It's wonderful to unwind at a casual public bath or sauna, but every now and then I find myself craving something a little more luxurious.
Sauna Resort Oriental Kobe was exactly the kind of place that delivers that luxury. The spa facility is nestled within an upscale hotel, with a straightforward setup: a scorching sauna pushing past 100°C and a cold plunge bath sitting at 8°C. If you're looking for a seriously hot sauna and an ice-cold plunge in Kobe, this place would top anyone's list.
After checking in, I spent some time relaxing in my room. I got caught up writing blog posts and before I knew it, the night had arrived. Right then — time for the sauna. I changed in the locker room and stepped into the bathing area. It's a compact space with a simple layout: a warm bath, a sauna, and a cold plunge. There's no natural hot spring like you'd find at a super sento, no outdoor bath either. Just a ferociously hot sauna above 100°C and an 8°C cold plunge. That's it.
I rinsed off and entered the sauna room. The instant I stepped in, a brutal wave of heat hit my entire body. Unbelievably hot. Easily one of the hottest moments of my life. I actually muttered out loud, "Man, that's hot." I glanced at the thermometer: 105°C. On top of that, the sauna stove was an iki sauna model running an automatic löyly cycle. Well, that explains it.
Humidity plays a huge role in how hot a sauna feels. The higher the humidity, the higher the perceived temperature. Here, the baseline was already a scorching 105°C, and the löyly was cranking up the humidity on top of that — which is why the heat felt absolutely overwhelming.
I couldn't last five minutes in that sauna room on my first set. Might be a personal record for the shortest session ever.
I stepped out, rinsed off the sweat, and headed for the cold plunge. This time, a crushing wave of cold hit my body. Eight degrees Celsius. My blood vessels clamped down all at once and I felt something close to pain. At 8°C, you simply can't linger. I jumped out almost immediately and collapsed into a nearby chair.
As I rested, the pleasure gradually crept in. They say the greater the temperature gap between the sauna and the cold plunge — around 100°C in this case — the more intense the post-rest bliss. And honestly, it's dangerously addictive.
I managed to stay in a little longer on my second set, which made sense given how thoroughly the 8°C plunge had cooled me down. But within five minutes the sweat was pouring out and I was running on empty. A sauna this hot is genuinely rare. When I hit my limit, I bolted back to the cold plunge.
In the end, I called it after two sets that night. I had originally planned for three, but my gut was telling me: enough.
After the sauna, it was time to eat — and I decided to treat myself a little. Sauna Resort Oriental Kobe sits on Port Island in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, and the top-floor restaurant offers a sweeping view of the Kobe night skyline. I decided to enjoy a refined meal while taking in that view. I usually stick to old-school teishoku diners or Chinese restaurants, but a little indulgence every now and then isn't a bad thing.
When I walked into the restaurant, a waiter greeted me with a bright, polished smile. But I didn't miss the flicker behind that smile that seemed to say, "This isn't really your kind of place, is it?"
Being a Sunday, the hotel wasn't very busy, and I was shown to a couple's seat with a panoramic view of the night skyline. What was this waiter thinking? If a couple sat down next to me, it would be mortifying. A solo guest like me belongs at a quiet, unobtrusive table away from the couple's seating.
The menu was unmistakably upscale. There was no "ginger pork set meal" to be found. Everything was along the lines of Prosciutto and Three-Cheese Salad with Seasonal Fruit Garnish. Among all of it, I spotted something refreshingly simple — a Kobe Beef Burger — and ordered that. But I realized my mistake with the very first bite. After a sauna session, what your body really craves is something brothy, or a proper Japanese meal. A bowl of miso soup or vegetable broth is heaven, and ginger pork replenishes the minerals you've sweated away.
The burger was genuinely good, don't get me wrong. But it didn't have that soul-restoring quality. If anything, the big bun just made me thirstier. I reminded myself that straying too far outside my comfort zone doesn't always pay off — and yet, dining while gazing out over the Kobe night skyline really did feel elegant. If I ever get a partner, this would be exactly the place I'd want to bring them for dinner. Every experience in life has its value; you never know when it might come in handy later on. With that thought, I settled the bill and headed back to my room.
The next morning I woke up at 4 a.m. — probably some kind of early-morning tension from sleeping away from home. I didn't feel like going back to sleep, so I brushed my teeth and decided to hit the sauna as a substitute for an alarm clock. At that moment, I had completely forgotten that the sauna was 105°C and the cold plunge was 8°C. I shuffled to the bathing area with half-open eyes, rinsed off, and stepped into the sauna room. The ferocious heat hit my barely-awake body hard. It was only then that I remembered the temperatures — but it was too late to back out. I was already in, so as a dedicated sauna enthusiast, there was nothing left to do but sweat it out and finish with the cold plunge.
At four in the morning, I sat in a 105°C sauna and cooled down in an 8°C cold plunge. That, too, will be an experience I never forget. The stimulation was almost too intense — but I survived, and that's what matters.
I drove home along the early-morning expressway and made it back safely. If I had a wife and kids, rolling in at that hour would be a serious crime. But as a bachelor, I can come home at any hour without consequence. And by coming home in the early morning, I got to experience yet another remarkable sauna. I hope to keep having many more of these early-morning returns — and to discover even more great saunas along the way.
That wraps up my Osaka sauna trip.
