Sugamo-yu: Tatami Underfoot, Double Cold Baths and a Timed Sauna

At Sugamo-yu, tatami-style flooring runs through the bathing area, not just the lobby. It is made from a water-resistant resin rather than traditional straw, so the unusual detail is practical as well as visual: the floor feels warmer and less hard underfoot. The rest of the bathhouse is equally considered, with a bucket-style automatic löyly system and two cold baths at very different temperatures.

A sento ticket still covers a full bath

Adult admission is ¥600. Sauna access costs ¥450 with your own towels or ¥550 with a towel set.

That makes the bath-and-sauna totals ¥1,050 and ¥1,150, respectively.

Confirm the exact package and any event-day arrangement at the counter. Sugamo-yu uses soft water but is not a natural hot spring.

Bath options include an indoor open-air-style tub around 42°C, a silky bath, reclining and jet baths, and an electric bath. The sauna uses a “bucket shower” device to add water automatically about every 20 minutes. Afterward, choose between the roughly 15°C cold bath and a gentler 30°C microbubble bath. You do not have to use the colder pool.

The sauna ticket is typically limited to about two hours, after which you can give up the sauna access and remain in the regular bath area. Busy sessions may have a wait or entry controls when the sauna reaches capacity, so avoid scheduling this immediately before a timed dinner reservation.

Men’s outdoor rest and women’s indoor rest

The two sides are not mirror images. The men’s area has an outdoor-air rest space with tatami; the women’s side has an indoor resting area with aroma and reclining spots. That difference is useful if you are choosing the bathhouse for a particular kind of cooldown, and it means photos of one side should not be taken as a guide to both.

Hours are 3 p.m. to midnight on weekdays and noon to midnight on weekends; Tuesday is the regular closing day. Koshinzuka Station on the Toden Arakawa Line is about a one-minute walk. Otsuka Station is roughly ten minutes away, while the walk from JR Sugamo takes you through Jizo-dori shopping street.

This is a good pick if you want a public bath with enough bathing variety even when one person skips the sauna. If the sauna is the main draw, check the current queue before going. For another sento with a different style of sauna, see Koganeyu in Kinshicho or the Tokyo sento first-visit guide.

Sources

- [Toshima Public Bath Association: Sugamo-yu hours, location and facilities](https://toshima-1010.com/public_bath/sugamoyu/) - [Tokyo Sento Association: Sugamo-yu facilities](https://www.1010.or.jp/map/item/item-cnt-547) - [Tokyo Sento Association: Sugamo-yu renovation feature](https://www.1010.or.jp/mag-tokyosento-sugamoyu/) - [Tokyo Sento Association: visiting Sugamo-yu and its crowd management](https://www.1010.or.jp/mag-lens-59-sugamoyu/) - [Furo Sauna: Sugamo-yu sauna fee and equipment overview](https://furosauna.com/tokyo/ikebukuro/sugamoyu/) - [Amino Ajinomoto: interview with Sugamo-yu’s fourth-generation owner](https://note.com/amino_ajinomoto/n/na2a34ea39de7) - Images: [Tokyo Sento Association](https://www.1010.or.jp/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/1_1774-th.jpg) and [Amino Ajinomoto interview](https://assets.st-note.com/img/1760601775-ARPj6GV4mMgxbLQyqDKrkv5N.jpg?width=1200). Checked: 2026-09-27

Tags: Tokyo, Sugamo, sento, tatami bath, sauna