Kinshicho's "Kogane-yu" Expands to Shinjuku! Urban Public Bath "Kogane-yu Shinjuku" Featuring Sauna, Craft Beer, and DJ Booth to Grand Open on July 7, 2026!

Shinbo Yokujo Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo / Representative Director: Takuya Shinbo), which operates the public baths & saunas "Kogane-yu" and "Daikoku-yu" and "Sakura-yu" in Sumida Ward, will renovate the 50-year-old "Kanazawa-yu" building in Higashi-Shinjuku and open it as the new "Kogane-yu Shinjuku" on July 7, 2026.

The interior design was handled by architect Yuko Nagayama, who also worked on pavilions for the 2025 Osaka-Kansai Expo. Branding is by artist Masako Takahashi, who also handled Kogane-yu Tokyo. Misato Shimizu was appointed as the experience advisor, and Tomoko Shinbo as the bathing producer. A new public bath experience that updates the concept of existing public baths will be offered.

Furthermore, as a new initiative, environmentally conscious facilities using "solar thermal" will be introduced for the first time by a private company. Water heated by solar thermal will be used in bathtubs and showers. It will be reborn as a new bathing facility that can reduce CO2 by 34% and considers global warming countermeasures.

◼︎ Facility Overview

Facility Name: Kogane-yu Shinjuku

Address: 7-22-11 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo

Price: Adults ¥550 (Junior high school students and older) *Sauna fee separate

Official HP: https://koganeyu.com/

X: https://x.com/koganeyu2

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/koganeyushinjuku

◼︎ Thoughts Behind Kogane-yu Shinjuku

With the philosophy of "providing a space of happiness," we create the ultimate public bath experience. We want to create a warm and comforting place where people can heal their daily fatigue by soaking in the hot water, feel connections with others, and return home feeling happy. With this in mind, we develop diverse businesses centered around the public bath business, including beer, music, and accommodation, nurturing small moments of the extraordinary in everyday life, encounters, connections, and local traditions.

At "Kogane-yu Shinjuku," we aim to create a space that provides a sense of security to our long-time regular customers and allows first-time visitors to experience the depth of public bath culture.

◼︎ Public Bath Area

The tile art that has watched over this place for many years has been preserved in its original form and restored using AI technology. Furthermore, by adding green coloring, a sense of unity with the ceiling and walls has been created, unifying the entire bathroom into a single worldview. The bathroom is equipped with a high-concentration carbonated spring at 36-37°C, a medicinal bath at 41-42°C, and a cold plunge pool. Natural underground water is used in the bathtubs, including the cold plunge pool, allowing you to enjoy a soft feel on your skin.

◼︎ Sauna Zone "THE CAVE"

A cave-like sauna zone with smooth curves.

・Men's Sauna | THE ABYSS

A sauna room with lava tiles, creating the sensation of being inside a cave.

Two auto-löyly saunas optimally control temperature and humidity, inviting deep immersion along with carefully selected music.

In the beautiful bubbly cold plunge pool, countless bubbles rise from the natural underground water, creating a sensation as if you are sinking into an underground spring.

The outdoor cooling space allows you to enjoy light effects that change between day and night. The nighttime illumination, in particular, is magical and enhances the sauna experience, making it more special.

・Women's Sauna | THE COCOON

A circular sauna room enveloped in soft curves.

With self-löyly, you can enjoy your own relaxing time while savoring different aromas and herbal scents each day.

The beautiful bubbly cold plunge pool, maintained at 15-16°C, produces bubbles like an underground spring, creating a pleasant cooling sensation. Complimentary detox water is also available exclusively for sauna users, allowing you to refresh from the inside out.

◼︎ Craft Beer

To enrich your post-bath experience, we offer craft beer brewed at our own brewery.

"Shinjuku Lager," created to commemorate the opening, is a unique brew for this location. It features a refreshing taste that comfortably soaks into your body after a bath.

In addition, with the theme of fusion with public bath culture, we also offer original beers that can only be tasted here, such as "Yomogi Beer" made with mugwort, which is popular in medicinal baths. Seasonal limited brews are also planned, allowing you to enjoy new flavors with each visit.

◼︎ DJ Booth

The facility is equipped with a permanent DJ booth, featuring equipment such as record players and XDJ.

Music selected to match the worldview of the bathing and sauna spaces envelops the entire facility. It's not just about playing sound; the sound design, harmonizing with the space, light, and bathing experience, allows for deeper immersion. Regular DJ events and live sessions will also be held, functioning as a community space connecting the neighborhood and culture. We propose a new urban bathing experience that fuses public baths, saunas, and music.

THE ABYSS | A sauna room with lava tiles, creating the sensation of being inside a cave

A spacious cold plunge pool and outdoor cooling space

The iconic public bath tile art remains as it was before the renovation

THE COCOON | A circular sauna room enveloped in soft curves

You can enjoy craft beer from our own brewery, "BATHE YOTSUME BREWERY"

The renovated facade of "Kogane-yu Shinjuku"

The reception area with a DJ booth and a bar serving our own brewed beer

◼︎ About Solar Thermal Water Heating Equipment

Solar Thermal Equipment Image

Solar thermal utilization has three times the heat effect of solar power generation. Therefore, it is more efficient to use solar heat directly than to convert generated electricity into heat, which is why the solar thermal water heating system was introduced. The heat collected by solar thermal is used to warm water, which is then used in the public bath's showers and bathtubs. As a new initiative, "solar thermal" has been introduced. This is the first environmentally conscious initiative in the industry, receiving approval and subsidies from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government as a private company.

◼︎ Kogane-yu Shinjuku Opening Ceremony

Prior to the opening on July 7, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held with Governor of Tokyo Yuriko Koike, architect Yuko Nagayama, branding artist Masako Takahashi, and actor Misato Shimizu to celebrate the new beginning.

In the evening, a reception party was held for related parties. Craft beer from our own brewery, "BATHE YOTSUME BREWERY," and catering were provided.

Furthermore, DJ Tomoyuki Tanaka was invited to liven up the venue. Guests enjoyed bathing as they would in a regular public bath, fully experiencing the baths and saunas at "Kogane-yu Shinjuku."

◼︎ Interior Design: Yuko Nagayama

Born in Tokyo in 1975. After working at Jun Aoki & Associates, established Yuko Nagayama & Associates in 2002. Major works include "Teshima Yokoo Museum of Art," "Japan Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai," "Tokyu Kabukicho Tower," and the "Woman's Pavilion" and "Panasonic Group Pavilion "Nomu no Kuni"" at Expo 2025 Osaka-Kansai. Awards include JIA Young Architect Award (2014), Yamanashi Prefecture Architecture Culture Award, Tokyo Architectural Award Excellence Award (2018), Lighting Design Award Grand Prize (2021), WAF Highly Commended (2022), and iF Design Award (2023). Current projects include "Torch Tower." Books include "Spinning Stories from Architecture" (Graphicsha) and "Architecture as a Trigger" (Shueisha Shinsho). http://www.yukonagayama.co.jp/

We aim to utilize the "multi-layered nature" of Shinjuku in the space and pass on the memories of the bathhouse to the next generation.

Shinjuku is a city with a unique charm, where old and new buildings coexist, and layers of different eras overlap. We wanted to express this "overlap of eras" that exists within Kanazawa-yu, which has accumulated 50 years of memories.

We have layered new elements on top of "fragments of the past," such as the symbolic public bath mosaic tiles and the former curved ceiling.

We want many people to experience the nostalgic yet new Kogane-yu Shinjuku.

◼︎ Experience Advisor: Misato Shimizu

Born in Nara in 1992. Graduated from the Acting Course, Department of Cinema, College of Art, Nihon University. Known as a "sauna fanatic" who visits saunas all over Japan and the world. She has been a poster model for Sauna Iikitai and is currently the personality of the radio program "Misato Shimizu's Sauna Iko?" (broadcast on 21 JFN stations nationwide). She also writes serialized essays in TRANSIT's "Misato Shimizu's World Sauna Pilgrimage" and Rurubu's "Go Anywhere Sauna Trip." Her first book, "Jigoku Sauna Life" (KADOKAWA), is now on sale. She also serves as an ambassador for Suntory's "Non-Alcoholic Lemon Sour Bar."

As a user who loves public baths and saunas, I was involved in the renovation of Kanazawa-yu by the beloved Kogane-yu. Based on my memories of what felt comfortable and what I wished could be better from my experiences visiting various saunas and baths, I simply shared my thoughts, and they even created a wonderful title for me.

I am happy to witness the moment when the breath of public baths, an important Japanese culture, comes alive.

I hope this place will be the catalyst for someone to fall in love with public baths.

◼︎ Bathing Producer: Tomoko Shinbo

Director of Shinbo Yokujo Co., Ltd. / Owner of Kogane-yu. For approximately 90 years in Sumida Ward, a town where Japanese culture thrives. Operates "Daikoku-yu" and "Kogane-yu," which protect the local public health. She has a deep love for Japan's unique "public bath culture" and a strong sense of mission to pass it on to the future. While inheriting tradition, she constantly seeks new styles of public baths for the coming era and strives to create value.

In her daily efforts as the "Okami" (proprietress) of a public bath, she has come to believe that a female perspective and sensibility are indispensable in considering the role of public baths in today's rapidly changing society.

When envisioning the possibilities of a new public bath in Shinjuku, a place that embodies diversity, she wanted to pave the way for the future with female creators this time.

With the "courage and sensitivity" unique to women, she wants to make a reality of an "open place" that is welcoming to everyone, regardless of age or status. While cherishing the history that the old public bath, over 50 years old, has etched, we will create the future of public baths.

◼︎ Creative Direction & Branding: Masako Takahashi

An artist who explores "infinite possibilities born from the finite" through abstract expressions of circles and straight lines. Completed her doctoral program at Tokyo University of the Arts, Graduate School of Fine Arts, and holds a Ph.D. in Fine Arts. Professor at Musashino Art University. She redefines the kimono as an artistic medium, developing multi-layered expressions that connect space, body, and thought, from delicate drawings to installations on an architectural scale. Her works are permanently housed in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, and she has collaborated with numerous global brands such as adidas, BMW, and IKEA. https://takahashihiroko.jp/

Following the Tokyo store, I have been working alongside the Shinbo couple's passion as a creative director. For this Shinjuku store, the priority was to embody the owner Tomoko-san's conviction about the "new social role of public baths."

We aimed for a place that blends into the residential area and gently embraces the community, while also possessing the strength to accept Shinjuku's diversity. Through repeated conversations with Tomoko-san, we arrived at the answer of collaborating with architect Yuko Nagayama.

This is not simply an attempt to create a "public bath made by women." It is the form of a small but certain challenge chosen by an owner to pass on a traditional culture to the future.

I believe this endeavor will shed new light on Japanese culture.

◼︎ About KOGANEYU

A long-established public bath founded 94 years ago in Kinshicho, Sumida Ward, Tokyo. Since its renewal and reopening in 2020, it has been bustling with many customers and has generated various events and new value. It has been featured in numerous media outlets and consistently ranks high in the Sauna Iikitai (sauna search site) rankings (Tokyo - Public Bath category, etc.). It was also selected as one of the "26 Things to Do in Tokyo" by Condé Nast Traveler (a major American publishing house's travel magazine). It boasts many attractions, including a reception area with a DJ booth and a beer bar serving house-brewed beer, a maifan stone sauna with a 90cm deep cold plunge pool, public bath art drawn by manga artist Yoriko Hoshi, and accommodation facilities.

【Inquiries Regarding This Matter / Those Wishing to Cover the 7/7 OPENING】

Shinbo Yokujo Co., Ltd. Public Relations Department

E-mail: info@shinboyokujo.com

*Due to the confusion during the Tokyo store's opening, congestion is also expected for the Shinjuku store's opening.

Please contact us in advance if you wish to cover the event.