Century-old public bathhouse prepares bathers for earthquakes

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“The building may collapse, so put on the evacuation clothes and slippers and go outside immediately,” he shouted through a megaphone. “Your belongings will be taken out by staff later.”

There was no earthquake, though, and Sauna no Umeyu, a wooden structure believed to have been built at least 120 years ago, was not about to tumble down.

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The participants had applied after learning about the Oct. 27 drill, designed to simulate what would happen during an earthquake with an intensity of lower 5 on the Japanese scale of 7, through signs advertising the event and social media.

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Umeyu, which is popular particularly among young people, is a fixture in Kyoto’s Shimogyo Ward. The bathhouse is hailed as a “holy site” among sauna enthusiasts, especially after it was used as a locale in a TV drama series.

No one knows for sure exactly how old it is, but the facility was founded sometime during the Meiji Era (1868-1912).

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A disaster management manual compiled for industry members involves complicated procedures. Endo read an article about an evacuation drill held at a bathhouse, but the participants were dressed in clothes.

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