Before planning my trip to Tokyo, I made a note to visit Ooedo Onsen Monogatari and spend a night there.
My other plan was to overnight at a cybercafe but chickened out and stayed at a budget hotel instead.
The icing on the cake was when I found out that there was an event for my favorite anime/manga Gintama at Ooedo Onsen and that I would be there during the last two days of the event.
For me, staying overnight at Ooedo Onsen meant saving one night’s stay at a hotel. Since I already want to soak in hot springs, adding on the extra 1,700 yen wasn’t too bad. But if you are travelling in pairs, this might be a more expensive option for accommodation.
Checking in
Since I was going to spend the rest of my night at Ooedo Onsen, I decided to pay for the evening entrance (past 6 p.m. 1,680 yen) instead of day entrance fees (from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 2,180 yen). I also bought my tickets from 7-11 so there was a 180 yen discount.
Before heading to the ticket counter, visitors need to put their shoes in shoe lockers.
After putting away my shoes, I went to queue with the rest of the people. Since there was still about 10 minutes before 6 p.m., everyone had to wait patiently.
About 5 minutes before 6 p.m., a lady dressed in traditional outfit came out with a pair of clappers and said lots of things in a sing-song tone.
I remember from their Web site that she’s the kanban-musume Oshino. This literally translates to “Signboard girl” which means she’s the attraction of a business.
Too bad I wasn’t too sure what Oshino was saying. I guess it was to welcome all of us to Ooedo Onsen.
Soon, the counters opened for the evening session. I handed over my my coupon and was given a wristlet with a barcode taped over and a key.
Before heading into the changing room, everyone gets to choose a yukata. There are different designs and sizes of yukata. I picked on with purple flowers.
After yukata choosing, it’s time to hit the lockers. Find the locker corresponding to your wristlet. It’s in Japanese so if you don’t read hiragana, you might need help.
The size of the locker was enough for my backpack.
At the lockers, strip down to your underthings and wear the yukata.
Remember that the left side needs to be on top, or else you are wearing the bathrobe as a corpse would.
Strolling on Edo street’s
In my yukata, I went out to the fake Edo streets. There are plenty of food stalls around so don’t worry about being hungry. There’s also free hot tea and both hot and cold water so you won’t go thirsty.
When I was there, there was a performance at 7 p.m. I think the shows change every season.
Soaking in hot springs
I couldn’t take photos at the onsen or its changing room so I can only tell through words.
Before heading to the ladies’ hot spring area, we need to put our things in another changing room. There’s other lockers here to put yukata and underthings in before heading to the hot spring area.
In the changing room, there’s a corner with samples of makeup remover, toner, face lotion. There’s also hair bands and toothbrush provided.
Before heading to the hot spring, take everything off. Everyone strips naked so no need to be shy.
The hot springs are divided into indoor and outdoor pools. There’s a large section where everyone washes their hair and body. Free shampoo, conditioner and body soap is provided too.
After vigorously washing and conditioning my hair, I headed to the pools.
There were a variety of pools and areas:
- Ooedo Onsen hot spring which was real undersea hot spring, instead of just hot water. The color was a bit rusty. There was also a side with recycled Ooedo Onsen hot spring which didn’t have a rusty color.
- 40 degrees Celsius pools
- Massage jacuzzi pool
- Pool with frothing machine which makes the water much more “fine” and is good for the skin
- Cold water (brr)
- Sauna
- Outdoor pool
The pools outdoors were limited. There was only a large pond and an area with a few fake vintage bathtubs.
Off to bed
After soaking in the pools for the longest while, I head to the changing rooms and bought myself a small glass bottle of milk.
At about 11 p.m., I decided that it is time to find a place to sleep.
Ooedo Onsen has a capsule hotel but it’s catered only to men. The private rooms are too expensive for me.
I think there are also large halls where they layout tatami for people staying over. This I’m not too sure though.
My choice was the ladies’ lounge on the second floor. Here, they have reclining chairs with mini TVs. They even provide blankets.
Most of the chairs were taken by the time I got there. I found a chair with a broken TV and settled there. A mother and her young son slept one chair away.
I put on my eyemask and ear plugs and tried to sleep on the 150 degrees chair.
Suddenly as I was drifting off to sleep, I heard a loud rumbling noise. I took off my eyemask and discovered an older lady snoring in the seat next to mine.
It wasn’t easy blocking her snores out even with my earplugs but I managed to sleep.
In the morning, I woke up and realized that she was gone. I was also surprised to find that it was almost 7 a.m. which meant that I had less than 1 hour before the pools close for cleaning.
I went back for a last soak of onsen. Soaking in the morning and at night was different. I could see the blue sky in the outdoor pool while at night everything was a blur because I wasn’t wearing glasses.
After the soak, I changed back into my real clothes and checked out.
REVIEW
Stayed: Ooedo Onsen Monogatari
Pros: Save on entertainment and accommodation; fun
Cons: Snoring seatmates; not having a real bed
YQtravelling 
1700-yen is a pretty good deal for staying overnight, especially considering the fact that use of the hot springs is included! I’ve been to Manyoukurabu, and a few “real” onsen but I’ve always wanted to try Ooedo Onsen Monogatari. Next time I’m in Tokyo I’ll have to give it a try! :D
Remember to bring earplugs if you’re overnighting. :)
So it means with only 1700¥ you can stay over night in the tatami hall or lounge? So you dont have to pay for a room to stay over night there? sounds interesting. I will arrive at Haneda Tokyo around 22.30 pm. Is it a good choice to stay over night there? Because my previous plan is to stay over night at the airport to save budget and transport…
Hello! Yes to tatami hall and lounge if you can grab a seat.
In your case, it would be entrance fee 1480/1680 + 1700 (overnight).
With your flight arrival time, it might not be worth it heading to the onsen place because you need to leave by 9am–unless you are soaking in onsen the whole while.
If we just show up on a random night is there a possibility they will be too full for an overnight stay?
That is highly unlikely since there’s no actual beds to be full. Maybe they’ll squeeze you like sardines in the tatami hall.
So that’s what it’s all about! I’ve always wondered what the deal was with the ‘monogatari’ part of the name but I get it now. Might need to check it out. You gave us your Pros and Cons but how about an overall rating? Out of 10?
I’d give it a 9 out of 10 for solo travellers because it’s cheaper than a single room hotel and I love onsens + anything Japanese.
The one point off is the snoring neighbors and sleeping on chairs.
My friend and I are planning to overnight there before going to the airport the next morning. Do you know if it is possible to get larger lockers to store our luggage while at Oedo Onsen?
I don’t remember if there are larger lockers. I recommend storing your luggage inside train stations (the one which you will eventually leave from) and bring an overnight bag.
Hi, I really enjoyed reading your overnight adventures in the onsen. Me and my friend plan to visit this onsen at the end of this year. I have some questions which I hope you won’t mind answering.
1. Is the discount ticket you bought a proper entrance ticket or a discount coupon?
2. If it’s a discount coupon/ticket, where can I buy it? (Base in Asakusa)
3. We plan to go after 6pm after hanging around Odaiba. Do I have to buy the ticket in advance from a convenience store? Would I still get the same price for the 6pm entrance time?
Thanks so much!
Hello Vivien, I read your comment on my commute but couldn’t juggle typing a reply and standing in a shaky bus so here’s the answers:
1. It was a proper entrance ticket that was discounted.
2. There are small travel agents which will sell them at a discounted rate, but I think you’ll need to read enough Japanese to find out. Else, you can do as I did and buy it at the 7-11 machine. It’s only available in the Japanese-language interface so you can probably ask the staff to help you if you need.
3. My ticket is a discounted version of the after-6pm ticket (180 yen off).
Thanks for dropping by!
can i wear my eye glasses while soaking?
You can wear them while soaking but it’s not a usual thing they do.
and also…Im badly overweight and i wonder if there is a plus size yukata available? DId you see some “big” people around there? And do you have an idea how much does a massage cost?…
Your blog is very informative, thank you!
I don’t quite remember if there were plus sized people around. But yukata generally has extra cloth so it should be ok.
I checked Oedo’s website. They have massage prices on the Japanese page: http://www.ooedoonsen.jp/daiba/iyashi/relax.html
Body massage: 40 minutes 4600 yen.
Hope that helps!
Wow what a relief to find overnight stay review with picture of recliners and lockers. Thank YOU! Your review is thousand times more informative than the onsen website and trip advisor.
So I originally planned a private room as we are couple with a six years old boy but it’s overbooked (weekday a month in advance). Up to date 3/2015 the private room with toilet for 2 persons is 26,000 yen minimum. Quite high but I thought we need one. So now I know it should be ok without.
Although before I start packing, can you please advise approximate size of small luggage that would fit women lockers? (I have read somewhere that men lockers are smaller). It looks like a carry-on size but as you mentioned your backpack (how big is that?)
Also how many rooms that have those sleep chairs? Would it be ok if I place a kid bag on a chair just to reserve for my child to make sure he will have a place to sleep when it’s bedtime?
Hi! There are bigger lockers outside if you need to store luggage. My backpack is about carry on size.
For women’s lounge, there was only one with reclining chairs. I think they have a note that no seat reservation is allowed.
If you want to sleep together as a family. There is a communal tatami space for people to sleep.
Hi, thank you for your nice review. If I am going to Ooedo Onsen midnight, on weekday, since i have just arrived from Haneda by 21:50 and check in at Le Daiba hotel around 11:30pm, what kind of transportation that i can use at midnight to Ooedo Onsen? Is the area safe?
I just want to spend around 2 hours to soak and quick looking the area (avoiding 2 am extra charge), do you know if the food stalls are still open at midnight and is it common to people soak at that time in the onsen? Thank you so much for your time and info :)
Hello Lita, since you’re staying in the Odaiba area, you can check with your hotel how easy it is to get to Ooeso Onsen Monogatari. (From the map, it looks like walking distance but check with your hotel if it’s ok to walk.) I’ve only had experience taking the Yurikamome line.
I think there will still be people soaking in the onsen at midnight but likely there will be less. Have fun, I’m really excited for you~~
Hello!
Do I need to book tickets for entering?
I found this page that says that you need to make a reservation first in order to enter.
Or can I just pay when I enter the onsen?
Thank you!
You can buy your entrance ticket at the door.