This sauna journey also started on a Friday evening. On this day, I wrapped up work in the evening and drove all the way to Osaka. Although the roads were a bit congested, I arrived at "Sauna & Capsule Amza" around 7 PM as planned. I planned to stay here tonight. I was eager to enjoy a good sauna, get a good night's sleep, and then hit the sauna again from the morning. It's been a while since I stayed at a capsule hotel, but whether I get enough sleep depends on "luck." A capsule hotel is essentially a simple lodging facility that provides just enough space for one person to sleep. It's more like a "space with beds lined up" than a room, with each capsule being compact in width and height. Inside, there are a mattress, pillow, futon, and basic amenities like lighting, an outlet, and a small TV. Since it's not a private room like a typical business hotel, you might be bothered by the snoring or noises from the person next to you, or the sounds of people coming and going late at night. If someone nearby snores loudly, it's like drawing a losing ticket, and you won't get enough sleep. By the way, I don't snore at all. I'm as quiet as a dead man when I sleep. Despite some anxiety, I decided to enjoy the sauna first. "Sauna & Capsule Amza" is a top-notch sauna facility. Located right in the heart of Osaka Minami, it has three saunas and three cold plunge baths. The large public bath is also very clean, and it's clear why it ranks high in Osaka's sauna rankings. From the first set, I was in top form. It seems that when I travel, I can enjoy the sauna more intensely than usual. I feel sharpened. For the first set, I entered the main sauna, the iki sauna, and thoroughly heated my body. There are three types of cold plunge baths available at 14°C, 16°C, and 25°C. I started by cooling my body thoroughly in the 16°C cold plunge bath. Then, I moved to the outdoor air bath, where the smell of grilled chicken wafted through the air. This is the heart of Osaka Minami, one of Japan's top entertainment districts. As I looked down on the city, I reveled in the pleasure of the sauna. For the second set, I went to the Finnish sauna. This is a quiet space without a TV, where you can enjoy a sauna bath with self-löyly. The atmosphere is like a log cabin, reminiscent of authentic Finland. Other guests in the same space were also closing their eyes and facing themselves. They were probably sauna enthusiasts. Here, too, I thoroughly heated my body and then entered the 14°C cold plunge bath. I felt my blood vessels constrict more than in the first set. The cold plunge bath is also very clean, with water constantly overflowing, maintaining clear water quality. This cleanliness is also a hallmark of a good sauna. After enjoying two more sets in the iki sauna and Finnish sauna, I completed a total of four sets for the night. I left the large public bath and headed to the lounge. The professional baseball postseason was being broadcast, and it seemed the Hanshin Tigers had secured their spot in the Japan Series. I enjoyed a drink after the sauna while watching the footage. Well, it's about time to sleep. As I mentioned earlier, whether I get a good sleep at the capsule hotel is a matter of luck. That test of luck was about to begin.

Around 10 PM, I moved to the capsule room and lay down. At this point, it was still quiet. After reading for a while, I started to feel sleepy and decided to sleep. It was a very pleasant sleep onset. When I woke up and checked the clock, it was 3 AM. I should have gone to sleep around 10:30 PM, so I woke up after four and a half hours. I thought it was a common case of waking up in the middle of the night, and tried to go back to sleep, but it was very noisy, as if there was construction nearby. A sound like a rumble was echoing. My consciousness gradually became clearer. Listening carefully, it seemed the source of the sound was right next to me. I pressed my ear to the partition wall. A tremendous snoring sound of "Gaaah" and "Goooh" was echoing. Thinking calmly, waking up at 3 AM is strange given my sleep cycle. Even if I wake up early, it would be around 5 AM. The likely cause of waking up was the noise from the snoring. I had indeed drawn a losing ticket. Once awake, I couldn't fall back asleep easily, so I decided to read until I felt sleepy again. The roaring sound continued. After reading for about an hour, it was 4 AM. Then, it suddenly became quiet, perhaps due to sleep apnea. Seizing the moment, I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. I managed to sleep for a while. But when I woke up next, it was 5 AM. I had only slept for an hour. Upon checking the time, I noticed the tremendous sound was back. I thought, "Enough already," but since I had slept for over five hours in total, I figured it was okay to get up. Besides, this is a sauna facility, so I decided to go to the morning sauna. I slipped out of bed and decided to check the neighboring room. To my surprise, the person was sleeping with the entrance curtain open. He was snoring with his mouth wide open, his large body sprawled out. It was quite a comical sight. With the entrance door open, the sound was even more pronounced. I started to feel a bit irritated. At that moment, I felt air building up in my lower abdomen. I checked on the snoring man again. He was in a deep sleep. He probably wouldn't wake up easily. Thinking so, I pressed my rear close to the entrance and let out a loud fart, returning the "sound" favor with all the gas in my body. Then I immediately headed to the large public bath. Even though it was just past 5 AM, the large public bath was quite lively. I was impressed that so many people were entering the sauna so early in the morning, and wondered if some of them, like me, had been woken up by snoring noise. Since it was early morning, I only did one set of sauna and cold plunge bath. A morning sauna is also refreshing. With each sweat in the sauna, I felt my whole body waking up. Entering the cold plunge bath made me feel sharp and switched on. The stress I felt from my neighbor's snoring was reset by the sauna and cold plunge bath. This is the beauty of the sauna. When I left the morning sauna, it was past 6 AM, so I went straight to breakfast. Being able to enter the sauna 24 hours, stay overnight, and enjoy a delicious breakfast, all at a low cost, is the great thing about capsule hotels. Except for the misfortune of snoring. After breakfast, I returned to the capsule room to find that the noisy snorer was gone. Perhaps he had woken up and gone to the sauna, or checked out. I hoped my fart had been the cause of his awakening. In any case, it was fortunate he was gone. I was feeling sleepy after eating, so I decided to get some good sleep. After reading for a while, sleepiness overcame me, and I decided to sleep as I wished. When I woke up, it was 10 AM. I had slept for about three hours. I had successfully made up for the sleep lost due to the snoring man. With a total of eight hours of sleep, I was in perfect condition. I prepared with the best feeling and decided to head to the next destination. The place I was heading to was reputed to be "Osaka's number one sauna facility." Located in the Shinsaibashi shopping street, it features six saunas and three cold plunge baths, and is called a sauna theme park. That facility is "Osaka Sauna DESSE."