Crackdown on public bathhouse in Shibuya used for gay hook-ups

There is a public park located a short walk from the main part of Nichome, Shinjuku’s gay neighborhood. It underwent remodeling and reopened with fences and a gate. Unlike almost all other small parks in the city, it was now closed at night. The proximity of the gay district, whose denizens had presumably used the park to gather, drink, and possibly get intimate, was no coincidence.

Now we read about another case related to this.

The owner of a sento public bathhouse was understandably peeved that patrons were using his establishment to have sex. While Japanese porn might give you other ideas, sento and onsen (hot springs) are generally not places for couples to hook up — with the notable exception of private baths, where a tryst can be, well, private.

TBS News reports that two men in their thirties were arrested and charged with public obscenity after they ignored signs in a Shibuya ward bathhouse warning patrons not to engage in sexual acts.

The two men, who admit to the charges, couldn’t resist having some fun when they found themselves alone in the public area, and were caught having sex for some 20 minutes in the open bath. The door was unlocked and over a dozen guests were using other facilities.

The manager, who has run the bathhouse for decades, says he has reported to police about 40 such incidents among gay men on the premises of his bathhouse, and that’s just in the last four or five years. It got to the point where the manager put up a sign specifically warning that “LGBT customers without morals or standards are not permitted.” His sign states that certain acts and behavior are forbidden, such as touching and kissing, but also “intense looks.” (Such anti-gay signage is relatively common at bathhouses in Japan.)

It seems this time that the police wanted to crack down and set an example.

Particular bathhouses do acquire a reputation as places where gay men can go and expect to hook up with other guys on the premises. Spa World in Osaka was famously one such place, we recall from our years in the city.

Shibuya ward has promoted itself as a place of diversity in recent years, including passing the first ordinance in Japan giving de facto legal recognition to same-sex partnerships. Not everyone is on board with that message, it seems.