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 ...

Onsen (hot springs) have been part of Japanese culture for centuries, but they’ve been seriously surging in popularity over the past 20 years. At the same time that there’s an onsen renaissance going ...

Just before it opens each afternoon, elderly residents gather outside one of Tokyo's last remaining old-style bath houses carrying flannels, soap and shampoo for their regular soak. With its communal ...

A soak in a sento (public bathhouse) doesn’t make many tourists’ to-do lists, but Stephanie Crohin aims to change all that. As Japan’s first-ever sento ambassador and a journalist, she’s spreading the ...

Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter. For many, sento are still a vital part of daily life in Japan, each governed by a strict set of customs. For ...

The Captain Tsubasa creator paints an iconic mural in a Japanese bathhouse, hoping to rejuvenate sento culture before these spots fade away.

A soak in a sento (public bathhouse) doesn’t make many tourists’ to-do lists, but Stephanie Crohin aims to change all that. As Japan’s first-ever sento ambassador and a journalist, she’s spreading the ...

The exterior of the Inariyu, a sento or public bath, in the Takinogawa area of Tokyo, Japan Photo: AFP Buckets for visitors to use for washing themselves before entering the bath in the Inariyu Photo: ...