Saga Takeo City
A luxury hotel to soothe your spirit with Takeo Onsen and four authentic saunas
OND HOTEL is a hotel and day-use bathing facility in Takeo City, Saga Prefecture. Set in harmony with Takeo’s nature, the property is themed around totonou. The gender-separated large baths feature four distinct saunas, including a custom wood-fired stove combined with a BonaSarm heater and a sauna made using Kiln-fired Kuromuta-yaki materials. Attractions also include a 150 cm deep cold plunge bath where you can fully submerge your head and an alkaline simple hot spring with pH 9.15 known as a beauty bath. The facility also offers private saunas with special attention to detail and a restaurant that uses local ingredients, providing a retreat from everyday bustle.
An alkaline simple hot spring with pH 9.15, known as a beauty bath. It gently washes away dirt and excess dead skin, leading to moist, smooth skin. The water feels soft, and skin after bathing becomes silky. The spring has good heat retention, gently wrapping a body warmed by sauna and cold plunges to relieve fatigue from the core. You can bathe while enjoying Takeo’s seasonal nature and relax both body and mind. It may help alleviate neuralgia, muscle pain, and sensitivity to cold.
A calm, black-themed sauna. Guests can adjust humidity freely with self-löyly, and ambient lighting that shifts in intensity creates a meditative atmosphere. This is a quiet space to focus inward and sweat at your own pace. The dark interior softens the heat for deep concentration and relaxation. Aromas made from herbs sourced in Takeo add a local touch, offering an experience that balances the senses.
An open, cypress-finished sauna. Large windows let you view Takeo’s nature while a high-power wood-fired stove and bench-mounted BonaSarm heaters envelop your whole body. The scent of wood and the heat from the stove harmonize to encourage powerful yet comfortable sweating. The scenic views enhance the sense of openness, allowing you to feel at one with nature. The gentle waves of heat unique to a wood-fired sauna penetrate to the core of the body.
A sauna that uses Tonbai and shelving materials from kilns used for Kuromuta-yaki, offering a sense of history and character. Auto-löyly and a steam humidification system maintain a steady humidity level, creating a comfortable hot environment for sweating. The ceramic materials produce a unique heat texture that envelops you gently, providing a warm, embracing sensation. While experiencing Takeo’s traditional crafts, you can spend time restoring both body and mind.
A steam sauna that uses locally sourced herbs. The custom ceramic slab bench contains embedded electric heaters, and pressing the elbow button causes water to flow from behind the bench. Steam, the ceramic bench heat, and the rear water flow combine to warm the body from the core. Herbal aromas rise with the steam to promote deep relaxation and sweating. The heat conduction from the seating is pleasant, making it ideal for those who want to warm up slowly over time.
A cold plunge bath using Takeo’s groundwater. It cools the heated body after a sauna to a comfortable degree. At a depth of 85 cm you can slowly soak up to your shoulders. The soft quality of the groundwater is gentle on the skin, offering a pleasant balance of coolness and softness. Located indoors, it can be used regardless of weather and provides stable temperatures for cooling down.
A deep cold plunge bath installed outdoors. The water temperature ranges from 10 to 12°C and is very cold; if you have washed first you can fully submerge, including your head, allowing for rapid whole-body cooling. The experience of submerging deeply feels extraordinary, and you may sense a floatinglike sensation in the cold water. The refreshing and soft character of Takeo’s natural groundwater creates a comfortable feeling even within the cold.
Morning sauna 6:00~10:00 Free time 11:00~16:00 2-hour sessions 14:00~23:30
Visited by the Editor-in-Chief
The Editor-in-Chief visited in person in March 2026
A Morning in Takeo — Not Totonou, but Stillness
Read the full review
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JAPAN'S FINEST ONSEN & SAUNA
The Finest Onsen & Sauna in Japan
64 SELECTIONS
Most of what we surveyed never even made it onto this site. This book is a further cut from what did. Our editor bathed in every onsen and sauna in it, and wrote only what they confirmed on the ground.
