Japanese Name: 旭湯Prefecture: OsakaCity: Sakai CityAddress: 〒599-8114 大阪府堺市東区日置荘西町3丁8−7 旭湯Access: Nankai Hatsushiba Station 10min / 南海 初芝駅Category: SentoWebpage: https://e-sento.com/旭湯/Price: Osaka Prefecture Public Bathhouse Association price or cheaper (sauna, if available, may be extra)Holiday: WednesdayHours: 15:00-23:30 (Sunday: 13:00-23:30)
Review: Normal Kansai sento are where I feel the safest in the world. Places where everything just works. After a long hike, sento are even better. If you are coming off the mountain and headed into Osaka on the Nankai Kōya line, this is one of the only options that is close to a station. It is a little bit worse for wear here and there with some broken fixtures and green mold seeping in behind a sign or two, but that was not a big issue. There are two different baths here which change periodically. One has a radon dry sauna, the other has an outdoor bath. I was on the radon sauna side (extra ¥100 for the towel) and enjoyed the enclosed bath that was a bit steamier than the rest of the baths and had a lovely aroma added to the water. It was not a steam or radon bath, so this was a first of this type. They also had two laydown full body jet baths which were great after the hike I just did. Cold water was fine also with a strong waterfall fixture filling it. Another quirk, you must climb into the electric bath from the main deep bath--somewhat odd. I saw several tattooed users, so it appears to be OK for fashion tattoos too. Had a nice conversation with a one of the tattooed guys and his 3-year-old son who was super cute. Visit Date: February 2021