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Erika Na

One way to get around and familiarise yourself with a new city when travelling is to explore it on foot. If you are a runner, you get to cover more ground.
Fitting a long-distance run into a tight travel itinerary, however, can be a challenge – as is finding a place to shower and wash your clothes afterwards if your excursion takes you far from your hotel.
“I love to go for runs when I travel, but it’s difficult to always pack my running gear in my luggage,” says Tom Feng, a 34-year-old Hongkonger who has been running as a hobby for years.
“I usually only get to run near my hotel, so it feels quite limited, even though I always try to book hotels near popular local running spots.”
In Japan, there is a unique, and cultural, solution to this problem: “sento running”.
Sento are traditional public bathhouses in Japan, and they have a history dating back centuries. These bathhouses usually consist of communal hot and cold soaking tubs, a sauna and a washing area.

The first official sento in Edo, the former name for Tokyo, was recorded in 1591. They became popular after the end of the second world war in 1945, as most post-war homes were not built with baths or showers. According to The Japan Times, there were over 18,000 bathhouses in Japan by 1968, nearly 2,700 of which were in Tokyo.
In Japanese culture, going to a sento means much more than bathing. In the past, it served as a “third place” – a space outside the “first place” of home and the “second place” of the workplace to meet, socialise and relax.
This unique bathing culture began to dwindle as new homes were built with private baths in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Today, there are only 424 sento in Tokyo, according to a Tokyo Sento Public Bath map that lists the city’s public bathhouses.
Still, many people have been working to revive the culture in recent years – and runners have become one of its unexpected proponents.

Sento running emerged in 2007 at Inariyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo’s Kanda area, when a group of people started to use it after completing a popular running route around the Tokyo Imperial Palace – the main residence of the Emperor of Japan.
According to Ken Kato, founder of running wear brand Tannuki and part of the earliest waves of sento runners, the trend began because public bathhouses remain a cultural part of Japanese society and identity.
“Japanese people love bathhouses with large bathtubs. Many runners grew up visiting sento, so it feels natural to combine running with a relaxing soak,” says Kato.
The Tokyo trend inspired public bathhouses across Japan to begin catering to runners – they can store their belongings in lockers and go for a run, before returning to wash. Those near popular running routes started seeing their number of bathers rise.
This service has proved ideal for travellers exploring Japan, offering tourists a way to experience the country’s popular running routes and bathing culture at the same time.
Below are a few runner-friendly bathhouses in Tokyo to check out on your next visit. For those uncomfortable with communal bathing, the last two options are running stations that have private shower stalls instead of shared baths.

1. Hachimanyu
Hachimanyu is a well-maintained neighbourhood bathhouse near Yoyogi Park, one of the biggest parks in Tokyo. It is two minutes away from Yoyogi-Hachiman railway station. It has hot and cold tubs, and women can pay an extra 200 yen (US$1.35) to use the women’s sauna.
1-2-10 Tomigaya, Shibuya; opening hours: 3.30pm to 12am but closed on Fridays; price: 550 yen.
2. Totoken
Totoken is near Sumida River, a popular running route that offers a view of the Tokyo Skytree, the world’s tallest broadcasting tower. It has hot and cold soaking tubs, a sauna and a men’s outdoor rooftop bath area. After taking a bath, visitors can connect with other runners at the bar, which serves craft beer and other beverages.
3-9-7 Nihonbashi Hamacho, Chuo; opening hours: 10am to 11pm, and 12pm to 11pm on Mondays; price: for just the running station, 880 yen. For just the sauna, prices start at 1,320 yen an hour. Combined tickets cost between 1,540 yen and 2,200 yen depending on duration and day. Towels and ponchos are available for rent.

3. Raffine Neo Running Style
Raffine Neo Running Style is a running station near the Imperial Palace, which sits in the middle of arguably the most famous running route in Tokyo. The bathhouse offers showers, lockers and affordable gear rentals, such as shoes, shirts, shorts and caps.
Tokyo Midtown Hibiya MB1F, 1-1-2 Yurakucho, Chiyoda; opening hours: 7am to 10pm on weekdays and until 8pm at weekends; price: 800 yen for locker rental and shower.
4. Asics Run Tokyo Marunouchi
Asics Run Tokyo Marunouchi is a Japanese sportswear store and running station near the Imperial Palace. It offers rentals of Asics gear, including the brand’s premium racing shoes, the carbon-plated Metaspeed.
2-5-2 Mitsubishi Building, B1F, Marunouchi, Chiyoda; opening hours: 6.30am to 9.30pm on weekdays and 7.30am to 7pm at weekends. Price: a shower and locker for a day is 880 yen. Renting a pair of shoes is 220 yen, while the Meta Speed shoes cost 550 yen to rent. To rent a single clothing item costs 220 yen. Renting a T-shirt and trousers costs 330 yen; add a jacket and tights to that and the cost is 660 yen.


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Sento running in Japan blends bathhouse culture and exercise. 4 places in Tokyo to try it

Men bathing in Koganeyu, a sento, or traditional public bathhouse, in Tokyo. Visitors to Japan can go “sento running”  – have a run from a bathhouse and return for a bath or shower, and sauna. Some rent out running gear. Photo: Yurika Kono

Denkiyu, depicted in Wim Wenders’ film Perfect Days, is a sento in Kyojima, Tokyo. Photo: Emil Pacha Valencia

Kosugiyu is a sento, or bathhouse, in Koenji, a district to the west of Shinjuku. Photo: Emil Pacha Valencia

Totoken is a neighbourhood bathhouse that provides running station services. Photo: Erika Na

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Go to a bathhouse, rent a locker and running gear, go for a run, return for a bath or shower, and sauna. This is sento running, big in Japan


Go to a bathhouse, rent a locker and running gear, go for a run, return for a bath or shower, and sauna. This is sento running, big in Japan.


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Sento running in Japan blends bathhouse culture and exercise. 4 places in Tokyo to try it

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Go to a bathhouse, rent a locker and running gear, go for a run, return for a bath or shower, and sauna. This is sento running, big in Japan

Go to a bathhouse, rent a locker and running gear, go for a run, return for a bath or shower, and sauna. This is sento running, big in Japan