Watching planes while soaking in hot water and enjoying the view of Tokyo’s Tama River from the rooftop hot spring. The Onsen is open to the public including non-hotel guests 24 hours a day. On a clear day it’s even possible to breathe in views all the way to iconic Mount Fuji. Guests can also enjoy gourmet meals at the adjoining restaurant accessible from within the Onsen facility.

A big facility with several floors in which mix-gender is allowed in several areas - not though in the onsen area. Perfect to spend half a day there, exploring the various levels, relaxing in the mix-gender area with its variety of chairs and loungers, having something to eat and drink at the restaurant, visiting the onsen area with it’s outdoor pools which are partially open to the sky, and finishing the day with a massage and/or inside the hot stone sauna (which is also mixed-gender; and you wear special cloth which you get at the entrance if you book it).

The hot spring is tattoo friendly and less then 5-min walk from Shin-Okubo Station. There isn’t any sauna but different baths facilities including extra-hot bath, jet stream baths and a plunge pool for cooling off. Its a bit hidden, down a small side street. No Wow-Effect, but it’s around the corner where I live, so it’s handy and it has a nice atmosphere.

Enoshima Onsen is a Super Spa in which you can spend half a day to one day. It has mix-gender indoor and outdoor pools overlooking the sea, sun bathing areas, sun loungers, a bar, a restaurant, and the onsen area. It is perfect for couples and friends to hang out. Enoshima is 1.5h from Tokyo and in general a very nice area to spend a few days. You have beaches, nice restaurants, the new harbor (for the Olympic Games), sea food and a lot more. It has a bit of a vibe of Hawaii with the people walking through the streets and their surf boards, in the evening music at the beach, the Billabong, Hawaii and Surf shops, and american breakfast dinners like Eggs’n’Things.

Existing since 1933 and completely renewed in 2011, reborn as a “modern public bath”, in which mainly jazz but also classical music is played not only in the lobby but also in the bath and sauna area. In addition, there is the “Japan’s first” Mt. Fuji circular painting by Morio Nakajima. It isn’t spacious but it has it’s own very special vibe, rather a young crowd, and the hottest sauna and coldest cold bath - a hidden gem in Tokyo. Due to its various explanations in English it is good for “first-timers”.

A designer sento overhauled by Kentaro Imai, Kohmeisen reopened in 2014 in Nakameguro. Nakameguro is a very nice area with the cheeey blossom trees over the river, nice bars shops and restaurants. The facility provides 3 baths and a sauna. An outside bath (jacuzzi, picture) is available on only one side so men’s and women’s sides are swapped every Friday to allow everyone to experience rooftop bathing. The jacuzzi is definitely the highlight of this cento. The sauna is very small (5-6 ppl) with a max of 12 keys in rotation. An interesting vibe is given by the subway train passing by. The crowd is rather young. Tattoos allowed.

A small garden of bathtubs of different depths and temperatures. Especially in the colder months, one can easily pass an hour or so lost in thoughts while lying supine in the shallow baths and gazing up at the sky. There is also a restaurant attached (more canteen-style with the usual menu of ramen and ton-katsu for ¥800 or so), as well as massage services. It is one of the most relaxing onsen and with it’s beautiful outdoor area, a must for rainy/snowy day and in the night. A Wow-Effect is ensured!

Saya means “the state of purity”, “a clear and resonant sound”, or “a fresh and vivid color”. Experience free-flowing hot spring which is even a rarity within Japan. Find a wide variety of bath including a mixed-gender hot stone sauna and it’s attached relaxing room. The steam saune provides salt which is a fantastic way to get rid of your old skin and smoothen it. It’s perfect for couples and everyone who wants to spend some hours in an onsen, reading a book in between, having a chat with friends, and continuing the bathing experience. A restaurant provides you with nice meals and there is also the possibility to book a private bath (though no mixed-gender allowed, bummer).

A sento - not an onsen - in the heart of Omotesando, stashed away in an alley behind an ostentatious Porsche dealership. This sento is modern and provide various baths and a sauna. It’s a 3min walk from the A4 exit of Omotesando Station. Nothing special about it but it is spacious, rather modern-design, and provides everything you need in the heart of Tokyo. A lot of great shopping and restaurants are around you which is a huge plus to combine a visit to this onsen with other activities.

Very modern, bright and tattoo-friendly onsen where the theme is “light and wind, a public bath in a forest of trees”. People are reading books and magazines in the sauna and in general the people are younger. It has a very special and different vibe to most other onsen and sentos. You have to bring your own body wash and shampoo and hair dryers also cost extra. The outside area is rather small but completely open-air.

Modern-Design, spacious, dark tiles and yellow wood with high white ceilings. A beautiful outdoor area with 2 pools and a mix of modern and Japanese styles. A very good onsen for “first-timers” as a lot signs and information is bilingual. Due to the higher price, there aren’t as many people as in similar onsen. The atmosphere is very relaxed and the energy in this onsen is fantastic. Body wash, shampoo and conditioner are of high quality and you can chose between two different styles (Argan & Sesame Oil or Botanical Materials).

As the name indicates, this is a Spa and it’s all about “having a rest”. It isn’t particularly charming but it looks modern, clean and provides all kind of amenities. It is on the 10-12th floor with a lounge, massage and restaurant area on the 10th, men bath, loungers and massage on the 11th, and the women bath on the 12th floor. The sauna is one of the highlights plus the provision of crushed ice beside the cold water bath, and there are a lot of (sun) loungers - inside and outside - and a nice restaurant and resting area with kind of “business class” seats to relax, watch TV, or even sleep. So if all that is what you are looking for, it’s a good choice to spend several hours or even a whole night there.

This is definitely a nice Onsen - compact but a lot of variety for the size. And almost every bath has bubbles, even the cold bath and the brown bath which is rare to find. It is good for first-timers as the owner speaks a bit of English and almost everything is bilingual, from the hint to take off the shoes immediately when entering to the ticket machine to the signs inside the Onsen. The 2 single bath tubs and the outside area in general has a very nice atmosphere for a “bath in the neighborhood”. Price value is great and one of the best Onsen to try out in Tokyo.