About 11 SAUNAS & SAUNNER 2024.11.11 11:11　Totonoe no hi

Nestled within Hokkaido’s historic Shiriuchi Onsen, “Room of Breath” is a new kind of hot spring sauna—one that dissolves the boundary between bathing and steaming, uniting them into a single, seamless experience.

Designed around the idea of being “steamed while wrapped in the presence of the hot spring,” it weaves together the mineral-rich heat of the springs, a steam chamber set along the water’s edge, and a continuous flow leading out to the open-air bath. Guests move effortlessly between sauna and onsen, tracing a meditative cycle of immersion and renewal.
Beyond the veil of rising steam, the forest and the shimmering surface of the water come into view; the quiet air itself seems to breathe in rhythm with you.

The sensation is not of visiting a bath, but of becoming one with the spring itself—a deep, tranquil fusion of heat, breath, and nature that could only exist in a land with such a long and storied onsen heritage.

Nestled in a quiet residential area of Hakata, Fukuoka, SAUNA SAKURADO redefines the very concept of the private sauna, achieving an extraordinary level of refinement and completeness.

Within its six fully private rooms, every element—heat, humidity, light, scent, and the feel of water—is meticulously designed. The moment the door closes, the outside world falls away, and silence takes over.
Guests select herbs or tea leaves for their löyly, as rising layers of aroma invite the mind to drift into deeper stillness. The cold bath, filled with ultra-soft water, gently cradles the body in its depth, releasing tension from within.
Guided by the philosophy that “God is in the details,” this space transcends the notion of relaxation—it transforms the very texture of time itself.

Amid the soaring towers of Tokyo’s Azabudai Hills lies a sanctuary of silence—Janu Tokyo.
Within its Spa House unfolds a next-generation wellness experience that transcends the boundaries of the sauna. Guests are invited into three distinctive journeys.

In the Banya, the scent of wood calms the mind as whisking, body scrubs, treatments, and light refreshments weave together in a seamless ritual where time dissolves and only release remains.
Encased in marble, the Hammam combines the ancient ritual of black soap and kessa mitt with the restorative essence of sake lees, awakening a renewed sense of self from deep within the skin.
Finally, the Spa House Journey draws inspiration from the Japanese art of purification, guiding guests through meditative ceremonies and profound stillness, where thought loosens and the inner self comes quietly to the surface.

For a few hours, the noise of the city fades entirely, and one feels as if transported to another world—an oasis where silence itself becomes the truest form of luxury.

Welcomed by a 700-year-old olive tree, sauna kolme kylä is a sanctuary that awakens the senses.
Its name, meaning “three villages” in Finnish, reflects a design composed of two distinct sauna rooms and two contrasting cold baths—each offering a different path to harmony between body and mind.
Within one space, multiple “villages” of experience coexist.
In moimoi, wave-shaped benches and dual stoves envelop guests in aromatic steam blended from essential oils, while mökki offers a quieter, deeper warmth created by the gentle combustion of wooden pellets.
The cold bath meri immerses the body in sound as underwater speakers play oceanic tones and healing music, evoking the feeling of floating within the sea itself.
Meanwhile, äiti—a tepid “neutral bath” in summer—transforms into a soothing warm bath during the cooler seasons.
Complemented by a range of wellness rituals such as whisking, botanical löyly, sauna yoga, and aroma sessions, every visit to sauna kolme kylä becomes a new act of recalibration, tuning the senses anew.

Founded in 1874 and registered as a National Tangible Cultural Property, Ochiairo is a historic hot spring inn embraced by the confluence of two rivers and the deep mountains of Amagi, Izu.
Within its vast 13,000-square-meter grounds, the ryokan continues to evolve as an onsen resort offering a variety of baths and saunas steeped in nature.

Among them, Tsuki-no-Yu features a tranquil tea room–inspired sauna; Tengu-no-Yu has been reborn as a mixed-gender thermal spring where guests enter in swimwear or yukata; Hoshi-no-Yu has been renovated from a private bath into a space with newly added barrel saunas; and a riverside barrel sauna rests quietly along the Kano River.
Each space carries its own atmosphere and rhythm, inviting guests to move through different worlds of warmth and stillness.
For the ultimate retreat, the private villa Shakunage offers an exclusive outdoor bath and a sauna designed around the motif of an irori hearth—an intimate experience where nature, warmth, and silence converge in perfect harmony.

Having received recognition in 2019 and 2020, this third consecutive award marks its induction into the Sauna Hall of Fame, affirming its timeless presence as one of Japan’s most distinguished sauna destinations.

Tucked away in a corner of Nagoya’s Osu shopping district, KIWAMI SAUNA Osu was born from the rebirth of Kusunokiya Honten, a 92-year-old lacquerware wholesaler—a project that epitomizes the spirit of breaking limits.
Preserving time-worn beams and earthen walls while seamlessly blending in modern clarity, the space evokes the sensation of stepping into a “stratum of time” the moment you open the door.

The main sauna rises four meters high, built in a steep, four-tiered tower. Each level ascends dramatically, so when you sit, your legs naturally float, folding into a meditative posture. The structure is crafted from Yakushima cedar—rich in essential oils—whose moist grain carries heat and aroma with a gentle yet commanding strength, enveloping the body from within.
Just beyond the sauna lies a cold bath plunging to a depth of two meters, cutting through the lingering warmth with overwhelming immediacy. In the heart of the city, history and innovation, fire and water, collide in an experience that truly transcends the ordinary.

Situated at the edge of lush Meiji Park, directly facing Japan National Stadium, TOTOPA is an urban wellness spa that reimagines how the city reconnects with nature.
Developed by the Tokyu Tatemono Group—drawing on decades of expertise from its “Ofuro no Ōsama” lineage since 1999—TOTOPA offers moments of restoration in the very heart of Tokyo.

The men’s floor features three distinct saunas, two types of cold baths, and multiple relaxation zones that invite a rich variety of totonou experiences. The women’s floor includes a traditional sauna, a herbal steam chamber, and a room where light itself shifts in rhythm with the body’s calm.
Following its debut award in 2024, TOTOPA has now been honored for the second consecutive year, affirming its place as a new kind of urban sanctuary—“a park-like space” where anyone can spend time in their own way, rediscovering balance between city life and serenity.

In the satoyama hills of Futtsu, Chiba, SATOYAMA TERRACE emerges as an outdoor sauna that transcends the boundary between nature and comfort.
Supervised by “Sauna King” Hiroshi Ota, it invites guests into an elemental immersion where fire, wood, and wind coexist in harmony.

The Mountain Sauna, warmed by a central wood-burning hearth, fills the air with the scent of timber and the rhythm of flickering flames. As the body gradually melts into the landscape, time begins to flow in tune with the heartbeat of the forest.
Its counterpart, the Waterfall Sauna, delivers a breathtaking spectacle—a cascade pouring down the rock face every thirty minutes. Guests can cool their bodies beneath the spray, stand behind the curtain of falling water, or lie upon the stream that runs through the floor. In this space, the sauna itself becomes one with water.
The experience culminates on the open-air terrace, where wind passes through the hillside and over the skin. In that quiet exchange between breath and breeze, a profound stillness—true totonou—takes hold.

Located in Tokorozawa, Saitama, Onsen Balcony King&Queen ushers in a new era of bathing entertainment on one of the largest scales in the Kanto region.

Its signature seven-tier Fuji Lava Löyly Sauna delivers an extraordinary thermal experience that shifts with each level, while guests can also choose from a fragrant herbal steam sauna filled with natural botanicals, or a salt sauna that leaves the skin smooth and rejuvenated.
Just in front of the sauna, a plunge pool plunging to a depth of two meters invites bathers to dive straight in—an exhilarating transition from heat to chill in an instant.
Complementing the experience are a −20°C extreme-cold room and a 23°C natural hot-spring cold bath, offering layered expressions of coolness.
Upstairs, the rooftop Sky High zone expands the journey further, featuring tent saunas and barrel saunas beneath the open sky—a multidimensional world where heat, cold, and nature converge in perfect rhythm.

In the heart of Akasaka, SAUNA TOKYO stands as a symbol of the new era of sauna culture in Japan.
Achieving Hall of Fame status in just three years since its first recognition, it represents the evolution—and the future—of the urban sauna.

The facility houses five distinct sauna rooms, three types of cold baths, and nearly sixty indoor cooling seats, each element orchestrated through precise design of sound, light, and aroma.
Its signature experience, Jōki Ranbu, integrates DMX-controlled lighting with an immersive soundscape, transforming the waves of steam and heat from each löyly into a choreographed performance.
From self-löyly and meditation saunas to steam and todana mushiburo (cabinet-style steam baths), every space harmonizes to create a sanctuary of urban totonou.
Constantly refined and ever-evolving, SAUNA TOKYO continues to redefine what it means to reset the mind and body—right in the center of the city.

Embraced by the deep forests and clear streams of eastern Hokkaido, Yuyado Daiichi is a place where nature, hot springs, and sauna blend into a seamless flow of time.
In the vast mixed open-air bath that seems to merge with the river itself, steam and murmuring water intertwine, enveloping you in the rhythm of nature’s cycle.

Inside, three types of saunas for men and women alike harness the heat of the spring, offering gentle waves of steam and mist that resonate with the surrounding forest air to ease both body and mind.
After bathing, guests may sit by the wide windows with a field guide in hand, watching wild birds and forest animals—sometimes even catching a glimpse of the Blakiston’s fish owl or the Ezo marten, creatures native to this region.
Here, heat and water, forest and sound converge as if part of a single living organism, awakening within each visitor a deep connection to the pulse of life itself.