"Struggling Due to Troublesome Customers"…The Story Behind the Closure of a Long-Established Japanese Bathhouse

1967 Founded Jamasi Bathhouse Closing Notice
Customers' Nuisance Behavior Endured for Years Finally
Stealing Items, Vandalism, Nonpayment of Fees
Verbal Abuse to Staff and Frequent Power Abuse
Owner "It's Too Hard... Please Stop Doing This"

Appearance of the turtle soup restaurant in Zama City, Japan, which announced its closure at the end of May
[Photo source=Kanagawa Prefecture Public Bathhouse Industry Life Hygiene Cooperative Association website]

A long-established public bathhouse in Japan that has been operating for over 50 years decided to close down due to its customers. The owner announced the closure, saying, "We have now reached our limit." What was the story behind this? The cause was the customers' disruptive behavior. Incidents such as not paying, littering anywhere, and frequent verbal abuse were commonplace.

According to a report by the Mainichi Shimbun on the 21st, the bathhouse that declared its closure is an old public bath located in Zama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. Its name translates to "Turtle Bath" in Korean. It announced its closure on May 30th, after 57 years since its establishment in 1967. This place has been loved by local residents for a long time as it uses water drawn from a local well, heated daily with firewood, making it a bathhouse that stays warm even in the cold winter.

However, in recent years, it has suffered from the disruptive behavior of its users. Items disappearing or being broken were common, as well as verbal abuse and other forms of harassment known in Japan as "kasuhara" (customer harassment). Violations of parking rules and not paying fees were also typical. Illegal dumping of trash inside and outside the bathhouse occurred as well. Despite repeated warnings, these issues were ineffective to resolve.

The bathhouse owner told the Mainichi Shimbun on the 16th, "There have been so many sad incidents that I lost the will to continue operating," but declined to provide detailed explanations, saying, "Since the customers can be identified, I will not go into specifics." In response to this news, Japanese netizens mainly expressed sentiments such as "It's sad that the bathhouse was forced to close due to disruptive behavior" and "Service industries are really tough." When announcing the closure, the owner wrote to regular customers with gratitude and added, "Many people will continue to use other public baths or bathing facilities. Please be sincere customers. I ask for your cooperation."

The Taiyo (Sun) Health Center located in Kagoshima City, Japan, which was closed as of April 1 due to frequent obscene acts by elderly men [Photo source: Center website]

Meanwhile, the Taiyo (Sun) Health Center, a hot spring resort facility located in Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture, closed on April 1st due to ongoing inappropriate behavior by elderly male patrons. This problem had been ongoing for a long time, and although notices prohibiting lewd behavior were posted inside the facility, they had no effect. An official said, "There were so many disruptive customers that it was hard to count. It seems many were elderly," adding, "Even when reported to the police, it was difficult to arrest anyone unless caught in the act." They continued, "Telling people on the blacklist 'You are banned from entering' was useless," and "It became routine to discover disruptive behavior and have the offenders sign pledges to prevent recurrence."