Shiga Kusatsu City
A superb refresh with a natural onsen for beautiful skin and a barrel sauna where you pour your own löyly
Kusatsu Yumoto Suisyun is a day-use onsen bathhouse in Kusatsu City, Shiga Prefecture. Its natural onsen, Omi-Kusatsu Bijin-no-Yu, is a chloride spring that wells up from the strata beneath Lake Biwa; soft to the touch, it wraps the whole body comfortably and loosens a tired body to the core. The saunas are remarkably varied, from an authentic sauna with automatic löyly to a barrel sauna with a soothing scent of wood. After the heat, the cold pulls the body taut in the airy open-air cold plunge or in an extra-deep cold plunge you stand in like a standing bath. With a warm-stone area brought to life by music and light, as well as a restaurant, it is a blissful place to relax all day and lose track of time.

A natural chloride spring onsen whose source is groundwater held in the strata beneath Lake Biwa. Rich in sodium bicarbonate, the water is smooth to the touch, as if gently polishing the surface of the skin. In the spacious open-air rock bath you can feel the outside breeze, warm up to the core and savor a superb soak in which the fatigue of everyday life seems to melt away.

An authentic sauna where powerful far-infrared heat wraps the whole body. Automatic löyly goes off at regular intervals, filling the room with hot steam and sending the felt temperature soaring at once. Aufguss sessions are also held, with staff sending hot air your way with large uchiwa fans, for an exhilarating sweat. In the spacious room you can sit with the heat at your own pace and enjoy a deep refresh.

A barrel sauna, a style born in Finland, its timber assembled into the shape of a cask. The distinctive cylindrical form lets the steam circulate evenly through the room. You can pour your own löyly, adjusting the humidity and heat to your liking. The pleasant scent of wood spreads through the quiet space, bringing an immersive, deeply relaxing experience as if you were out in nature.

A steam room that uses an original blend of kampo herbs, several traditional medicinal ingredients such as cinnamon bark and ginger, together with mineral-rich salt. At regular intervals a show is held in which great clouds of steam burst out, filling the room with the rich aroma of the herbs. Rubbing the salt into your body, you warm up slowly and work up a refreshing sweat.

A sauna found only in the men’s bath, where you can turn inward in stillness. Soft lighting and a quiet atmosphere are kept here, letting you sink into a deep state of mindfulness. You can pour your own löyly: press a switch and waves of heat circulate through the room, and the pleasant heat and the silence lead you to a sublime totonou, the state of deep relaxation.

A sauna found only in the women’s bath, beautiful with its play of light. Bathed in three soothing lights that shift from red to yellow to green, you can spend a time like color therapy, matched to your mood that day. Regular automatic löyly keeps the room comfortably humid so you can sweat gently and pleasantly.

An airy cold plunge outdoors, right by the sauna area. Roomy and deep enough, it lets you chill your heated body thoroughly from head to toe. After you step out of the cold plunge, you can move straight on to cooling off in the open air, feeling the pleasant breeze.

A cold plunge in the indoor bath of the main bathhouse. It is just a few steps from the sauna rooms, so you can quickly cool your hot body right after sweating. The cold pulls the whole body taut, keeping you from getting chilled after the bath and leaving a pleasant sense of refreshment.

A cold plunge of astonishing depth in the men’s bath. Climb down the ladder and you can soak in the cold water up to your shoulders while standing. It cools the whole body, heated to the limit in the sauna, in one go, a dynamic and exhilarating moment as the cold pulls the body taut.

A vast area for warming the body, with multiple warm-stone rooms using a variety of minerals. Men and women can make their way around rooms with different themes together in the designated wear, such as a room where you can experience löyly set to music and light, and a room laid with black germanium and rock salt. Once you are warmed to the core, cool down in one go in the cold-air room. The dedicated rest lounge has an enormous collection of manga and a coworking space, so you can enjoy a detox in comfort all day long.
Open Year-Round
Shiga
Natural onsen water fed straight from the source and sweeping views of Lake Biwa
Shiga
A soothing retreat of radium onsen and true sauna, wrapped in the Lake Biwa breeze and the scent of burning wood
Shiga
A large spa in Nagahama with a wide range of saunas, an ice-cold plunge and plenty to do beyond the baths