When I woke up, the strongest cold wave of the year had blanketed the entire Japanese archipelago. Fortunately, it hadn't started snowing yet in Hiroshima. But forecasts called for heavy snow in the afternoon. I wanted to head home before noon — but there was a sauna I had to visit, so I decided to stop by on the way back. My destination: Sauna & Capsule Nihon. I boarded the Shinkansen at Hiroshima Station and got off at Fukuyama Station. Fukuyama Castle is visible right from the platform — a surprisingly beautiful sight. In all my years of riding the Shinkansen, I had passed through Fukuyama countless times but never once stepped off the train, so the whole thing felt refreshingly new. Having a sauna you want to visit gives you a reason to stop in towns you'd otherwise just pass through. That's one of the true pleasures of sauna travel. I walked along the sidewalk in front of the station, turned left at the intersection, and there it was — Sauna & Capsule Nihon. It occupies a floor in an office building, with the sauna on the 5th floor. Stepping off the elevator, I was greeted by an entrance hall with a distinctly Showa-retro atmosphere, and a staff member welcomed me in. I handed over my shoe locker key and made my way to the changing room. The lockers, too, had that old-school sauna feel — nostalgic in the best way. Once I stepped into the main bathing area, the retro atmosphere deepened even further. The layout was simple: one large bathtub, one cold plunge bath, a mist sauna, and a dry sauna. I rinsed off, warmed up in the tub, and headed into the dry sauna. The dry sauna at Sauna & Capsule Nihon proudly embraces the old-school Showa strong-style philosophy — a traditional sauna where the temperature pushes close to 120°C. Apparently, aufguss events are held here too. I didn't get to experience one that day, but just imagining what kind of heat wave you'd get from an aufguss session in a 120°C room sent a shiver down my spine. True to what the thermometer showed, the heat was powerful. The window looks out over the Fukuyama Station plaza, so you get an open, expansive view while you sweat — another wonderful touch. I warmed up watching TV, then headed straight for the cold plunge. The cold plunge was around 17°C, and spacious enough. I'd walked through the freezing streets of Hiroshima, boarded the Shinkansen, then walked through the equally freezing streets of Fukuyama — and now I was going from sauna to cold plunge. My body seemed to be in a state of total panic from the rollercoaster of temperature swings. I settled into a resting chair after the cold plunge and let my body recover. Sauna & Capsule Nihon has an outdoor relaxation space on the roof, but I honestly couldn't muster the courage to go up there in that cold. I'd love to try it in the warmth of early spring someday. During my second sauna set, news came in that it would get even colder in the afternoon, snow would start falling, and there was a good chance public transportation would be affected. As I suspected, lingering too long was probably not a good idea — so I made up my mind to finish after this set. Just two sets, but I had savored this long-established Hiroshima sauna to the fullest, and a new page had been added to my personal sauna history.

When I woke up, the strongest cold wave of the year had blanketed the entire Japanese archipelago. Fortunately, it hadn't started snowing yet in Hiroshima. But forecasts called for heavy snow in the afternoon. I wanted to head home before noon — but there was a sauna I had to visit, so I decided to stop by on the way back. My destination: Sauna & Capsule Nihon. I boarded the Shinkansen at Hiroshima Station and got off at Fukuyama Station. Fukuyama Castle is visible right from the platform — a surprisingly beautiful sight. In all my years of riding the Shinkansen, I had passed through Fukuyama countless times but never once stepped off the train, so the whole thing felt refreshingly new. Having a sauna you want to visit gives you a reason to stop in towns you'd otherwise just pass through. That's one of the true pleasures of sauna travel. I walked along the sidewalk in front of the station, turned left at the intersection, and there it was — Sauna & Capsule Nihon. It occupies a floor in an office building, with the sauna on the 5th floor. Stepping off the elevator, I was greeted by an entrance hall with a distinctly Showa-retro atmosphere, and a staff member welcomed me in. I handed over my shoe locker key and made my way to the changing room. The lockers, too, had that old-school sauna feel — nostalgic in the best way. Once I stepped into the main bathing area, the retro atmosphere deepened even further. The layout was simple: one large bathtub, one cold plunge bath, a mist sauna, and a dry sauna. I rinsed off, warmed up in the tub, and headed into the dry sauna. The dry sauna at Sauna & Capsule Nihon proudly embraces the old-school Showa strong-style philosophy — a traditional sauna where the temperature pushes close to 120°C. Apparently, aufguss events are held here too. I didn't get to experience one that day, but just imagining what kind of heat wave you'd get from an aufguss session in a 120°C room sent a shiver down my spine. True to what the thermometer showed, the heat was powerful. The window looks out over the Fukuyama Station plaza, so you get an open, expansive view while you sweat — another wonderful touch. I warmed up watching TV, then headed straight for the cold plunge. The cold plunge was around 17°C, and spacious enough. I'd walked through the freezing streets of Hiroshima, boarded the Shinkansen, then walked through the equally freezing streets of Fukuyama — and now I was going from sauna to cold plunge. My body seemed to be in a state of total panic from the rollercoaster of temperature swings. I settled into a resting chair after the cold plunge and let my body recover. Sauna & Capsule Nihon has an outdoor relaxation space on the roof, but I honestly couldn't muster the courage to go up there in that cold. I'd love to try it in the warmth of early spring someday. During my second sauna set, news came in that it would get even colder in the afternoon, snow would start falling, and there was a good chance public transportation would be affected. As I suspected, lingering too long was probably not a good idea — so I made up my mind to finish after this set. Just two sets, but I had savored this long-established Hiroshima sauna to the fullest, and a new page had been added to my personal sauna history.