About a 15-minute walk from Kagoshima-Chuo Station in Japan, you will find the Sun Health Center, a popular public bathhouse in Japan.
（鹿儿岛的公共澡堂“太阳Health Center”）
When you walk into the store, you will be greeted by cute graffiti.
There are a wide variety of baths, including large communal baths, saunas, medicinal baths, and private family hot springs, and they are popular with local adults and children at affordable prices.
(Inside of the bathhouse)
However, just last December, this public bathhouse suddenly announced,
We decided to close business on March 31 this year to thank the public for their support over the past 33 years.
The reasons for the closure include the aging of the bathhouse facilities and the high cost of fuel.
However, this is only the superficial reason, and the more serious problem is the misbehavior of some male customers, which makes it difficult for the bathhouse to operate.
(The bathhouse is closed)
A local man, a regular visitor to the bathhouse, regretted the closure:
"I don't like saunas that are too hot, and the steam sauna here is just right for me.
However, some male customers behaved inappropriately in the steam sauna, which was so excessive that the steam sauna was stopped in the bathhouse for a time.
This time, the bathhouse was closed, and I heard that it was also related to those male customers, which was really disappointing. ”
(The men's bathhouse is chaotic)
So, what is the misconduct that causes the bathhouse to not open?
The employee of the real estate owner who runs this bathhouse sighed deeply and said:
"Some of the male customers would hug and caress each other in the steam sauna, and even more exaggerated inappropriate behavior.
Even male customers who come to the store with their wives and children are doing this kind of thing in the sauna, which is really incomprehensible. ”
(The men's bathhouse is too messy)
These male customers may have chatted online and used the bathhouse as a place to meet offline, usually in the bath next to it, or in the steam sauna located in the corner of the second floor.
This problem has been in the store since more than a decade ago, and it has since become more and more serious.
Even if the steam sauna is turned off and the doors and windows of the bath are removed, the problem will not be solved.
(Bath and sauna on the second floor)
Normal customers who come to the bath will feel unhappy when they see this kind of inappropriate behavior, or if they are suddenly accosted, and gradually stop coming to the store.
A 45-year-old male office worker revealed that he had been accosted and harassed by an old man stranger at the bathhouse.
"Before I went to work one day, I went into the steam sauna alone at 5 a.m.
A strange old man approached me and said, 'It's been hot lately,' so I casually replied.
He went on to ask, 'How are your kids?', and I thought he knew I would bring my wife and kids to the bath on the weekends.
But all of a sudden, he whispered in my ear, 'Do you want to do it vigorously?' ”
"I heard this kind of rumor from my colleague, and I thought that I would run into it, so I quickly refused and left the scene.
The other party has white hair and looks to be sixty or seventy years old, but he didn't expect to say such things when he is old. ”
(Notices posted in the store)
In response to this behavior, the bathhouse posted a notice in the store prohibiting the accosting of strange male customers and prohibiting intimate behavior between male customers, but the situation did not improve.
The bathhouse once put the violators on the "blacklist",
They were asked to sign a pledge that they would not mess around or harass other male customers in the future, but it didn't work.
(The bathhouse puts the offending customers on the "blacklist")
The bathhouse staff will strengthen their patrols and immediately report to the police if they receive a report from a customer or find an abnormality.
However, even if the police came to the scene to deal with it, they were not caught red-handed, so they were not arrested in the end.
According to people familiar with the matter:
"We created this bathhouse that is open from 4 a.m. to 2 a.m. the next day so that people can take a bath easily. ”
"It was already operating at a loss, and the misbehavior of some male customers led to a sharp drop in customer traffic in the store, and the recent increase in fuel costs, so it was really impossible to continue. ”
(The customer said he had seen inappropriate behavior)
For similar misconduct, the vice chairman of the public bathhouse industry in Kagoshima Prefecture, Eiyohachiro, is also very troublesome.
"There are about 40 bathhouses in Kagoshima City, and only four of them do not have saunas.
In addition to 'Sun Health Center', other stores may have similar problems.
However, the 'Sun Health Center' has a steam sauna in the corner of the upper floor, which is more likely to cause misconduct. ”
"Actually, this is a problem that spreads all over the country, and in general, public baths have a variety of customers, including children.
Of course, misconduct can be regarded as a hindrance to business, and other customers will be frightened. ”
(Interviewed by Hachiro Yong)
The problem of men's bathhouses in Japan has appeared in various places before.
For example, in January this year, an indecent assault case occurred at a men's bathhouse in Kashiwa City, Chiba Prefecture, Japan.
Police arrived at the scene and arrested Ryutaro Seki, a 35-year-old man.
Ryutaro Seki claims to be an English lecturer.
(Suspect man Ryutaro Seki)
While bathing in the men's bathhouse, he took advantage of the fact that there was no one around him and committed an indecent act against a man in his 20s.
In the face of the police investigation, Ryutaro Seki confessed to his crime, admitting that "it was to satisfy his sexual desire".
(Suspect man Ryutaro Seki)
Having said that, the inappropriate behavior of the male customers eventually led to the closure of the bathhouse.
In this regard, Japanese netizens have criticized one after another:
"The men's bathhouse is not the place to do that kind of thing. ”
（截图来自油管网友user-ip1gk7lg8x）
"Indeed, if I go to the sauna and see the uncles in close contact, I will not go a second time. ”
（截图来自油管网友user-lx5xe1qy2n）
"It's a public bathhouse.
If you want to use it for a specific purpose, you should go to a place where there is no one.
If children see that kind of image, it will leave a psychological shadow. Even if you are not a child, it will be unpleasant to watch. ”
（截图来自油管网友3bigisland）
"It's a crime. ”
（截图来自油管网友user-it2np9cq8r）
"The bathhouse should file a lawsuit for compensation. ”
(Screenshot from YouTube netizen yyysk5337)
"It's all perverted, and serious customers don't dare to come again. ”
（截图来自油管网友user-pf2kw1sn8m）
The bathhouse, which has been open for decades, has come to the point of closure, which is really helpless......