Wooden seating has been added to the steam room on wheels. Photo / Sabus, PR News Japan
The old bus links used to be a point of pride for the Japanese city. Its cutesy cartoon mascot is a regular finalist in the country's Bus Character Championship - which is a surprisingly big deal in Japan.
However since the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic Himeji City's public transport links have fallen on hard times. Reductions in commuting and tourism over the past 20 months have seen many buses left out of service.
To encourage people back onto their buses, Shinki has made lateral move into mobile public saunas.
The steam room on wheels is the brainchild of the company Ribahsu. A subsidiary of the Shinki city network, according to the Japan Times the word 'リバス' sounds like both 'rebirth' and 're-bus'.
The Shinki logo of a bird has been transformed into a phoenix, bringing heat to the imaginative design.
The Sabus logo is a 'rebirth' of the old city link buses. Photo / Sabus, PR News Japan
Beyond the wordplay there's plenty of quirky charm to the bus itself. Wooden seating and panels have been incorporated into the design alongside original features.
The old stop buttons are designed to release steam when pressed.
Just add steam: many of the bus's original features have been reincorporated into the Sabus design. Photo / Sabus, PR News Japan
The sauna which is completely road mobile will be making a series of stops at festivals and events in February.
The Sauna bus might be the hot topic for Ribahsu however there are plenty of other designs in the pipeline. The company aims to transform old bus models into portable showers and restrooms or emergency facilities that can be deployed at a moment's notice.
It's a project that the Hyogo emergency services can get onboard with.
