Public bath

The kanji on the sign (Yu = hot water) is the universal sign in Japan for a sento (public bath). For a very minimal fee, you can bring your kit and scrub you bod and soak in a nice hot bath. These sento are fading from culture/society here as Japan continues to transition into a more Westernized/techno society. In the past, you could find a sento in most neighborhoods as the older houses didn't have bathing facilities. The sento also acts as a kind of social hub for the residents. This pic shows the rear of the sento where the burner is. To the right (facing the unseen street) is the clean-looking front of the sento. I've not yet tried this one, but my friend did and said it was nice and clean inside, but all of the patrons treated him a bit coldly as he was not from the neighborhood. :-)