「Kobe Sauna & Spa」 - A Visit

Kobe Sauna is a special place for me. I've visited countless times over the years, marking precious moments of my life at this Kobe Sauna. Looking back, I first came to Kobe Sauna when I was a senior in high school. I had managed to get tickets for the summer Koshien high school baseball championship final, so I was going with a friend. Since we wanted good seats, we needed to stay overnight, line up early the next morning, and dash for spots as soon as the gates opened. Since staying out overnight required parental permission, I explained the situation to my parents. When they asked, 'Where are you planning to stay?' I answered, 'We're planning to stay at Kobe Sauna.' I was confident this would be approved. Why? Because it's my father's favorite sauna. My father is a sauna enthusiast. I came to love saunas through his influence. Since his son wanted to stay at his father's cherished place, I thought there was no way they'd refuse. Sure enough, they gave their approval without hesitation. When I contacted my friend, he had also gotten permission from his parents. On the day, two nervous high school students barely managed to complete check-in and headed to the locker room. It was also our first time staying at a capsule hotel. We had no idea about the layout. Isn't the large bath on the same floor? Looking at the guide signs, we learned the large bath was on the upper floor. 'Looks like the large bath is upstairs,' we said to each other and headed naked toward the elevator. At this point, we had made a major blunder. At Kobe Sauna, you must wear paper shorts when moving from the lockers. The reason is that you pass by the reception desk, making you fully visible to female staff. That's why paper shorts are provided in the locker room. We had completely missed this. Without caring that the receptionist was looking at us with an expression of 'Are these guys serious...?' we headed to the large bath. And thus, we enjoyed our first-ever Kobe Sauna experience. After that, when I went to university in Hyogo Prefecture, I visited Kobe Sauna many times during my college years. The space, aroma, sauna, cold bath, food, staff, capsule rooms, massage services - everything at Kobe Sauna is of the highest quality. Even when I became a working adult in the Kanto region, whenever I came to Kansai, I would stay at Kobe Sauna. It's a place of memories, and I absolutely love Kobe Sauna. I've gotten a bit carried away with the introduction, but on this day, I was at Kobe Sauna from 9 AM until evening. The previous night, I had achieved the ultimate totonou at New Japan Umeda, but for a certain reason, I was feeling terribly down. The musty smell of the hotel had prevented me from sleeping well. My sense of smell, which had already detected the 'stench' at check-in, became even more acute after achieving totonou at New Japan, and the moment I entered the hotel room, I involuntarily grimaced. However, since I had made the reservation, I convinced myself to stay and reluctantly went to sleep. But I woke up several times during the night. As a result, I couldn't get refreshing sleep. To get from this state to the best mood possible, I thought I had no choice but to go to 'Kobe Sauna,' my place of memories, so I headed from Osaka to Kobe. Upon entering the facility, I was enveloped by that familiar, wonderful aroma. And above all, it felt calming. It was like coming to my home sauna. After completing reception, I moved to the lockers. I properly put on paper shorts and moved to the large bath on the upper floor. Since that incident, I always make sure to wear paper shorts when moving around. After entering the bathing area, I cleansed myself and soaked in the natural hot spring. Then came the long-awaited sauna. For the first two sets, I worked up a good sweat in the Finnish sauna and chilled my body to the bone in the 11.7°C cold bath. Then I liberated myself with outdoor air bathing. Personally, this Finnish sauna ranks number one in my favorite sauna rankings. It's that comfortable and allows for proper sweating. For the third set, I decided to receive löyly in the main sauna. While being healed by the aroma from the sauna stones, intense heat waves rushed over me. I heated my body to the limit and went straight to the cold bath. I finished the third set with the 11.7°C cold bath, and my morning sauna session was complete. After leaving the sauna and relaxing in the reclining area, I became quite hungry. Timing-wise, it was just when lunch was starting.

The food at Kobe Sauna is also delicious. On this day, I ordered ginger pork and fried chicken. The flavors deeply penetrated my post-sauna body. The rice was delicious. What a blessed life this is. And at a place of memories, no less. After finishing the meal, I took a nap in the reclining room. What a luxurious way to spend time. And by napping, my energy was restored. Should I do another three sets at Kobe Sauna, or try a different facility? After thinking for a few minutes, a moving experience at that facility came flooding back. In an instant, my destination was decided: 'Arima Kaido Onsen Suzuran Hot Spring.'