When a 6,000yen Shower in Tokyo is Well Worth it
How a Yamabushi does transit in Haneda Airport
On Tuesday I got back from Ireland and The UK. Originally the plan was to arrive in Tokyo around 10:30am and take the 4pm flight back to Shonai. As soon as I arrived in Tokyo though, I saw my 4pm flight had been canceled due to the typhoon.
I have always struggled with ANA’s app. I find it extremely unintuitive (Air New Zealand’s is great in comparison), but this time around it kind of saved my ass. There was an option in the app to book a new flight, which I did successfully, and I still arrived back home on the Tuesday, albeit closer to 10pm.
I’ve heard the Shonai flight is the shortest flight out of Haneda, or at least one of the shortest, besides one of the islands off Tokyo’s coast. I’d believe it. The whole flying time was less than 40 minutes. If only we didn’t have to wait on the tarmac for 30-odd minutes beforehand, but yeah, first world problems!
Anyway, I was originally planning for a layover of about 5 hours which turned into about 9. My original plan was to go to the Onsen (hot spring) in Haneda Airport Garden attached to terminal 3. I had to buffer that with a few strolls around the terminal, and a visit to one of the lounges (this place was perfect for me and they do drop-ins).
Before that, though, I put my luggage in a locker.
Or tried to, at least.
First, it wouldn’t fit. I had a soft-shell hybrid suitcase bag thing that I ah, had packed too much. My excuse is that clothes in Japan don’t fit me, so I tend to buy (a lot) when I go overseas. This time was no different. A few yamabushi heaves later though, and I was in.
Or so I thought.
If you look at the bottom of this picture, right under where you put the coins in there are a whole lot of logos including the coveted D-Barai. Once the luggage is in and the red lock button turns green, the screen pops up with a payment method thing. However, nowhere on the screen did it say ‘pay by QR code’, only IC card or cash. Now, I did have an IC card, and cash, but neither give me D-points. And let’s be honest, D-points are what I really wanted. I asked a random guy there who told me QR-code payment was indeed possible, but when he tried to show me…
Computer says no.
Turns out the lockers I had chosen indeed did not accept QR codes besides saying so right there.
The lockers on the other side though…
By then I was pretty ready for an onsen, even if it was quite literally 10x the normal amount we pay in Yamagata.
According to the website, it’s normally 4,800yen, but since it was Obon the price was jacked up to 6,000yen. To be honest, I just really wanted a shower of some sort, but also to kill the time in a way that didn’t make me sleep.
The onsen fit the bill.
Like, really fit the bill.
Had a steam sauna with mint fragrance, outdoor bath overlooking a river with Tokyo in the distance, and a cold pool that was actually cold (sometimes they aren’t). Almost as good as the onsen in Yamagata.
Almost.
Anyway, here are a few things I found while in transit (and before):
Chaeyongi ga johahaneun raendeom geim
Raendeom geim
Game start…
Further Reading:
Fooled by Japan's Weirdest Vending Machine (Twice)
Here is Japan’s weirdest vending machine, notice anything?
Daily Yamabushi Posts for August 7 to August 13, 2026
Here are my Daily Yamabushi posts for the past week. Get more Daily Yamabushi posts at timbunting.com/daily-yamabushi. Discover more Japan essays and daily insights in the Kiwi Yamabushi Substack Archive, or follow my writing over on Medium.com.