[/floatl]Azabu Juban onsen, one of the best-known bathing spots in Tokyo, is to close at the end of March. Originally opened as a sento, in 1949 the owners drilled down 500 metres and found brownish hot spring waters and turned the place into a genuine onsen. It has been operating in the current five storey building on Azabu Juban shotengai since 1967. Spokesman Hisaeda Hiraoka says that the staff, equipment and building are all now old - the baths are currently only operating at 30% of capacity - and no-one has been found to succeed the current owners. Also, property prices in the area have risen which makes redevelopment an attractive option. No plans for the site have yet been announced.
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Azabu Juban Onsen To Close
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Azabu Juban Onsen To Close
by Mulboyne » Fri Mar 21, 2008 10:06 pm
[floatl][/floatl]Azabu Juban onsen, one of the best-known bathing spots in Tokyo, is to close at the end of March. Originally opened as a sento, in 1949 the owners drilled down 500 metres and found brownish hot spring waters and turned the place into a genuine onsen. It has been operating in the current five storey building on Azabu Juban shotengai since 1967. Spokesman Hisaeda Hiraoka says that the staff, equipment and building are all now old - the baths are currently only operating at 30% of capacity - and no-one has been found to succeed the current owners. Also, property prices in the area have risen which makes redevelopment an attractive option. No plans for the site have yet been announced.
[/floatl]Azabu Juban onsen, one of the best-known bathing spots in Tokyo, is to close at the end of March. Originally opened as a sento, in 1949 the owners drilled down 500 metres and found brownish hot spring waters and turned the place into a genuine onsen. It has been operating in the current five storey building on Azabu Juban shotengai since 1967. Spokesman Hisaeda Hiraoka says that the staff, equipment and building are all now old - the baths are currently only operating at 30% of capacity - and no-one has been found to succeed the current owners. Also, property prices in the area have risen which makes redevelopment an attractive option. No plans for the site have yet been announced.-
Mulboyne - Posts: 18608
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by Greji » Sat Mar 22, 2008 6:23 pm
gkanai wrote:That is some of the best real estate in Juban. I have no idea what it will sell for but it will be quite a pretty penny (or yen, as it were.)
That's the area where the elite meet, right GJ?
"There are those that learn by reading. Then a few who learn by observation. The rest have to piss on an electric fence and find out for themselves!"- Will Rogers
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Greji - Posts: 14357
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by IkemenTommy » Sun Mar 23, 2008 1:53 pm
No big loss. I can still flaunt my meat package at the local sento 
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by Samurai_Jerk » Sun Mar 23, 2008 2:03 pm
IkemenTommy wrote:No big loss. I can still flaunt my meat package at the local sento
Faith is believing what you know ain't so. -- Mark Twain
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Samurai_Jerk - Maezumo
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by Greji » Sun Mar 23, 2008 5:07 pm
Samurai_Jerk wrote:
That's a cold shot SJ!
"There are those that learn by reading. Then a few who learn by observation. The rest have to piss on an electric fence and find out for themselves!"- Will Rogers
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Greji - Posts: 14357
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IkemenTommy - Posts: 5425
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by Mulboyne » Wed Mar 26, 2008 11:08 am
ZakZak (Japanese) says that the onsen's phone has been ringing off the wall since the closure was announced, leading Hiraoka to wonder where the hell all these "loyal" customers have been for the past few years. He elaborates on the reason for the closure, saying that regulations got tighter following the explosion at the Shiespa sauna in Shibuya which would require new investment to upgrade existing equipment. Since he claims that the facility is currently in the red, this didn't seem like a good option. He also mentions that the opening of large-scale onsens like the one on Odaiba had an impact on business with younger people and families no longer making the journey to Azabu Juban. A local shopkeeper expects a developer will want to put up an office building on the site.
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