With negative reviews flying about, we took it upon ourselves to discover the truth about this much maligned bathhouse.

Japan is well known for its hot springs and, if you were hoping to get a last minute soak in before your flight, or simply can’t wait to take the plunge the moment you land, you’ll be pleased to know that there are some hot spring facilities within easy access from both Narita and Haneda airports. However, as our regular hot spring-going, sauna-loving Japanese-language reporter Seiji Nakazawa was searching for a new place to try out, he discovered reviews of a hot spring facility near Narita Airport calling it “awful” and “shockingly bad”. There was even a suggestion that the place would be closing down. Intrigued to find out for himself, he hopped on the next train to Narita Airport.

Despite all the negativity surrounding the facility, he tried his best to withhold the desire to read further into those reviews, worrying that they would influence his own impression of the hot spring before he had a chance to experience it for himself.

There’s a free shuttle bus from Narita Airport to Tokyo Yurakujo, so if you happen to be at Terminal 1, get on at Bus Stop 16, which seems to be the location for many of the hotel buses in the surrounding area.

Seiji checked the time: 3:21 p.m. Not too late nor too early, so the next bus shouldn’t be long. He found the timetable and looked up the next bus to find it was at… 4:35 p.m.

▼ Wait…

Why are there so few buses?!

There’s less than one bus per hour to a hotel that’s near one of the biggest airports in Japan. It is a free shuttle bus, though, so it goes to stand that it might be difficult to cover costs if they send out too many buses. With the next bus over an hour away, Seiji walked over to the taxi stand to ask about the fare, only to learn that it would take about 5,000 yen (US$34.92) to get to Tokyo Yurakujo.

There’s also apparently a bus from Keisei Narita Station, but it runs even less frequently than the airport bus, so that seemed to be a no-go too. With little other choice, Seiji hunkered down for a wait lasting little over an hour until he could finally board the shuttle.

He arrived at the hotel at 4:59 p.m., so even though the ride was just 25 minutes or so from the airport, it felt like it took 1.5 hours.

The grounds of the International Resort Hotel were massive. The bus passed through the front gate and went up a slope before finally arriving at the front of the hotel. With the infrequent access and large grounds, when Seiji stepped off the bus he felt like he had arrived on some sort of remote island, completely isolated from the outside world.

Walking through the garden was quite a surreal experience: everyone Seiji seemed to pass was a foreigner, which only compounded the feeling that he was somewhere other than Japan.

Passing by a charming pavilion, a huge building came into view, which could easily have been mistaken for a wall or a factory.

However, when he walked around to the front he discovered that this monolith was in fact his destination on his trip: Tokyo Yurakujo.

Much like its name suggests (jo means ‘castle’), the facility was massive. Directly in front of the entrance was what seemed to be a never-ending fountain, which as he walked along he soon discovered to be next to a bridge that led into the main entrance of the building. The whole atmosphere of the place was different from a normal hot spring.

Walking through the entrance, Seiji came face-to-face with what everyone expects from a hot spring: a… chandelier?

Someone on the interior design team obviously got their plans mixed up and converted the reception area into a ballroom, because that’s exactly what it looks like.

Heading up to the counter, he paid the fee and received his towel and lounge wear, which is great for people who don’t carry towels around with them. The entrance fee is 1,800 yen on weekdays, and 2,200 yen on weekends and holidays.

At the back of the locker room is a relaxation area, and beyond that is the bathing area. Another thing that was pretty unusual was that the path that runs from the locker room to the relaxation area was a footbath, which also happened to be completely in darkness. It’s unclear why the hotel considers blind footbath corridors to be an essential feature, but for those unwilling to risk breaking their necks wading through the water, it is possible to get to the relaxation area from the opposite side of the locker room, although that does require you having to go via the ballroom again. However, it is a good opportunity to brush up on your waltz or tango.

Is the relaxation room equally stately? Well.. not quite. Gigantic, yes. The Edo-style design of the dining area, game corner, stage, and various attractions combined with the cyber-colored lighting to give the area an eerie vibe, which could be described as being Neo-Edo.

▼ With regular events being held..

▼ … there was even a shrine…

▼ … and a horse-drawn carriage!

The whole street of amusements seemed to be on another level when compared to your typical hot spring or public bath, but there was still a commonly seen lounge area with manga to read.

After getting to the end of the amusement street, Seiji finally reached the bathing area.

Inside, there were about three indoor tubs of varying sizes, a cold bath, and a sauna. Outside, there was a main open-air bath and three small, round bathtubs for individual bathers. For Seiji, the sauna experience is everything and, while he enjoyed it, he wasn’t blown away by it. However, he was impressed by the availability of reclining chairs for his post-sauna relaxation.

Both baths and saunas were average by Seiji’s standards, so not really bad enough to warrant the negative reviews. Was there something he was missing?

Seiji continued to explore the facility after his bath and learned from a staff member that there was a balcony out the back that could be accessed from the manga lounge area.

▼ The sign on the left indicates a fountain-viewing area.

The balcony was amazing.

There were luxurious chairs with curtains, creating small, private rooms.

Sitting in one of the chairs while watching the fountain change color and listening to the classical music felt incredibly elegant.

▼ Seiji has never felt so refined.

Despite the average bathing experience when compared to the facility’s overall ambiance, the refined atmosphere of the post-bath balcony is something that is truly unique.

In conclusion, Seiji felt that it wasn’t bad or terrible or at all, so he began to wonder why people had been rating it that way. Having satisfied his desire to have a completely unbiased experience of the facility, he settled back in his chair and checked out what people online were complaining about. The main points were:

  • Empty
  • Bad accessibility
  • Unpleasant route through a dark footbath
  • Sauna but no cold bath
  • Disappointing baths
  • Not a hot spring—just a regular bath
  • Dirty baths and facility
  • Guests were bad
  • Customer service was bad

There were even some reviews that were just downright angry. If he had read these before he went, he might have ended up not going. With his own experience under his belt, he decided to incorporate his honest opinions on these points.

  • Wouldn’t go so far as to call it “empty,” but rather pleasantly available.
  • The accessibility was definitely bad. If you don’t have a car, then it’s a challenge to get there.
  • There are no doubt some people who care about the footbath, but it’s not a necessary route.
  • There was a cold bath.
  • Rather than say the baths were disappointing, it was the exterior that was so amazing that the gap between that and the regular baths was too shocking.
  • For those who care about natural hot springs, then not having one would be an issue, but personally it wasn’t a problem.
  • Didn’t really notice any cleanliness issues.
  • Didn’t notice any problems with the guests.
  • Didn’t notice any bad customer service.

For experiences with guests and customer service, Seiji believes that everyone will have their own opinions and expectations, but when he went the staff explained everything politely.

In the case of the cold bath, it might be an instance where it was fixed by the facility in the time between the review and Seiji’s visit. Comparing the baths, with the overwhelming quality of the nearby Sora no Yu, it’s not difficult to be in an unfavorable position.

Looking at the facility overall, the unique atmosphere gives it a distinct charm that makes for an interesting visit. While there is concern that it might go out of business, that’s most likely due to the lack of customers. However, losing a place with such a distinctive vibe would be a shame, so Seiji hopes that the business will work hard to welcome more customers.

If you want to experience a hot spring hotel full of unique charm, then Tokyo Yurakujo is waiting for you… as long as you don’t mind waiting for the bus.

Location information
Tokyo Yurakujo / 東京湯楽城
Address: Chiba-ken, Tomisato-shi, Nanae 650-35 International Resort Hotel-nai
千葉県富里市七栄650−35 インターナショナルリゾートホテル内
Open 1:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Closed Mondays
Website

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[ Read in Japanese ]