Japan bathhouses in deep water as energy costs boil over

Traditional public bathhouses in Japan are in deep water as soaring energy costs triggered by the Middle East oil supply disruptions threaten to extinguish the fires of a fading tradition, with some of them forced to shorten their hours or even shut their doors for good.Already struggling with a shrinking customer base and aging owners without successors, the oil price surge is dealing a fresh blow to "sento," as the communal baths are known in Japanese, with regulated pricing making it difficult to pass on rising costs to customers.On a cool day in early April, customers were hurrying towa…READ FULL ARTICLE