The original Tokiwa-Yu was destroyed in the Great Hanshin Earthquake and was rebuilt to give the people of the area, many of whom did not have running water yet, a place to have a bath. The building is still, 15 years after at the time I write this, a very temporary structure with thin walls and not much space inside. It's a great experience and worth going to see some of this living history. A reminder of that horrible day in January, 1995.
Here’s my review from the December 2012 issue of Kansai Scene:
Toikiwa-Yu was rebuilt in the aftermath of the Great Hanshin Earthquake of 1995. The earthquake damaged many sentos in the Kobe area, many of which never reopened. Around Hanshin Mikage station the damage was severe and the original Tokiwa-yu was damaged beyond repair. With the encouragement of the neighborhood Tokiwa-yu quickly reopened a using a temporary prefabricated building. The building was small but served the recovering neighborhood well and is still a working sento today. There are no special baths here or natural hot spring water, but in a place like this those things are not necessary.
Review Update February 2020: Amazing sento rebuilt very soon after the 1995 Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. It is basically in the same condition as it was in 1995. This is a temporary building that has become permanent. There is one bath along the back wall with a deep and shallow section with 4 washing basins along each wall for 8 in total. The pipes are exposed for the showers and it will take a while for them to put out hot water, just leave them going for a bit. Lastly, a tall square kakeyu basin stands in the middle of the washing area. That is it--no sauna, no jets, no outdoor bath. What you get here is history and an amazing translucent green roof that is made of that plastic sheeting. It must sound amazing in this space when it rains. I need to go back to experience that.