a fresh appeal. The history Sengenyu has built over about 100 years will carry on into the next 100.
Supported by People Who Love Ekoda and Sento
An Industry-Academia Collaboration
Sengenyu hopes to keep being loved by the local residents who have visited for many years, and also to become a new place of relaxation in Ekoda where students and younger people can drop in casually.
Ekoda is also a student town, home to the Nihon University College of Art, Musashino Academia Musicae (武蔵野音楽大学), and Musashi University (武蔵大学). Wanting to connect the culture and young sensibilities of the town to Sengenyu's new appeal, OFURO WORKS LLC is carrying out a collaboration project with the nearby Nihon University College of Art, called the "OFURO WORKS LLC and Nihon University College of Art Collaboration Project" (合同会社OFURO WORKSと日本大学芸術学部連携事業).
Students from the college's Department of Design are creating the logo and an original character that will be the face of the renewed Sengenyu. The character is based on the Shigaraki ware tanuki that has welcomed customers at the front of Sengenyu for many years, infusing this long-loved symbol with the fresh sensibility of students.
Plans call for the students to also help create designs for the shop's noren curtain, shutter, and more. The goal is not only to renew the facilities but also to connect students and the community and grow the town's culture together, helping Sengenyu evolve into a new gathering place for Ekoda and contributing to the revitalization of the whole town.
Logo Concept
The logo overlaps the "transformation" of the tanuki, the symbol of Sengenyu, with the feeling of being refreshed and reborn after a visit to the sento. Its motif is the puff of smoke that appears at the moment a tanuki transforms (the "doron" smoke). The smoke is shaped so it can also look like steam from a sento, and the silhouette incorporates the tanuki's tail. The lettering is designed to look as if it were soaking in hot water.
Comment from 布目幹人, Associate Professor, Department of Design, College of Art, Nihon University
"We are delighted to be involved, together with our students, in the renewal of Sengenyu, which has been loved in Ekoda for many years.
Art lives in our everyday lives, too. I believe the students' free thinking and rich sensibilities will connect with Sengenyu's history and the appeal of the community to create new value.
I sincerely hope that the reborn Sengenyu will remain a place of relaxation for people, and also become a place where art and daily life meet and new exchange and culture are born."
Crowdfunding
To pass Sengenyu, with its history of about 100 years, on to the next generation, the aging facilities must be replaced and the bathhouse renewed to suit the times. Renovating a sento requires a large amount of money, and the burden of this kind of capital investment is one of the major challenges facing sento across Japan.
For that reason, Sengenyu will begin seeking support for the renovation on November 1, 2026, on the crowdfunding platform CAMPFIRE.
The campaign is meant not only to raise part of the renovation costs but also to let more people know about the effort to take over a historic sento through the Tokyo Public Bathhouse Succession Matching Program and pass it on to future generations.
Rewards for supporters include original Sengenyu T-shirts and towels, as well as a special tour where supporters can view and photograph the bath area before the reopening and the back-of-house areas that are normally off-limits. Supporters get a chance to experience the reborn Sengenyu ahead of everyone else and to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes at a sento.
Crowdfunding Details
- Platform: CAMPFIRE
- Campaign period: November 1 to 30, 2026
- Funding goal: ¥1,000,000
- Project page: https://camp-fire.jp/projects/985962/idea (this is currently the idea preview page and will switch to the project page on November 1)
- Main rewards: Pre-opening special tour, original T-shirts and towels, and more
Sengenyu Overview
- Name: Sengenyu (浅間湯)
- Address: 東京都練馬区栄町38-3 (Nerima Ward, Tokyo)
- Access: 2-minute walk from Ekoda Station on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line, 6-minute walk from Shin-Sakuradai Station on the Seibu Yurakucho Line, 13-minute walk from Kotake-Mukaihara Station on the Tokyo Metro Yurakucho and Fukutoshin Lines
- Reopening date: Early December 2026 (planned)
- Hours: 3:00 PM to 11:00 PM
- Closed: Mondays (changed from the previous Fridays)
- Facilities: Jet bath, vibra bath, cold plunge pool, standing showers, sauna
- Official social media: X https://x.com/sengenyu_ekoda / Instagram https://www.instagram.com/sengenyu.ekoda/
