Japanese movies set in public bathhouses

Japanese title: 'Watashi wa Hikari wo Nigitteiru'

This highly recommended 2019 flick is set in the retro townscape of Tate-ishi, which is located in Katsushika prefecture, halfway between central Tokyo and Narita Airport in Chiba. Written and directed by Ryutaro Nakagawa (who also helmed the lauded 2015 drama ‘Tokyo Sunrise’), ‘Mio on the Shore’ centres around Mio Miyagawa (played by Honoka Matsumoto), whose peaceful life in Nagano is upended when she reluctantly moves to Tate-ishi to work at a sento run by a friend of her father’s, Kyosuke Misawa (Ken Mitsuishi). She is soon caught up in the modernisation projects in the area and fighting to save the bathhouse which is earmarked to be demolished to make room for redevelopment.

Spoiler alert: the real-life traditional public bath used as the set has unfortunately fallen to the same fate as its counterpart in the film and has ceased operation, adding extra poignancy to this endearing depiction of Tate-ishi on screen, and a rallying call to visit this charming old-school area which could itself be lost to redevelopment in the near future. The scene where the characters are enjoying a softshell turtle hotpot was actually shot at two locations: the sushi restaurant Edoyasu  and the popular Chinese restaurant Lanzhou (4-25-1 Tate-ishi, Katsushika-ku. 03 3694 0306. 6pm-10.30pm, Sun & hols until 10pm, closed Mon). Both are well worth a visit.

This suspenseful comedy-drama was shot on a tiny budget and released with little fanfare in August last year, but it quickly became a word-of-mouth hit running to increasingly packed cinemas for weeks.

The film examines the relationships among a group of sento workers after their lives are dramatically affected following a late-night murder at the bathhouse where they work. The filming took place at Matsu-no-Yu (43 Katsuura, Katsuura, Chiba prefecture. 0470 73 0629. 2.30pm-10.15pm, closed Thu), the oldest bathhouse in Chiba which has been around for more than 100 years. Despite the subject matter (and title), ‘Melancholic’ is surprisingly uplifting – mixing action, comedy, romance and family drama to giddy effect.

Japanese title: ‘Yu wo Wakasu hodo no Atsui Ai’ 

Released in 2016, this comedy drama is the work of director Ryota Nakano, who garnered critical acclaim for his independent film ‘Chichi wo Tori ni’ (‘Capturing Dad’). The film follows strict but caring single mother Futaba Sachino (Rie Miyazawa), who has an epiphany after being diagnosed with terminal cancer and decides to fulfil four wishes on her bucket list. One of them is to reopen the family business – a public bath that had suspended operations. The fictional sento was filmed in two locations: Tsuki-no-Yu in Tokyo’s Bunkyo Ward, now sadly closed, and the still-running Hana-no-Yu (2541-1 Tomoecho, Ashikaga, Tochigi prefecture. 0284 21 8538. 1.30pm-10pm, closed Sun) in Ashikaga City, Tochigi prefecture.

This science-fiction comedy, directed by Hideki Takeuchi, isbased on the eponymous manga by Mari Yamazaki and was such a success that it spawned the sequel ‘Thermae Romae II’ in 2014. The frankly bonkers plot follows ancient Roman bathhouse designer Lucius (Hiroshi Abe) who discovers his local steam bath conceals a time tunnel that leads to modern-day Japan. Cue a culture clash comedy as our ancient friend discovers the joys of sento (and automated toilets).

The first public bath in Japan Lucius travels to is Inari-yu, a wooden public bath in Nishi-Sugamo. In a case of life imitating art, the retro signage produced by the film’s design team was so good it has been preserved by the sento’s owners and continues to be used at the bath today. Other public bathhouses used in the filming include Oedo Onsen Monogatari in Odaiba and Kita Onsen Tengu-no-Yu in Tochigi prefecture; the latter hot spring features a striking giant tengu (long-nosed goblin) mask in its interior.