Today’s trip takes me to the northern side of the Yamanote line, which runs in a continuous loop around the central parts of Tokyo, to a station called Komagome. Komagome is a highly convenient location, only a few stops from popular shitamachi destinations such as Nishi-nippori, as well as key access stations like Ikebukuro.
A quick 30-second walk from Komagome’s east exit is ROSCO, a capsule hotel/sauna. Nestled between two large buildings, its entrance would be easy to miss if it wasn’t for the lush green ivy that covers it.
I remove my shoes, step up from the genkan and make my way over to the lobby desk. It’s very quiet, and although I don’t often go to saunas myself, the atmosphere and the smell of fresh towels in the air is very similar to that of a sento public bathhouse.
Matsumura Isako-san, managing director and younger sister to the owner of ROSCO, comes to greet me as I arrive. We take a seat in the staff office behind the counter, and she begins to tell me their story. This facility was originally opened by her grandparents in the Showa year 26 (1951) as a bathhouse. They chose the location for one specific reason: the water in this area was known to be of very high quality, good for the skin, and delicious, ideal attributes for a bathhouse whose very business is just that.
The sauna was added just over 20 years after the bathhouse opening, and now the facility has switched its focus to maximizing the sauna experience. What really sets this place apart is that all the cold water used in the building has been pumped from the underground well. “Why is this important?” you might ask. Because it directly affects the quality of the mizuburo, the cold-water bath that you dunk yourself into in between sessions of sitting in the sauna. On top of that, the mizuburo is kakenagashi-style, which means that clean fresh water pumped up from the well is constantly being added to the bath while the old water is drained away, allowing the bath to be chlorine-free. As such, your skin can experience all the benefits of the minerals of the natural spring. Because the cold water bath is in kakenagashi style, the bath size has been made purposefully small, to ensure maximum overturn of clean water. Isako-san continues to explain that an interesting aspect of using well water in its natural state is that the temperature of the water changes throughout the year—the winter water temperature is completely different from the summer temperature.
Isako-san guiding me around the sauna area—the door she’s holding leads to the mist sauna
While the sauna currently has more male guests than female, Isako-san tells me that the female sauna-loving population seems to be growing little by little. With a sauna floor dedicated to women-only guests, as well as a women-only capsule room floor, women traveling alone can relax and enjoy the facility in in peace.
Isako-san also mentions that lately she has been trying to increase incentive for women by integrating more beauty and skincare perks, with the addition of high-end Dyson hair-dryers and top-of-the-line face steamers for both women’s and men’s saunas. Ear plugs are available for sale at the first-floor lobby desk, and there is even a vending machine of face masks to turn up the relaxation experience.
The 4th floor food counter
Curious to see what the various floors offer, I ask for a tour of the building. Isako-san and I start with the 4th floor, which offers an eating area with a menu of various foods and drinks, most of which use spring water pumped from the well.
Tea and cold water from the spring are freely available, and the whiteboard displays the daily food menu
There is also a massage area that offers a range of massages for feet and the body, and Chinese ear massages. Akasuri, a type of exfoliation body scrub service, is offered as well. There is even a heel-of-the-foot massage available for a mere 1000 yen.
Isako-san tells me that the aim of the fourth floor is to create a relaxing, laid-back at-home atmosphere. “We made a conscious choice not to greet our guests with irasshaimase (the standard greeting of business venues) because we wanted people to feel as if they are coming home,” she continues. Walking through, I see rows of reclining chairs with TV screens as well as shelves of manga, which Isako-san points out are also something that the sauna is paying special attention to.
By joining together with a manga-providing service, ROSCO is constantly updating its manga collection, with latest releases of all the currently popular manga series stocked and ready for reading. The fourth floor also has a tatami room rest space that is complete with traditional games like shogi and go. Use of the sauna and relaxing spaces is available for an extremely reasonable price of ￥1800 for 12 hours (shorter-use options are available as well).
Isako-san offers me a chance to try her favorite dish here, the mabo-dofu (spicy fried tofu) ramen, and I happily accept. While food served at public baths and saunas is usually prepared in-house, the food offered here is all prepared by the izakaya restaurant on the first floor of the building, which adds a vote of confidence to its delicious flavor.
As such, orders are taken throughout business hours of the restaurant, from 11am to 11pm. On weekends, capsule guests can also enjoy a special breakfast of fried egg or grilled fish.
The mabo-dofu arrives, and both the flavor and the portion size do not disappoint. The volume for the price is an excellent deal, and the flavor leaves no room for complaint.
After I slurp the last string of ramen that will fit into my stomach, Isako-san takes me to the floor that has the capsules. Speaking of capsules, this is actually my first time visiting a capsule hotel. To my pleasant surprise, the compartments are quite roomy.
The capsules have a simple retro feel, each with its own control panel and electrical outlet. Extra care has been put into the selection of the pillows, which feature three layers of polyurethane that are formed into a three-dimensional cherry blossom shape to help support your head and neck in every direction.
There are also a few horizontal capsules available as well if you are someone who prefers a more shallow-feeling compartment—but these are quite popular and fill up fast so be sure to make your reservation early.
With options of dry and mist saunas, as well as plenty of room for recreation, ROSCO is both figuratively and literally a fresh-water oasis that will allow you to reset and relax, whether you need a break mid-trip during your vacation, or just a several-hour getaway during the day to unwind.
The building has a floor to meet every need, whether it be overnight lodgings, food, or an unparalleled sauna experience. There is even an oxygen capsule available for those who want extra help recovering from fatigue, and washer/dryer machines for those who want to travel light or are planning to stay long-term.
Before I leave, Isako-san shows me a photo of one of the ROSCO lights. She tells me that people refer to it as “ROSCO’s moon” because of its shape, and that she will eventually post it on the sauna’s Instagram…someday. “Someday? Why not now?” I say, and the two of us set out on setting up the sauna’s official account. This day marks a new beginning for ROSCO’s social presence, but it also marks a new beginning for my sauna presence as well—spending time here has made me want to try the full sauna experience myself. I won’t say “someday,” but I will say “sometime soon…very soon.”
