Editors' Selection — Tokyo
Photo: La Vista Tokyo Bay
Tokyo Minato City
Sound, Water Ripples, Spirals: Each Room a Different Design
A large sauna room that can accommodate up to 40 people and supports programs such as aufguss. Equipped with a high-quality sound system tuned for high-resolution audio under the supervision of WHITELIGHT, it fills the entire space with crystal-clear music meticulously engineered to perfection. You can surrender yourself to the pleasant steam and resonant sound for an experience that feels as if you are melting into both music and steam.
![[WOMEN] MAALI SAUNA](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.samurai-sauna-magazine.com%2Fstorage%2Fv1%2Fobject%2Fpublic%2Ffacilities%2Ffacility-1787199024443-e8d71%2Fsauna_4_ebf95704.webp&w=1920&q=75)
A sauna room that regularly hosts specially developed retreats using scrubs, mud, herbs, and more. You can enjoy a blissful time caring for your skin while warming up slowly and thoroughly.
A private sauna for whisking, supervised by Magumpei. It is a luxurious exclusive-use space fully equipped from the sauna room to a dedicated cold plunge bath and even a resting area. In addition to whisking treatments, it can also be booked for private use by groups. You can spend an unhurried, blissful time to your heart’s content without worrying about anyone else’s gaze.
![[WOMEN] LEAVES SAUNA](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.samurai-sauna-magazine.com%2Fstorage%2Fv1%2Fobject%2Fpublic%2Ffacilities%2Ffacility-1787199024443-e8d71%2Fsauna_2_f4438eac.webp&w=1920&q=75)
A sauna room specializing in herbs, where the scents of fresh herbs and seasonal aromas spread throughout the room together with the steam. By enjoying the natural fragrance of plants along with the pleasant heat, the tension in both body and mind is gently released.
![[MEN] HAMON SAUNA](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.samurai-sauna-magazine.com%2Fstorage%2Fv1%2Fobject%2Fpublic%2Ffacilities%2Ffacility-1787199024443-e8d71%2Fsauna_9_bcaa82e6.webp&w=1920&q=75)
An installation sauna conceived by Yoshiyuki Yoneda, representative of Wellbe, and inspired by a Native American sweat lodge. Beautifully programmed ripples of water spread across the ceiling, while music by Kengo Tokusashi plays in a meditative space. In the quiet stimulation of sight and sound, it brings a deep sense of comfort that gently returns the mind to its original state.
![[MEN] ARC SAUNA](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.samurai-sauna-magazine.com%2Fstorage%2Fv1%2Fobject%2Fpublic%2Ffacilities%2Ffacility-1787199024443-e8d71%2Fsauna_10_b15eb3a7.webp&w=1920&q=75)
A sauna room distinguished by its unique spiral-shaped structure. As the seating height changes, you can enjoy a gradient of temperatures and humidity depending on where you sit. You can also lie back comfortably on the wide bench and relax in whichever posture suits your mood and condition that day, while facing the heat in your own way.
![[WOMEN] PANORAMA SAUNA](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.samurai-sauna-magazine.com%2Fstorage%2Fv1%2Fobject%2Fpublic%2Ffacilities%2Ffacility-1787199024443-e8d71%2Fsauna_6_9eec5059.webp&w=1920&q=75)
A sauna room equipped with panoramic windows offering views from the 5th floor. Looking out over the urban scenery of Takanawa, which changes expression throughout the day, you can fully enjoy a special sauna time separated from everyday life. Its appeal lies in the overwhelming sense of openness, as if you become one with the scenery in the heat.
![[MEN] VALO SAUNA](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.samurai-sauna-magazine.com%2Fstorage%2Fv1%2Fobject%2Fpublic%2Ffacilities%2Ffacility-1787199024443-e8d71%2Fsauna_11_bb4aa6fc.webp&w=1920&q=75)
A sauna room wrapped in the rich fragrance of essential oils diffused from the walls. Reflected light from the water surface shines in through the window, soothing you with a gentle, shimmering glow. Deeply inhale the aroma of carefully selected 100% natural essential oils and immerse yourself in supreme tranquility and relaxation while watching the flickering light.
![[MEN] PANORAMA SAUNA](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.samurai-sauna-magazine.com%2Fstorage%2Fv1%2Fobject%2Fpublic%2Ffacilities%2Ffacility-1787199024443-e8d71%2Fsauna_12_3649b8ff.webp&w=1920&q=75)
Located on the 5th floor, this open sauna room offers a sweeping view of the Takanawa cityscape through large panoramic windows. You can enjoy a special experience of working up a generous sweat while watching the urban scenery change with time. Together with the sauna, merging with the grand view creates an exceptional sense of openness that helps you forget the bustle of the city.
Editors' comment
Five sauna rooms on the men's side and three on the women's side are each built on a distinct design concept. SOUND SAUNA features hi-res compatible audio supervised by WHITELIGHT, filling a room that holds up to 40 people with meticulously calculated sound. HAMON SAUNA projects programmed water ripple patterns across the ceiling, creating a meditative space filled with music by Kengo Tokusashi. ARC SAUNA has a spiral structure where changing the height of your seat alters the temperature and humidity. There are two types of cold plunge baths, one deep and one shallow enough to lie down in. Directly connected to Takanawa Gateway Station, the facility also offers private reservable saunas.
Tokyo Toshima City
Four Types of Heat, Four Cold Plunge Baths Starting from 7°C
A dynamic five-tier sauna that uses the rare Aji stone, a prized stone also known as the diamond of granite, across the entire wall surface. About 600 kg of sauna stones store and release heat, creating a soft, enveloping warmth that slowly heats you from the core. The humidity is fairly high, and every time the automatic löyly runs every 30 minutes, the room’s temperature and humidity surge all at once. Staff aufguss sessions by Karumaru’s aufguss team are held mainly in this sauna and are a regular highlight with strong attendance. Because it has five tiers, you can settle in at your preferred temperature zone.
A modern space that makes generous use of Kero, deadwood from European red pine over 200 years old. The one-of-a-kind design, with the inner wood and bark of Kero arranged alternately, is known as a Kero sauna found nowhere else in Japan. In the dim, calm room, the rich aroma unique to Kero wood lingers, while the heat stays dry and high-temperature. Self-löyly can be performed once every 15 minutes, and the fragrance becomes especially pronounced the moment the steam rises.
A traditional Finnish wood-stove sauna, said to be the only one of its kind in a major metropolitan area. The flickering light of the flames, the crackling sound of burning wood, the pleasant scent of timber, and a gentle warmth like sunlight all envelop the senses. The heat created by the METOS iki wood stove has a warmth that is distinct from electric stoves, and löyly may also be performed when more wood is added about every 20 minutes. Time spent facing the fire and the wood is popular as the experience that feels closest to nature among urban saunas.
A barrel-shaped steam sauna. Nine to 10 kinds of rare medicinal herbs, including Iburijakuso, naginatakōjū, and kuromoji, collected around Mt. Ibuki in Shiga Prefecture, known as a treasure trove of medicinal herbs, are slowly boiled and the steam is absorbed with the whole body. Although the temperature is around 50°C, the perceived temperature is extremely high because it is constantly filled with steam, and the aroma and components of the herbs penetrate the entire body through the nose and mouth. Wrapped in a barrel made of Japanese umbrella-pine, the serene space is for one person only, allowing you to enjoy a focused experience all to yourself.
Editors' comment
Upon entering the large bath area and turning right, you'll find the rock sauna and kelo sauna, followed by the 7°C Thunder Tornado and 25°C cold plunge bath. The kelo sauna is dimly lit, and steam fills the room instantly whenever someone pours löyly. The rock sauna, built with Aji granite walls and about 600kg of stones stacked in five tiers, has automatic löyly every 30 minutes that sharply raises temperature and humidity. There's also a separate wood-stove room and a single-person herbal steam sauna. The Thunder Tornado has a water depth of 100cm with swirling jet currents strong enough to sweep you away if you don't hold the handrail, cooling you to the core in mere seconds. This facility is for men only.
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If you found yourself wanting to go
JAPAN'S FINEST ONSEN & SAUNA
Japan's Finest Onsen & Sauna
64 SELECTIONS
Every list of Japan's baths looks the same, and none of them tells you which one to build a trip around. Inside are the places the editor bathed in himself, and others chosen through our own reporting — kept not for their star ratings, but because he would go back.
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Tokyo Toshima City
Feel the Heat of Automatic Löyly in Both Men's and Women's Bathing Areas
An authentic Finnish sauna in the men’s bathing area, filled with the scent of wood. Auto löyly activates at regular intervals, bringing just the right level of humidity into the room and encouraging comfortable sweating without making it hard to breathe. aufguss events led by sauna masters are also held regularly, letting you take in dynamic waves of heat and sink into a deep state of relaxation for both body and mind.
A dry sauna in the women’s bathing area inspired by Finland, the sauna pioneer. Beautiful pale wood and a space filled with the scent of wood let you sweat comfortably. It is equipped with auto löyly, and the heat and moderate humidity warm the entire body thoroughly, delivering an exceptional refreshment experience.
Editors' comment
Both the men's and women's bathing areas feature a Finnish sauna with the scent of wood rising through the air. Automatic löyly activates at regular intervals to circulate humidity through the room, creating heat that doesn't feel oppressive. On the men's side, aufguss performances by heat masters are also held regularly, offering time to feel waves of heat across your whole body. After the sauna, rinse off sweat with a bucket shower pouring cold water from overhead, then submerge up to your shoulders in the cold plunge bath before heading straight out to the open-air bath for an outdoor air bath. Having this continuous flow built in, despite being located in the heart of Higashi-Ikebukuro, is what sets this facility apart. The women's side also features a low-temperature clear mist sauna using salt.
Tokyo Shibuya City
Sound, Silence, Tea Room: Nine Sauna Rooms, Each with a Distinct Design
![[WOODS] TUULI SAUNA](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.samurai-sauna-magazine.com%2Fstorage%2Fv1%2Fobject%2Fpublic%2Ffacilities%2Ffacility-1761781057359%2Fsauna_10_cd1c16c5.webp&w=1920&q=75)
A sauna room meticulously designed so you can fully enjoy authentic aufguss. During aufguss sessions by distinctive aufguss masters, your whole body is enveloped in rising steam, a pleasant breeze, and the aroma of essential oils.
![[WOODS] TEETÄ SAUNA](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.samurai-sauna-magazine.com%2Fstorage%2Fv1%2Fobject%2Fpublic%2Ffacilities%2Ffacility-1761781057359%2Fsauna_18_a3eb5bc4.webp&w=1920&q=75)
A sauna room inspired by a Japanese tea room, filled with silence and calm. Sit with your legs crossed on the wooden platform around the sauna stove and spend a meditative time quietly facing yourself. In this space that evokes Japanese aesthetics, you can let the gentle heat envelop you and ease both physical and mental tension.
![[WOODS] VIHTA SAUNA](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.samurai-sauna-magazine.com%2Fstorage%2Fv1%2Fobject%2Fpublic%2Ffacilities%2Ffacility-1761781057359%2Fsauna_17_b827e941.webp&w=1920&q=75)
A botanical sauna room lavishly covered with vihta, bundles of young birch branches. The moment you step inside, a soft, plant-like fragrance spreads, as if you were in a forest. It is a space where you can enjoy comfortable sweating and deep relaxation while feeling the breath of nature.
A stylish space unified in refined gray tones, highly unusual for a sauna room. Equipped with auto-löyly, the periodic steam heats the room evenly throughout. In its quiet and calming atmosphere, you can work up a thoroughly pleasant sweat.
![[LÄMPI] SOUND SAUNA](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.samurai-sauna-magazine.com%2Fstorage%2Fv1%2Fobject%2Fpublic%2Ffacilities%2Ffacility-1761781057359%2Fsauna_11_ba0cecf0.webp&w=1920&q=75)
Equipped with a carefully developed sound system jointly created by musician Kengo Kusashi and WHITELIGHT. The meticulously crafted, crystal-clear music fills the entire space, offering a new kind of sauna experience where auditory stimulation and heat become one. You can enjoy a profound sense of immersion while surrendering yourself to the music.
![[LÄMPI] MUSTA SAUNA](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.samurai-sauna-magazine.com%2Fstorage%2Fv1%2Fobject%2Fpublic%2Ffacilities%2Ffacility-1761781057359%2Fsauna_15_5d9ab2d0.webp&w=1920&q=75)
A dark, tranquil "THE Finnish sauna" with lighting kept to a minimum. Self-löyly is available, allowing you to pour water on the sauna stones at your own pace and enjoy the rising steam and heat. By shutting out visual input, this is a space where you can focus purely on the heat and on yourself.
![[LÄMPI] BED SAUNA](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.samurai-sauna-magazine.com%2Fstorage%2Fv1%2Fobject%2Fpublic%2Ffacilities%2Ffacility-1761781057359%2Fsauna_14_06152679.webp&w=1920&q=75)
A sauna room where you can stretch out and lie down just like on a bed. Auto-löyly periodically produces pleasant steam, warming you evenly from your toes to the top of your head. Lying down releases tension throughout the body, letting you experience an unprecedented level of relaxation and sweating.
![[LÄMPI][WOODS] KELO SAUNA](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.samurai-sauna-magazine.com%2Fstorage%2Fv1%2Fobject%2Fpublic%2Ffacilities%2Ffacility-1761781057359%2Fsauna_13_c1ef58c2.webp&w=1920&q=75)
A sauna room lavishly built with rare kelo wood imported directly from Finland. In the corresponding sauna room, and as a private booking during treatments, you can relax in the rich aroma of wood and gentle heat. The special treatment, which incorporates plant therapy, brings the body and mind into a pleasantly totonou state.
Editors' comment
The facility alternates daily between WOODS on the west side and LÄMPI on the east, with each sauna room built on a different design philosophy. LÄMPI's SOUND SAUNA is equipped with a system co-developed by musicians and manufacturers, filling the room with deep, resonant bass. The adjacent MUSTA SAUNA sits in dimmed darkness, where only the steam from self-service löyly and aroma move through the space. On the WOODS side, you'll find TEETÄ, designed to evoke a tea ceremony room; VIHTA, covered with white birch vihta branches; and HARMAA, featuring automatic löyly. The cold plunge baths include SYVÄ, deep enough to stand in, and MATALA, shallow enough to lie down in. Instead of rows of chairs, the relaxation area feels like sitting in a small park.
Tokyo Shinagawa City
A Real Train Yard Beyond the Window, Japan's First Tram Sauna
Japan's first tram sauna, inspired by its location next to Oimachi Station's train depot. In a space that recreates the interior of a wooden tram, pressing the seat buttons releases steam, while the scent of spicy Western red cedar fills the air with an effect that makes it feel as if a train is about to depart. You can forget the noise of the city and enjoy a unique sauna experience while feeling the travel atmosphere drifting past the train windows.
A fragrant sauna for women only, where the vitality of plants and a sense of warmth are in harmony. The rising steam gently gathers the aromas of carefully selected herbs and medicinal plants arranged in woven baskets and flasks, softly filling the space. The interior makes generous use of Western red cedar, blending its sweet, calm woody fragrance with the freshness of medicinal herbs to quietly loosen both mind and body.
A meditation sauna that lavishly uses rare kelo wood, known as the "jewel of trees," from the benches to the walls. It adopts a unique löyly structure, where water flowing down the walls touches the kelo and releases a rich woody aroma. Surrounded by gentle radiant heat, you can deeply focus on your own breathing in an environment that feels like the quiet of a forest, guiding both mind and body toward recovery.
Editors' comment
The sauna room recreates the interior of a wooden tram car, complete with hanging straps. Pressing a button on the seat releases steam, accompanied by an announcement reminiscent of a train ride: Next stop, cold plunge bath, cold plunge bath. Beyond the front window, the actual train yard of Oimachi Station spreads out. The room temperature is around 90°C, seating about 15 people. There are three cold plunge baths at 8°C, 15°C, and 22°C, all using ultra-soft water, giving a smooth feel against the skin as the cold envelops you. The other room, a kelo sauna, runs around 80°C with self-service löyly available, though the scent of wood was still subtle, perhaps due to the room being new.
If you found yourself wanting to go
JAPAN'S FINEST ONSEN & SAUNA
Japan's Finest Onsen & Sauna
64 SELECTIONS
Every list of Japan's baths looks the same, and none of them tells you which one to build a trip around. Inside are the places the editor bathed in himself, and others chosen through our own reporting — kept not for their star ratings, but because he would go back.
Open the magazine, freeThis place's pages are free to read
Tokyo Higashikurume City
A Five-Tier Tower Filled with Pine Aroma, Cooled by Prize-Winning Spring Water
Built as a 4–5 tier tower, the sauna periodically activates automatic aroma löyly and powerful air blasts that quickly fill the entire room with heat. Original aromas such as pineapple combined with high-temperature steam deliver an intense experience that makes you sweat profusely in a short time, earning a reputation as a hard sauna. The spacious interior with a TV is designed to reduce the feeling of crowding even at busy times, and it is strongly favored by many saunagoers.
A salt sauna where you apply salt to the body and massage to promote sweating. It helps expel sebum and impurities from deep in the pores, and after use your skin feels smooth, offering beautifying and detox effects. Use plenty of the salt provided in the room to cover your whole body, then rinse the salt off thoroughly before leaving.
Editors' comment
A five-tier tower sauna that seats around 30 people. Sitting on the top tier delivers powerful heat, and automatic löyly every 10 minutes keeps humidity high. Each time, the aroma of pine spreads through the room. There are two cold plunge baths at 12°C and 16°C, drawing from the same water source as Higashikurume's spring water, the only one in Tokyo selected among the Heisei-era 100 Best Water Sources. Submerging in the 16°C bath brings a refreshing tingling sensation to the skin that lingers well after getting out. The men's bath also has a high-concentration carbonated cold plunge bath, allowing alternating hot-cold bathing between the two. Some days see long lines forming at the third-floor entrance.
If you found yourself wanting to go
JAPAN'S FINEST ONSEN & SAUNA
Japan's Finest Onsen & Sauna
64 SELECTIONS
Every list of Japan's baths looks the same, and none of them tells you which one to build a trip around. Inside are the places the editor bathed in himself, and others chosen through our own reporting — kept not for their star ratings, but because he would go back.
Open the magazine, freeThis place's pages are free to read
Tokyo Koto City
From Top-Floor Sauna to Outdoor Air Bath Overlooking Tokyo Bay
A dry sauna located in the top-floor large bath area. The room is filled with gentle dry heat and the warmth of wood, and after sitting for a while, beads of sweat begin to form on your forehead as the heat gradually reaches deep into your body. It is closed from late night until early morning, but otherwise you can use it anytime during your stay, making late-night or early-morning sessions feel like your own private time. The sense of release after sweating it out is exceptional.
A mist sauna in the women’s large bath area. The room is filled with fine mist, making the air gentle to breathe, so even those who are not comfortable with dry heat can stay here with ease. Warm steam runs over the skin, and even a short stay leaves the whole body comfortably warmed and moisturized. Close your eyes and steady your breathing, and the stillness wrapped in humidity will slowly melt away tension.
Editors' comment
The dry sauna is located in the large bath on the top floor. Dry heat quietly fills a room retaining the warmth of wood, and while it closes overnight into the early morning, it's otherwise available at any time during your stay. The cold plunge bath is in the same large bath area, and once the heat has subsided, you can step out to the open-air bath and feel the breeze passing through the upper floors. Tokyo Bay and the skyline spread out beyond the windows, with the city lights shifting moment by moment at night. Combining the sea view and elevation, conditions that can't be added afterward, into one continuous flow is what defines this facility. The women's large bath also includes a mist sauna.
Availability and rates are shown on each booking site.
This page contains affiliate links. Booking through them costs you nothing extra.
Chosen by our editors from facilities that have granted us publication permission. We do not rank them.
JAPAN'S FINEST ONSEN & SAUNA
Japan's Finest Onsen & Sauna
64 SELECTIONS
Most of what we surveyed never made it onto this site. This is a further cut from what did — places the editor bathed in himself, and places chosen through our own reporting.
