This sauna trip, too, kicked off on a Friday evening.
I wrapped up work early that day, jumped in the car, and drove all the way to Osaka. The roads were a bit congested, but I arrived at Sauna & Capsule Amza right on schedule, around 7 p.m. I'd be spending the night here. My plan was simple: enjoy a great sauna session, sleep soundly, and then get back in the sauna first thing in the morning. I was pumped.
It had been a while since I'd stayed at a capsule hotel, and whether you get a decent night's sleep is largely a matter of luck. A capsule hotel is, at its core, a bare-bones lodging that does nothing more than give you a single sleeping space. It's less a room and more a row of sleeping pods — each capsule compact in both width and height, furnished with the bare minimum: a mattress, pillow, duvet, a light, an outlet, and a small TV.
Unlike a standard business hotel, there are no private rooms, so a neighbor's snoring, rustling, or late-night comings and goings can easily disturb you. If a thunderous snorer ends up next to you, you've drawn the short straw — a good night's sleep becomes a fantasy. For the record, I do not snore. When I sleep, I'm as silent as a dead man.
With a slight sense of unease, I decided to focus on enjoying the sauna first. Sauna & Capsule Amza is a top-tier sauna facility. Situated right in the heart of Osaka's Minami district, it boasts three saunas and three cold plunge baths. The large communal bath is also exceptionally clean — it's easy to see why this place consistently ranks at the top of Osaka's sauna rankings.
My first set was outstanding. There's something about being on a sauna trip that makes me feel more focused and finely tuned than usual — like my senses are sharpened. For the first set, I settled into the iki sauna, the main attraction, and thoroughly heated my body. Three cold plunge baths are available: 14°C, 16°C, and 25°C. I started with the 16°C bath to cool down properly, then moved to the outdoor rest area, where the enticing smell of yakitori drifted through the air. This is the very heart of Minami, Osaka — one of Japan's premier entertainment districts. I sat back, looked out over the city below, and let myself bask in the bliss of post-sauna euphoria.
For the second set, I headed to the Finnish sauna. There's no TV here — just a quiet space where you can enjoy self-service löyly in a genuine, contemplative atmosphere. The log-cabin-like feel evokes authentic Finland. The other guests in the room all had their eyes closed, turning inward. Sauna lovers, no doubt. I heated myself thoroughly again, then went for the 14°C cold plunge — I could feel my blood vessels constrict more intensely than in the first set. The cold plunge bath was immaculately clean, with water constantly overflowing, keeping the quality crystal clear. That cleanliness is one of the hallmarks of a great sauna.
Afterward, I did two more sets alternating between the iki sauna and the Finnish sauna, wrapping up the evening with a total of four sets. I left the large bath area and headed to the lounge, where the baseball postseason was being broadcast live. The Hanshin Tigers had apparently clinched their spot in the Japan Series. I watched the highlights and enjoyed a post-sauna drink.
Alright, time to sleep. I wrote earlier that getting a good night's sleep in a capsule hotel is a gamble. That gamble was about to begin.
Around 10 p.m., I moved to the capsule room and lay down. Things were quiet at that point. I read for a while until drowsiness crept in, then drifted off to sleep. It was a wonderfully smooth descent into slumber.
When I woke up and checked the time, it was 3 a.m. Since I'd fallen asleep around 10:30 p.m., that meant I'd been out for about four and a half hours. I figured it was just the usual mid-night waking and tried to fall back asleep — but was there construction work nearby? It was incredibly loud. A rumbling, earth-shaking noise was reverberating all around me. As my mind gradually cleared, I listened more carefully. The source of the sound seemed to be right next to me. I leaned my ear toward the partition wall. A ferocious torrent of snoring — "GRAAAH" and "ROAAAAR" — was blasting through. Thinking it over calmly, waking up at 3 a.m. made no sense given my usual sleep cycle. Even if I were an early riser, 5 a.m. would be the earliest. The snoring had almost certainly jolted me awake. I had, without question, drawn the short straw.
Once you're awake, falling back asleep isn't easy, so I decided to read until I felt drowsy again. The thunderous noise continued the whole time. After about an hour of reading, it was 4 a.m. Then, suddenly — silence. Perhaps he'd stopped breathing momentarily. I seized the opportunity, shut my eyes, and managed to sleep for a while. But when I woke up again, it was 5 a.m. Only one hour. The instant I checked the time, I noticed the monstrous noise had resumed. "Give me a break," I thought — but I'd managed over five hours of sleep in total, so I figured I might as well get up. And since this is a sauna facility, I decided to go for the morning sauna.
I climbed out of my pod and, out of curiosity, peered into the neighboring capsule. The curtain at the entrance was wide open. There he was — a heavyset man, mouth agape, snoring away in full view. A truly comical sight. With the curtain open, the sound was leaking out even more. I felt a flicker of irritation. At that very moment, I felt a familiar pressure building in my lower abdomen. I glanced over at the snoring man once more. Out cold. He wasn't waking up any time soon. With that thought in mind, I positioned myself squarely at his capsule entrance and let rip with everything I had — a full-force, full-body release of gas. Sound for sound. Then I made a beeline for the large bath area.
It was just past 5 a.m., but the large bath was surprisingly busy. I was impressed that so many people were up this early for a sauna — though I also wondered if some of them, like me, had been blasted awake by someone's snoring.
Since it was early, I did just one set of sauna and cold plunge. A wake-up sauna is something special. With every drop of sweat, you can feel your entire body coming online. The cold plunge bath snapped me fully awake in an instant. The stress of my neighbor's snoring, which had been gnawing at me moments before, was completely washed away. That's the power of the sauna.
By the time I finished the morning sauna, it was past 6 a.m., so I went straight to breakfast. Around-the-clock sauna access, overnight accommodation, and a good breakfast — all at an affordable price. That's the beauty of a capsule hotel. Aside from the snoring misfortune, of course.
When I got back to the capsule room after breakfast, the loud snoring man was gone. Had he woken up and gone to the sauna, or checked out? I'd like to think it was my gaseous intervention that roused him — but regardless, his absence was a blessing. I was feeling nicely full and drowsy, so I decided to go back to sleep. I read for a bit until the drowsiness took over, and let myself drift off.
When I woke up, it was 10 a.m. I'd slept for about three hours. I had successfully reclaimed the sleep stolen by the snoring man. Total sleep: eight hours. I felt in perfect condition. In great spirits, I got ready and set off for my next destination — a place widely acclaimed as the number one sauna facility in Osaka. Located inside the Shinsaibashi shopping arcade, it features six saunas and three cold plunge baths, and is known as the theme park of saunas.
That facility is Osaka Sauna DESSE.
