The day before, I had indulged in the finest relaxation at a hot spring facility in Sanda City, Hyogo Prefecture, and naturally enjoyed a wonderfully restful sleep. I woke up feeling great, took a morning walk, then headed to the hotel restaurant for a leisurely breakfast. After returning to my room and getting a bit of work done, I decided to head to my destination for the day: Kawanishi City, Hyogo Prefecture.
As I was driving from Sanda to Kawanishi, it started to rain. On a typical leisure trip, rain would dampen your spirits. But on a sauna trip, the weather doesn’t matter at all. Rain or shine, what needs to be done stays the same: soak in the hot spring, warm your body in the sauna, cool off in the cold plunge bath, and rest. Repeat. This cycle, repeated over and over, is what makes life truly wonderful.
Today, I carry out this ritual at SPA Kisela Kawanishi. After checking in at reception, I make my way to the main bathing area — and it’s a long walk. That just speaks to how large this facility is. There’s also a gym on-site, and gym members can use the bathing area for free. As of November 2025, the highest-tier membership plan is 16,830 yen per month (tax included). Assuming 30 days in a month, even if you only used the baths every single day, that works out to just 561 yen per day. If I could access a top-quality sauna every day at that price, I’d sign up in a heartbeat if I were a Kawanishi resident.
I undress in the locker room and enter the bathing area. First things first: get the lay of the land. There’s an indoor section and an outdoor section, with an impressive variety of baths. But what really stands out is how well-stocked the sauna lineup is. There are three saunas in total: a main sauna that could easily fit 40 people, a cabin-style sauna where you can do self-service löyly, and a barrel sauna. Cold plunge baths are placed in both the indoor and outdoor areas, and conveniently, they’re located right next to the saunas — excellent flow.
I start with the main sauna. The four-tiered bench has generously wide seats, so you can sit back and truly relax. I settle into a comfortable cross-legged position, close my eyes, and turn my attention inward. Here it comes again — that time. Strangely, I never get bored of “going into the sauna.” With most things, doing the same thing every day gets old. But not this. The reason is simple: it just feels incredible. The soothing warmth the moment you step inside, the exhilarating rush of the cold plunge after your body is fully heated, the floating sensation while resting on the bench. It’s a pleasure that never gets old.
After pushing myself to the limit in the main sauna, I slide into the cold plunge bath right next to it. It’s wide and deep — a blessing. A cramped plunge bath makes you self-conscious of other bathers, and you can’t fully settle in. I breathe slowly, letting my body cool down. Once out of the cold bath, I move straight to the resting bench. This is where the ultimate relaxation begins. As always, I completely lose consciousness.
After coming back to reality, I move on to the self-service löyly sauna. This one has a cabin-like structure — dark inside, no TV. Talking is prohibited too. I slowly close my eyes and drift into a meditative state. By focusing on my breath, everyone else fades away. Time seems to slow down naturally. In that moment, it feels like my own private world.
After leaving the self-service löyly sauna, I ease into the outdoor cold plunge bath and transition straight into outdoor air bathing, savoring every moment of relaxation. SPA Kisela Kawanishi doesn’t just excel in saunas and cold plunge baths — there’s also ample space set aside for resting. That means I can run through the sauna → cold plunge → rest routine without any stress. A truly outstanding facility.
After the sauna, I enjoyed a meal at the restaurant inside the facility and got some work done in the co-working space. Before I knew it, evening was approaching, and the countdown to my next destination had begun. On the way home from Kawanishi back to Tokushima, there was a hot spring I absolutely wanted to stop at. That place is Koino Onsen Uhara no Yu, located near JR Sumiyoshi Station in Higashinada Ward, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture — famous for its source-fed open-air bath (extremely rare) drawing from 1,089 meters underground, and a cold plunge bath using spring water from the Rokko mountains.
