Stéphanie Crohin

Stéphanie came to Tokyo as a university exchange student. Soon after, she stepped into Myohoyu, a small neighborhood bathhouse. One visit became a fascination, then a lifelong passion.

In eighteen years she has visited more than a thousand sento across Japan, from historic baths hidden in remote villages to the great houses of Tokyo. Behind their modest facades she found hand-painted Mount Fuji murals, mosaics, fine carpentry, local history and human stories. To her, sento are true museums of everyday life, and one of Japan's most overlooked treasures.

In 2015 the Japan Bathhouse Association named her Official Sento Ambassador. She has served for years on Tokyo's municipal bathhouse committees. She photographs baths, interviews owners and artisans, joins preservation projects, and works with cultural institutions, tourism organizations and the media to make sento better known, in Japan and abroad.