Japan’s bathhouse culture has a long history, but with social changes, there are fewer and fewer bathhouses in Japan. Covid-19 has a more serious impact on bathhouse business. However, there are still some industry participants who survived adversity and worked hard to give “new life” to the bathhouse.

The 41-year-old bath house owner Takuya Shimbo has developed a renovation plan for the family bath house business in Tokyo. He plans to provide beer, accommodation and live concerts in beer halls, hoping to reshape the concept of community bathhouses and save this declining elderly industry from extinction.

However, the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 puzzled him.

Reuters reported that the Japanese government requires companies to continue business because it considers bathrooms essential for public health, but also encourages people not to go out during the epidemic.

About 1,000 Japanese died of Covid-19 heart disease.

The third-generation boss who opened in northeastern Tokyo said: “The salary, heating and other expenses of the staff have not changed, but the customers are much less.”

The sharp reduction in customers and the cost of refurbishing another bathhouse put his business in danger. “We are at a loss.”

Bathing in naturally heated hot springs is a favorite leisure activity for Japanese people. Although bathers are not encouraged to talk to each other during this epidemic, the role of bathers as Japanese in socializing and promoting community connections remains unchanged.

There are only 2,000 bathrooms in the country

According to statistics, by 1968, there were approximately 18,000 bathrooms in Japan. Later, due to social and cultural changes, everyone has a toilet in their home, and the number of bathrooms has been greatly reduced to about 2,000 at present. Even those with saunas, whirlpool baths and outdoor baths with scenic views cannot compete with spas.

An 83-year-old client of the bathhouse, Kiyoshi Hiraoko, said: “The bathhouse is easy to communicate with, and you can be friends with anyone here.” During the current pandemic, the old gentleman still came by bike for 15 minutes. sponsor.

As one of the owners of the new generation, Takuya Shimbo tries to protect the traditional industry by playing movies, studios, and providing beer and other fashionable methods. He even organized comedies, live concerts, yoga classes and “a day trip to haunted houses” activities to attract customers.

He is worried about whether the 18 bathrooms in the same area will still exist in five years. Therefore, he hopes to provide a new direction for the survival of other companies through his own renovation plan.

He said: “A bathhouse where you can live, eat and drink beer here. If it becomes a successful business model, I hope other colleagues can follow suit and continue the bathhouse business.”

Many people encouraged his efforts. He said: “Their support gave me courage and showed that people want this culture to continue.”