More bathing, less sodomy

January 26, 2009 12:30 PM

LA Baths? I went to the Kabuki in San Francisco and loved it. Now I'd like to find something similar in Los Angeles. Japanese, Korean, Roman, Russian baths, whatever, with the following caveats: I'm a dude, and I'm not looking to have sex there.

All of the bath houses I've been able to track down in LA are either for ladies or for dudes pounding each other in the ass. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's not my scene. I do prefer nude, I don't really care regarding ethnicity, but mostly I just want that hot and cold baths thing for a reasonable price without all the folderol of a high-maintenance spa.

posted by klangklangston to sports, hobbies, & recreation (9 comments total)

Check out the spas in Koreatown. I've never been, but from what I've heard they're not what you'd call high maintenance and they're not expensive.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 1:02 PM on January 26, 2009

I found a handful of them on Yelp, but they all seem to be women only.
posted by klangklangston at 2:14 PM on January 26, 2009

Besides the Koreatown options, which are variously reviewed on Yelp (notice Olympic has a new Men's area), this place sounds intriguing for your interests. Post your impressions here if you go, I could see myself making a night of this. Used to be able to walk to the bathhouses in Santa Cruz. Argh.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 2:34 PM on January 26, 2009

Looks like Beverly Hot Springs is co-ed, but it sounds like City Spa on Pico is more what you're looking for. Plus, then you're near La Maison du Pain for delicious pastries.
posted by mogget at 2:36 PM on January 26, 2009

Oh, no, not Olympic. Century.
posted by Ambrosia Voyeur at 2:37 PM on January 26, 2009

I could have sworn I had seen a co-ed (non-sketchy looking) spa on Virgil near Wilshire, but I have no idea what it is called.
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 2:56 PM on January 26, 2009

I get a fair number of co-ed places when I search for "korean spa" on yelp. Here's one that lists "cold, warm and hot spas".
posted by mandymanwasregistered at 3:05 PM on January 26, 2009

Ah, "Korean spa" may be the better term. As may be obvious from my post, I googled around with Bath and Bath House/Bathhouse and found not very much that I was looking for.

I'd always thought of "spa" as just a general health-retreat term. Shows what I know.
posted by klangklangston at 3:26 PM on January 26, 2009

Olympic, if it has a Men's area now, is a totally on the up and up jil-jim-bang (communal Korean spa). I go there every time i'm in town. They are not offering happy endings there.
posted by micawber at 7:39 PM on January 26, 2009