My parents are getting older. They won't stay healthy forever. You never know what might happen. That's exactly why, the moment I feel like traveling with them, that moment is the best time — and starting to plan right then and there is my way of doing things. I believe that taking action the instant an idea strikes is what ultimately gets you what you want. On this day, I finally made a long-held dream come true: taking my parents on a trip. We set off on a 2-night, 3-day family journey through Fukuoka and Saga. We spent the first day in Fukuoka Prefecture. Our first stop was Dazaifu Tenmangu, the famous shrine dedicated to the god of learning. But honestly, the fact that our whole family could walk around this place together in good health felt like the greatest blessing of all. We strolled down the approach, stuffing ourselves with ume-ga-e-mochi rice cakes and soaking up all the local flavors. Just seeing my parents' smiling faces filled my heart with genuine joy. That said, even on a family trip, something clicks inside me when night falls. That's right — sauna time. Every member of my family loves saunas, and when choosing where to stay, our criteria are non-negotiable: a quality natural hot spring, a sauna, a cold plunge bath, and good food. From all the options available, we had decided to spend one night at Dormy Inn Hakata Gion. We arrived at the hotel, checked in, and after a brief rest in the room, headed straight to the large communal bath. I quickly stripped off my clothes in the clean locker room and pushed open the door to the bathing area. The Dormy Inn's bathhouse has a cohesive Japanese modern aesthetic — soft lighting and stone-carved décor create a wonderfully atmospheric space. For a business hotel's communal bath, the facilities are more than impressive. First, I scoped out the layout. There was a natural hot spring bath drawn up from beneath the property, with the sauna room at the far end and the cold plunge bath right beside it. A semi-open-air area was equipped with reclining chairs and a fan, making the outdoor relaxation spot more than adequate. Unable to hold back my excitement, I first washed up and then sank into the natural hot spring, Mikasa-no-Yu. The calcium-sodium chloride spring water had a silky feel against the skin, and I could sense the fatigue from walking around Dazaifu simply melting away. Just soaking in the hot spring would have been bliss enough, but my real purpose was the sauna. Once my body was thoroughly warmed, I headed into the dry sauna. As I opened the sauna door, the aroma of energy bouquet teased my nostrils. The room hovered around 90°C, with a perfectly balanced level of humidity. The sauna at Dormy Inn Hakata Gion is newly fitted with an excellent auto-löyly system that activates every 20 minutes. I sat down on the bench, quietly closed my eyes, and felt sweat begin to seep steadily from every pore. After a while, with a soft hiss, the auto-löyly kicked in. Water poured over the sauna stones, and the aroma deepened and rose more intensely around me. Waves of heat cascaded down from above, heating my entire body with fierce intensity. Even on a family trip, there is no compromising on sauna performance. I pushed myself to the limit, absorbing as much heat as I could bear, then burst out of the sauna room. I made a beeline for the cold plunge bath right next door. After a quick rinse, I plunged in up to my shoulders in one go — and in that instant, every blood vessel in my body contracted. The water temperature was 15°C. Properly chilled by a cooler, it brought my heat-saturated body down to a perfect cool. The stone-carved bath had a lovely ambiance that let you feel the Japanese modern atmosphere through your skin. It was compact — fitting only one or two people — but since it's essentially reserved for hotel guests, there was no crowding, and I could soak at my own leisurely pace. I stepped out of the cold plunge and moved to the semi-open-air area. I sank deep into a reclining chair and closed my eyes. The fan mounted overhead sent a gentle breeze across my flushed body. Even from the very first set, I felt a deep totonou wash over me — the kind where your whole field of vision seems to sway. As I cycled through the sauna, cold plunge, and outdoor rest, I gradually felt everything inside me emptying out. Every thought that had been crowding my mind dissolved away, leaving behind nothing but pure, unadulterated comfort. And alongside that, I found myself in an extraordinarily calm and beautiful state of mind — one where I could sincerely wish for the happiness of others. In moments like those, I always find myself giving thanks for my family's health and my own. The fact that right now, at this very moment, I am traveling with my parents, sharing a wonderful sauna in the same hotel, and enjoying a delicious meal together — how miraculous, how deeply fortunate that is. The heat of the sauna and the shock of cold water have a way of bringing those everyday blessings, which are so easy to take for granted, into sharp and vivid focus.

My parents are getting older. They won't stay healthy forever. You never know what might happen. That's exactly why, the moment I feel like traveling with them, that moment is the best time — and starting to plan right then and there is my way of doing things. I believe that taking action the instant an idea strikes is what ultimately gets you what you want. On this day, I finally made a long-held dream come true: taking my parents on a trip. We set off on a 2-night, 3-day family journey through Fukuoka and Saga. We spent the first day in Fukuoka Prefecture. Our first stop was Dazaifu Tenmangu, the famous shrine dedicated to the god of learning. But honestly, the fact that our whole family could walk around this place together in good health felt like the greatest blessing of all. We strolled down the approach, stuffing ourselves with ume-ga-e-mochi rice cakes and soaking up all the local flavors. Just seeing my parents' smiling faces filled my heart with genuine joy. That said, even on a family trip, something clicks inside me when night falls. That's right — sauna time. Every member of my family loves saunas, and when choosing where to stay, our criteria are non-negotiable: a quality natural hot spring, a sauna, a cold plunge bath, and good food. From all the options available, we had decided to spend one night at Dormy Inn Hakata Gion. We arrived at the hotel, checked in, and after a brief rest in the room, headed straight to the large communal bath. I quickly stripped off my clothes in the clean locker room and pushed open the door to the bathing area. The Dormy Inn's bathhouse has a cohesive Japanese modern aesthetic — soft lighting and stone-carved décor create a wonderfully atmospheric space. For a business hotel's communal bath, the facilities are more than impressive. First, I scoped out the layout. There was a natural hot spring bath drawn up from beneath the property, with the sauna room at the far end and the cold plunge bath right beside it. A semi-open-air area was equipped with reclining chairs and a fan, making the outdoor relaxation spot more than adequate. Unable to hold back my excitement, I first washed up and then sank into the natural hot spring, Mikasa-no-Yu. The calcium-sodium chloride spring water had a silky feel against the skin, and I could sense the fatigue from walking around Dazaifu simply melting away. Just soaking in the hot spring would have been bliss enough, but my real purpose was the sauna. Once my body was thoroughly warmed, I headed into the dry sauna. As I opened the sauna door, the aroma of energy bouquet teased my nostrils. The room hovered around 90°C, with a perfectly balanced level of humidity. The sauna at Dormy Inn Hakata Gion is newly fitted with an excellent auto-löyly system that activates every 20 minutes. I sat down on the bench, quietly closed my eyes, and felt sweat begin to seep steadily from every pore. After a while, with a soft hiss, the auto-löyly kicked in. Water poured over the sauna stones, and the aroma deepened and rose more intensely around me. Waves of heat cascaded down from above, heating my entire body with fierce intensity. Even on a family trip, there is no compromising on sauna performance. I pushed myself to the limit, absorbing as much heat as I could bear, then burst out of the sauna room. I made a beeline for the cold plunge bath right next door. After a quick rinse, I plunged in up to my shoulders in one go — and in that instant, every blood vessel in my body contracted. The water temperature was 15°C. Properly chilled by a cooler, it brought my heat-saturated body down to a perfect cool. The stone-carved bath had a lovely ambiance that let you feel the Japanese modern atmosphere through your skin. It was compact — fitting only one or two people — but since it's essentially reserved for hotel guests, there was no crowding, and I could soak at my own leisurely pace. I stepped out of the cold plunge and moved to the semi-open-air area. I sank deep into a reclining chair and closed my eyes. The fan mounted overhead sent a gentle breeze across my flushed body. Even from the very first set, I felt a deep totonou wash over me — the kind where your whole field of vision seems to sway. As I cycled through the sauna, cold plunge, and outdoor rest, I gradually felt everything inside me emptying out. Every thought that had been crowding my mind dissolved away, leaving behind nothing but pure, unadulterated comfort. And alongside that, I found myself in an extraordinarily calm and beautiful state of mind — one where I could sincerely wish for the happiness of others. In moments like those, I always find myself giving thanks for my family's health and my own. The fact that right now, at this very moment, I am traveling with my parents, sharing a wonderful sauna in the same hotel, and enjoying a delicious meal together — how miraculous, how deeply fortunate that is. The heat of the sauna and the shock of cold water have a way of bringing those everyday blessings, which are so easy to take for granted, into sharp and vivid focus.