Tokyo now has a new video series inviting people to rediscover the joy of the neighborhood sento. The Tokyo Metropolitan Public Bathhouse Trade Association (Tokyo Sento Association; headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo; Chairman: Makoto Ishida) took part in the proposal process for a project jointly run by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo Federation of Small and Medium Enterprise Groups — special support under the "Next" strategic support program for small and medium enterprises, focused on strengthening sales power through digital technology — and was selected as the contracted operator. Through the project, the association has launched Sento Gururi, a new initiative built around visiting sento and enjoying the surrounding neighborhood, with the aim of encouraging more people to visit public bathhouses.
A comedian who loves sento introduces a favorite bathhouse ("My Sento") along with a nearby restaurant to visit afterward ("My Gourmet"), and the first video in the series is now available to watch.
What Is Sento Gururi?
2026 is being called "the year of the once-in-a-thousand-years bath," a playful nod to the digits 0-2-6, which can be read as o-fu-ro, the Japanese word for "bath."
To mark this milestone year, Sento Gururi sets out to spotlight the appeal of sento once again and encourage more people to step through their doors.
Neighborhood sento each have their own bath, their own atmosphere, and their own connections between the people who gather there.
Sento Gururi shares that appeal through videos and commentary, highlighting the enjoyment of visiting a sento and the way of spending time that is unique to each neighborhood.
The idea: visit a town for its sento, enjoy the bath, and then discover what else makes that area special.
By giving more people a reason to learn about sento and creating new points of contact with potential bathers, the project aims to encourage more visits to public bathhouses.
"Which sento will you make your rounds to today?"
The hope is that the videos will introduce viewers to sento they didn't know about before and inspire them to experience that appeal firsthand.
First Video Now Streaming
The first Sento Gururi video is streaming on the association's official Yuppo-kun Channel and on the project's special website, "Sento Gururi | Enjoy the Bath, the Town, and the Food!"
In the first episode, a comedian who loves sento visits a favorite neighborhood bathhouse, sharing its appeal and how to enjoy it. The video then introduces a "My Gourmet" pick: a restaurant near the sento to visit after the bath.
Rather than treating the sento as a single destination, the series encourages viewers to make it a starting point — walking the neighborhood, enjoying a meal, and getting to know what makes that particular area special. A new video proposing this kind of sento experience will be released every month.
First Video Overview
Project name: Sento Gururi
Release date: Friday, September 4, 2026
Streaming on: Official Yuppo-kun Channel
Special website: https://sento-gururi.jp/
Cast: Taku Suzuki (Drunk Dragon), Gaku (Shinku Jessica)
Featured sento: Ekoda-yu (Nerima Ward)
Featured restaurant: Ekoda Ryoshi no Aburiya (Nerima Ward)
Carrying Sento Culture Into the Future
The Tokyo Sento Association runs a range of initiatives to carry the neighborhood sento culture of Tokyo into the future.
A sento offers more than just a bath. It's also a place where neighbors gather, where the town and its people connect, and where new encounters and discoveries happen.
Through Sento Gururi, the association hopes that visiting a sento can become the starting point for walking a neighborhood, getting to know what makes it special, and wanting to come back again — building toward a future where sento and the towns around them keep thriving together.
Going forward, the Tokyo Sento Association plans to continue rolling out new initiatives to help carry sento culture forward and grow.
