How to Avail Yourself of a Free Foot Bath at Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai

    I have read somewhere that Japan is notorious for long queues especially when something new in town opens, be it a restaurant, an amusement park, or a small shop. I have experienced such in the past so I have always made it a point to avoid going to these places a week or even a month or longer after their opening. I would rather go on a weekday too when people are mostly at work and I can have space to breathe as I enjoy whatever the establishment offers.

    It might be because I am getting older but it might also be that I have been living here for so long that I can already see what is going to be busy and I can manage what I can tolerate and what I don’t. And there is nothing I love most in the world here than baths! So, I made an exception when I found out that a 24-hour spa was opening in the Toyosu Area called Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai.

    I immediately contacted a friend of mine to accompany me to this experience since we both haven’t been to the Toyosu area before. Unfortunately, due to our schedules we could only go on a Sunday. I had to dig deep within myself and just accept the fact that there would be throngs and throngs of people in the area. In this case, I was not wrong, and given that “Senkyaku Banrai” can be translated to the constant flow of customers coming and going, I was not stunned at all.

As Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai just opened on February 1, it is not a surprise to be amid a crowded Yurikamome line monorail that stopped at Shijo-mae Station. The fish market was closed on the day we went but that didn’t affect the crowd that this new establishment had attracted.

But you might ask, what exactly is Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai? This facility is located just next to the Toyosu Fish Market where you can see Edo-themed wooden buildings using timber taken from the Tama Area in Tokyo and roof tiles from Awaji Island.

       The facility also boasts a variety of restaurants and shops that offer fresh seafood, souvenirs from all over Japan, and matcha sweets here and there. However, what I was looking forward to visiting was the free foot bath on the 8th floor of the 24-hour spa connected to the long array of shops.

And of course, you can’t skip the long queue here either. As I am not the only one who is down on trying out a free foot bath on a cold afternoon, the wait time was estimated to be 20 minutes which was not bad if you think about it.

    When we got on the elevator that took us to the 8th floor, we were shocked to see that there were too many people huddling in the foot bath area so we had to wait behind them. But the view was fantastic since you could see the Rainbow Bridge so we had to snap some photos before lining up. Although I would recommend going there at night because the view would be more gorgeous with all the lights.

    When we finished taking snaps, we chose our target in the corner of the foot bath and waited for two girls for about 8-10 minutes. Now, you might be wondering if the foot bath was free, will there be free towels as well? Unfortunately, the answer to that is no. Towels were sold for 200 yen each in small vending machines on the same floor. Luckily for us, we came in prepared and brought our towels so hurrah for us!

    Albeit the awkward feeling of being with too many people in the foot bath, the hot water still was comforting enough for us to relax, chat, and take in the view. I liked that even though there were many people, I got to be in my element which is to be in the water! We stayed for about 15-20 minutes before we decided to let others take our place.

    Now, I am left with a final question. “Am I going to go back and get more than just a free foot bath?” I would say, “Yes!”. Although I don’t think it’s going to be this month or the next. Probably a few months later!