拯救傳統文化！日本澡堂變酷了？Japan’s Sento is coming back!

Sento, or public bathhouses, used to be ubiquitous in Japanese neighborhoods. In the 1960s, there were more than 2,500 sento in Tokyo, but now just over 500 remain, as 98% of homes in Tokyo now have private showers and baths. As in lots of Japan’s traditional industries, many owners resisted change and decided to call it quits.

But a new generation of sento owners is working to revive it by making sento cool again. They have added bars, music and event spaces, trying instead to focus on fostering their communities. Sento are attracting younger bathers. In 2019 the number of sento-goers in Tokyo grew for the first time in more than a decade.

友善讓你懂｜解說：

日本的公共澡堂曾經無處不在，在 1960 年代，光在東京就有2500 多個公共澡堂，如今只剩下 500 多個。因為現在東京有98%的家庭都有私人衛浴，澡堂的功能就漸漸失去了。就像日本其他許多傳統產業一樣，許多澡堂主人不希望做改變，反而決定關閉。

但是新一代的澡堂主人正在努力重振澡堂文化，他們的方法：把澡堂變酷！他們在澡堂內增加了酒吧、音樂，甚至是活動空間，希望能建立起一個更年輕的社區。 這樣的作法似乎奏效，在2019年，東京的澡堂客人數量，十多年來第一次成長。

輕鬆帶著走｜學習：

Ubiquitous意思是「到處都是」、「非常普遍」，

例句：The company’s advertisements are ubiquitous. 這家公司的廣告到處都看得到

名詞為ubiquity，

例句： I’m sick of the ubiquity of the company’s ads. 我真受不了到處都看到這家公司的廣告

本篇其他相關單字：

• bathhouse 澡堂
• resist 拒絕
• revive 重振、復興
• foster 培養