If Mr. Nakaoka, who runs the Setouchi Sauna Club, were to lead a tour of Hiroshima's local public baths for people who want to feel refreshed, he would...

We took the Heisei Iroha Maru ferry from Tomonoura in Fukuyama to Sensuijima. The ferry is modeled after the Iroha Maru, the steamship on which the “Kaientai”, led by Ryoma Sakamoto, boarded. The sight of its pitch-black body, with steam gushing out of the chimney is kind of cool.

It’s pretty cool to take a boat to have a bath, isn’t it? Inside the ship, there are displays of materials and photo related to Sakamoto Ryoma, making it look like a petite moving museum. It's a short boat ride of about five minutes, but you can experience something extraordinary.

There are eight baths in the facility, and the receptionist can tell you the bathing order that will satisfy even the first-time visitor.

There are many unusual baths, such as three steam baths using Yomogi (mugwort), seaweed, and biwa (loquat) leaves, the "mother's womb bath", in which salt is added to seawater to make the body float, and the "sea and seasonal baths" that change monthly.

After visiting each of these baths in order, have a cold bath in the ocean that is laiding out right in front of you! This is the big attraction of the Edo Baths. Furthermore, men and women can enter together, which is refreshing since this is rarely the case in ordinary hot springs.

Located not far from the Atomic Bomb Dome and Peace Park, this public bathhouse has recently been visited by both domestic and foreign tourists, as well as local customers.

Although the chimney was exposed to the atomic bombing, it did not collapse. It has been repaired and continues to be loved by the locals. This is a bathhouse where you should stop by after thinking about peace.

This bath also has a three-tiered bathtub. The sauna room is slightly tepid with a sauna heater. There is no TV, so you can take your time to meditate and face yourself. Of course, a cold-water bath is also available.

Inside the facility, there is a guardhouse, old-fashioned advertisements, and, in the women's changing room, hair dryers and massage bed are available. You can enjoy the feeling of an authentic public bathhouse as if you were back in the Showa period.