Mikawashima is home to many public baths, symbols of Japanese culture, along with Korean restaurants and the aroma of Asian food.
Teikoku Yu is located on a street where, if you listen carefully, you can hear the sounds of people going about their daily lives.

Teikoku-yu: A public bathhouse with over 100 years of history

Teikoku Yu, which still retains much of its original appearance, was established in 1916 (Taisho 5).

Teikoku Yu has survived many earthquakes and wars and still has a history of over 100 years. However, in April 2022, the fifth-generation owner of Teikoku Yu, Jingo Kimie, passed away, putting the hotel in danger of closing down.

With Kimie's death, Teikoku Yu was forced to close and temporarily took down its "yu" curtains.

Overcoming the "crisis"

In response to the voices of customers looking forward to the reopening, Kimie's nephew, Jingo Yoshinao, stepped up to become the sixth-generation owner.

Nowadays, the longer a public bathhouse is operating, the more difficult it is to continue operating due to issues such as finding successors and poor management.

Yoji Nao faced many difficulties during this time, but one year after the closure, Teikoku Yu made a spectacular comeback.

Behind this revival lies another family that has continued to support Teikoku Yu.

The Ishida family, the head clerk

"Kamajii" Ishida Isamu has been running Teikoku-yu as the head clerk for over 50 years. With the reopening, the baton of head clerk will be passed from his father Isamu to his daughter Ayako.
Ayako says she had no intention of taking over the job of head clerk originally, but she would come to the bathhouse in the evenings after her own shift and help with things like counting the money and cleaning together with her brother Kazuo.


Even when Teikoku-yu was closed, he and Isamu continued to heat the kettle and maintained the facilities and garden so that they would be ready to reopen at any time.

At that time, Naoyuki Yoji called out to me, "I'm thinking of opening Teikoku-yu. Can you help me?"

"There are things I can do and things I can't do, but I want to do as much as I can because my father, my brother, and the customers who have been waiting for me are here," said Ayako, who decided to take over from her father as head clerk.

A public bathhouse that will continue to be loved by the local community

Teikoku Yu will reopen in April 2024, one year after the event.
The bathhouse, run by the owners, the Jingo family, and the Ishida family, the store manager, echoes with the happy laughter of local residents today as well.

Ayako looks back on the past year.
"I think my brother has had the hardest time this past year. After I'm done with my work, he helps me with the closing up tasks at night. I can't thank him enough. It's because of my brother that I can work hard. I think he recognizes how hard I work, which is why he helps me out."

Ayako's brother Kazuo responded to her words:
"It must be hard for a woman to handle the firewood and the stove. Usually, the only person who works here is the receptionist. It's hard to do both. I know you're working hard, and I'm just supporting you so that you can keep this place going."

The source of their energy is the people they meet at public baths.

The hot, tingly water will turn your body red when you soak in it.
It's an experience that relaxes the mind and body.

"If public baths disappear, humanity will also disappear."
As the poet Ryuichi Tamura writes in a poem, public bath culture fosters human warmth.

The new head clerk keeps the fire burning today as well.
To light a light in everyone's hearts.

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Imperial Bath
Address: 3-22-3 Higashi-Nippori, Arakawa-ku, Tokyo
Access: 8 minutes on foot from Mikawashima Station on the Joban Line
HP: http://arakawa-sento.jp
Social Media: https://twitter.com/TeikokuY1916
          https://www.instagram.com/teikokuyu.nippori
*For details on business hours and holidays, please check the link above.