Niwanoyu: Bathing for beginners

Okie dokie. I’m gonnna to keep this as short and as unpoetic as possible.

Niwano yu (aka Tohimaen Garden) is extremely functional. It is one of the few spas (some people I have talked to have been averse to using the term onsen) in Tokyo to allow couples to bathe together, albeit with bathers. Located near Nerima, it’s remarkable easy to get to. The eponymous garden is something of a delight, with ample green cover, tables for lunches and a good place for Hotcat and I to smash a beer in the shade. There is a waterfall which, whilst sounding nice, is a bit of a tease, in so far as you are not allowed to stand under it. In the mixed bathing area, there are 2 rotenburos, a rather large sauna, a badenzone/therme styled bathing area (with a massage spa journey, as the jets get lower on your body as you moved around the different stations), a rope-and bucket pulley-powered bucket rinse and another steamroom. The seperate mens’ and womens’ sections also feature 3 bucket baths facing another garden, a Turkish-themed steamroom, smaller sauna and a couple of other ofuros.

Special mentions must go the aufguss/towel waving sessions that happen every couple of hours in the saunas. Indeed it was quite a spectacle to be sitting in an entirely rammed sauna with 40 Tanakas heaving and aaahhing like a bunch of regular school girls. And begging for more iceblocks to suck on inbetween sessions.

Inside the therme section there is also a spa with foot jets so powerful that you can stand on top of them and float. A lof of people were also eating icecream that day, let me tell you.

They have heaps of massage treatements, but that’s just for the gals don’t you know? And there are so many ugly koi/carp swimming around in the garden.

THE SCOREBOARD OF SENTO SUCCULENCE
Features:	Mixed section (bathers): Tower sauna with a 5 min aufguss session every 2-3 hours, badenzone with jet spa journey, 2 rotenburos, garden Seperate section: bucket baths,4 ofuros in seperate sex section, sauna, steamroom Sleeping rooms, massages, restaurant etc etc
Bath Heat/10	7
Sauna heat/10	9 (90 degrees, and electric)
Spatial aesthetic/5	4
Quality of Chit chat/5	4 (was with Hotcat)
Variety of bath types/10	7
Quality of rotenburo /10	6
Mizuburo/10	7
Lighting /10	7
Cost to value /5	3 (around 1900 I believe)
Accessibility /5	3 (it’s Nerima and it’s not too far from the station)
Little extras /10	9 (at this point I’ll take what I can get for mixed bathing. And, strangely, the garden really impressed me).
Overall feeling /10	8

OVERALL PROXIMITY TO BOILING POINT/100	74