Victor Chiu / Google

Victor Chiu / Google

Pretty famous Banya, with nice people to guide you through. If you google russian banya on YouTube, the top video uses this place as it’s backdrop. Because it’s a bit different than most public baths, spas, or onsens, I’d recommend doing a little bit of research on how the process works before entering. The parenie is like going through a car wash in your underwear, but with strangers watching you. The salted herring gave me some serious indigestion for the next 6 hours. Don’t forget to wear your hat in the steam room to avoid cooking your brain. I can’t say the total experience was very relaxing, but more like a trial of repeated sensory extremes of hot and cold shock. I wonder if this all just started as a bit of a prank or hazing a long time ago and then after a period of time, it became a tradition. Good experience though.

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