Public bath fee (sento)
Average retail price
- Cheapest surveyed city
- ¥700 Miyazaki
- Priciest surveyed city
- ¥3,600 Yokohama
Retail price survey conducted by the Statistics Bureau of Japan. This is a survey average, not a shop price — actual prices vary by store. 総務省統計局 小売物価統計調査 · Surveyed items and specifications
Key facts
Public bath fee (sento) costs ¥1,694 per person in Japan as of August 2026 — the unweighted average of 47 surveyed cities, up 5.5% from a year earlier. Measured as an index, the official CPI for public bath fee (sento) reads 124.3 (2020 = 100) in August 2026, up 2.5% year on year and up 23.6% over five years.
Public bath fee (sento) sits in the miscellaneous group of Japan's CPI basket, with 260 monthly observations from January 2005 to August 2026. The series peaked at 124.3 in August 2026 and bottomed at 93.2 in November 2013; the latest reading is at its highest recorded level. Against ten years ago it is +26.8%.
Annual average index by year
| Year | Index | YoY % | Months |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 96.8 | +1.1% | 12 |
| 2016 | 97.1 | +0.3% | 12 |
| 2017 | 97.4 | +0.3% | 12 |
| 2018 | 97.7 | +0.3% | 12 |
| 2019 | 98.7 | +1.0% | 12 |
| 2020 | 100.0 | +1.3% | 12 |
| 2021 | 100.3 | +0.3% | 12 |
| 2022 | 102.5 | +2.2% | 12 |
| 2023 | 110.6 | +7.9% | 12 |
| 2024 | 113.0 | +2.2% | 12 |
| 2025 | 115.9 | +2.6% | 12 |
| 2026 | 118.8 | +2.5% | 8 |
Average of the monthly index values in each year (2020 = 100). Blank months are excluded.
Average retail price by month
| 2026-08 | ¥1,694 |
|---|---|
| 2026-07 | ¥1,640 |
| 2026-06 | ¥1,620 |
| 2026-05 | ¥1,619 |
| 2026-04 | ¥1,619 |
| 2026-03 | ¥1,634 |
| 2026-02 | ¥1,615 |
| 2026-01 | ¥1,613 |
| 2025-12 | ¥1,610 |
| 2025-11 | ¥1,596 |
| 2025-10 | ¥1,592 |
| 2025-09 | ¥1,578 |
| 2025-08 | ¥1,605 |
Frequently asked questions
- How much does public bath fee (sento) cost in Japan?
- ¥1,694 per person, as of August 2026 — the unweighted average of 47 surveyed cities in the government's retail price survey.
- Which Japanese city has the cheapest public bath fee (sento)?
- Among the surveyed cities in August 2026, Miyazaki was cheapest at ¥700 and Yokohama the most expensive at ¥3,600.
- How much have public bath fee (sento) prices changed in Japan over the past year?
- As of August 2026, +2.5% year on year, measured by Japan's official consumer price index (2020 = 100).
- How much have public bath fee (sento) prices changed in Japan over the past five years?
- +23.6% compared with the same month five years earlier. The index now reads 124.3.
- When were public bath fee (sento) prices in Japan at their highest?
- Right now. The latest month, August 2026, is the highest reading in the series at 124.3 — a record high since the series began.
- What is the difference between the index and the yen price?
- This page carries two kinds of number. The index (2020 = 100) measures percentage change over time and is not a yen amount; the yen figure is an actual average retail price from the government's retail price survey. Source: 総務省統計局 消費者物価指数 (e-Stat table 0003427113, nationwide, monthly).