JIN6 SAUNAJIN6サウナ

About

Opened in Yobuko, Saga, this is the final chapter of a trilogy by Amina Collection, an endeavor to express the livelihoods and culture of each place as a sauna experience across three settings: city, nature, and sea. It follows "HARE-TABI SAUNA & INN" in Yokohama Chinatown and "SATOYAMA TERRACE" in Futtsu, Chiba. The name comes from Nakao Jinroku, a whaling master who ran a whaling operation here in the Edo period. Sauna supervision is by Hiroshi Ota, known as "SAUNA OU" (the Sauna King).

The facility has three sauna rooms, each with a distinct character. The squid-themed "Squid Sauna" has large windows overlooking the harbor, and löyly made with herbs and squid ink carries the scent of the sea. The "Kiln Sauna" reuses bricks and clay actually used in a Karatsu ware kiln, with self-löyly using Karatsu tea spreading a toasty aroma. The "Whale Sauna" is a dark space evoking the inside of a whale; during the "spout time" held every 30 minutes, water shoots up onto the stove, wind and steam rush through the room, and a cold mist envelops the heated body: a moment of surprise mixed with pleasure.

There are two cold baths: the "Fish Tank Cold Bath," which uses an actual squid holding tank, and the glass-walled "Sky Cold Bath" floating above the harbor. Reaching it feels like walking out toward the sea, and the moment you sink in, you are wrapped in a sense of floating on the harbor. For resting, there is a foot-and-hip bath that warms only the legs and lower back while you gaze at the harbor, and the "Deep Sea Room," where you sway gently on water beds.