Men and women at this time used the same bath. Public baths were an essential part of most people's lives until the 1970 s , by which time most households had their own baths as did many more apartments. The number of public baths nation wide declined from more than 23,000 in 1964 to fewer than 10,000 in 1991. Modern public baths have separate facilities for men and women. Admittance is about 360 yen.
Japan is one of the few places in the world where groups of people bathe together.
Many people with baths in their own homes still visit the sento in search of a place to socialize with their neighbors. Among the young set, however, bathing communally has become a source of embarrassment, and children on overnight school trips are sometimes seen weaning their bathing suits into the bath. Perhaps Japan's bath culture is changing. Full of sulphur, calcium, sodium, and other minerals, the water is efficacious against rheumatism, high blood pressure, diabetes, and other illnesses. The medical powers of hot springs are recorded as far back as the eighth-century.