The desires of a sauna enthusiast are bottomless. After spending the morning in the sauna and collapsing into a dead sleep, I would normally rest until the evening plans. But the instant I wake up and feel that my strength has returned, the first thing on my mind is, "All right, let's go to another sauna." After checking in at the hotel where I was staying, I had been sleeping like the dead. In addition to grinding through hard work on weekdays, I had experienced superb hot spring water and sauna bliss first thing in the morning at Arima Kaido Onsen Suzuran no Yu in Kobe, and the resulting drowsiness had hit me hard. But after a few hours of napping, my energy was fully restored and my head was clear. My cells were waking up again, and I was craving the next sauna. At this point, I could go back into the hot springs in perfect condition once more. Because the hotel I was staying at was near Hanshin Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, I drove toward the Naruo-hama area from there. When I opened the window, a breeze carrying a faint scent of the sea blew in. As the ocean drew closer, the building I was looking for came into view. It was Naruo-hama Onsen Kumano no Sato. This was my first visit in 10 years. I still remember the wonderful experience I had when I came here 10 years ago, back when I lived in Hyogo Prefecture. The moment I parked the car and stepped into the entrance, I could hardly hide my surprise. Everything was completely different from the scene in my memory. An automatic check-in gate had been installed, and the entire facility had been beautifully renovated. The restaurant was far larger than I had imagined, and at a glance it was clear that the whole facility had evolved. After changing in the locker room, I entered the large public bath. There, an exotic space full of Bali-style resort atmosphere unfolded before me. The bath area was also a little different from what I remembered. I found myself muttering, "Was it really this big?" From the entrance, you can look through the indoor baths to the open-air area, and several tubs using abundant natural hot spring water from underground are lined up. In the center of the bathing area, chairs are placed for resting after the sauna and cold plunge bath, so the flow is perfect. When I stepped out into the open-air area, I found a unique resort space with a touch of European style mixed in, and that open-air bath atmosphere was the one thing I somehow remembered clearly. The sauna itself also seemed to have been renewed and made new. I had nothing but expectations. Before going into the sauna, I decided to start with the signature hot spring. At Naruo-hama Onsen Kumano no Sato, you can enjoy a mildly alkaline simple hot spring with free-flowing spring water. The instant I lowered myself into the bath, a soft texture with a slight silkiness enveloped my whole body. Just a few minutes of soaking was enough to make my body warm up before I knew it. This is the power of natural hot spring water. My body became so warm that I could have gone straight to the cold plunge bath without even entering the sauna. So I decided to cool my body down with a cold plunge bath once before going into the sauna, to lower my temperature after warming up in the hot spring. In other words, a water rinse. The cold plunge bath was also spacious, with room for five people easily. At a comfortable 17°C to 18°C, it would quickly tighten up my flushed body. After wiping off my body, I finally headed into the sauna. It is a dry sauna using far-infrared heaters. It is not a stone-type sauna stove, but I like this far-infrared heater because it delivers powerful heat that reaches deep into the body. The room has three levels and can comfortably fit around 18 to 21 people. As for the humidity inside the sauna room, it does not give the impression of harsh, drying heat that stings the skin; instead, it feels very well balanced. Since it has been renovated, the interior is clean and extremely comfortable. After thoroughly heating my body, I leapt back into the cold plunge bath. Once I had cooled down properly, I moved to one of the lined-up rest chairs. Several people were already lingering there, fully unconscious, but luckily one seat was open, so I sat down. This chair was also excellent: an Italian-made NALDI Folio Relax Chair. When I entrusted my full weight to it and let all the tension drain from my body, I could feel my heartbeat, which had been pounding away, gradually settling down. This time is truly irresistible. Having regained my composure, I began the second set. From here, I started with the free-flowing spring-water hot spring. At facilities that offer high-quality hot springs, my usual flow is not sauna → cold plunge bath → rest, but hot spring → sauna → cold plunge bath → rest. Japan has long had a culture of toji, or therapeutic hot spring bathing, and hot springs are indeed special; there is no doubt that soaking in them improves the condition of the body. And the pleasure of sinking into a warm hot spring after chilling your body to the bone in a cold plunge bath is also something words can hardly describe. I warmed my body in the hot spring and then headed straight to the sauna. I received the heat of the far-infrared heaters with my whole body, and once I had reached my limit, I went to the cold plunge bath. Then I rested in the NALDI chair, soaked in the hot spring again, and went back into the sauna. Finally, I finished with the cold plunge bath. After completing this superb routine for three sets, today's sauna session was complete.

The desires of a sauna enthusiast are bottomless. After spending the morning in the sauna and collapsing into a dead sleep, I would normally rest until the evening plans. But the instant I wake up and feel that my strength has returned, the first thing on my mind is, "All right, let's go to another sauna." After checking in at the hotel where I was staying, I had been sleeping like the dead. In addition to grinding through hard work on weekdays, I had experienced superb hot spring water and sauna bliss first thing in the morning at Arima Kaido Onsen Suzuran no Yu in Kobe, and the resulting drowsiness had hit me hard. But after a few hours of napping, my energy was fully restored and my head was clear. My cells were waking up again, and I was craving the next sauna. At this point, I could go back into the hot springs in perfect condition once more. Because the hotel I was staying at was near Hanshin Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, I drove toward the Naruo-hama area from there. When I opened the window, a breeze carrying a faint scent of the sea blew in. As the ocean drew closer, the building I was looking for came into view. It was Naruo-hama Onsen Kumano no Sato. This was my first visit in 10 years. I still remember the wonderful experience I had when I came here 10 years ago, back when I lived in Hyogo Prefecture. The moment I parked the car and stepped into the entrance, I could hardly hide my surprise. Everything was completely different from the scene in my memory. An automatic check-in gate had been installed, and the entire facility had been beautifully renovated. The restaurant was far larger than I had imagined, and at a glance it was clear that the whole facility had evolved. After changing in the locker room, I entered the large public bath. There, an exotic space full of Bali-style resort atmosphere unfolded before me. The bath area was also a little different from what I remembered. I found myself muttering, "Was it really this big?" From the entrance, you can look through the indoor baths to the open-air area, and several tubs using abundant natural hot spring water from underground are lined up. In the center of the bathing area, chairs are placed for resting after the sauna and cold plunge bath, so the flow is perfect. When I stepped out into the open-air area, I found a unique resort space with a touch of European style mixed in, and that open-air bath atmosphere was the one thing I somehow remembered clearly. The sauna itself also seemed to have been renewed and made new. I had nothing but expectations. Before going into the sauna, I decided to start with the signature hot spring. At Naruo-hama Onsen Kumano no Sato, you can enjoy a mildly alkaline simple hot spring with free-flowing spring water. The instant I lowered myself into the bath, a soft texture with a slight silkiness enveloped my whole body. Just a few minutes of soaking was enough to make my body warm up before I knew it. This is the power of natural hot spring water. My body became so warm that I could have gone straight to the cold plunge bath without even entering the sauna. So I decided to cool my body down with a cold plunge bath once before going into the sauna, to lower my temperature after warming up in the hot spring. In other words, a water rinse. The cold plunge bath was also spacious, with room for five people easily. At a comfortable 17°C to 18°C, it would quickly tighten up my flushed body. After wiping off my body, I finally headed into the sauna. It is a dry sauna using far-infrared heaters. It is not a stone-type sauna stove, but I like this far-infrared heater because it delivers powerful heat that reaches deep into the body. The room has three levels and can comfortably fit around 18 to 21 people. As for the humidity inside the sauna room, it does not give the impression of harsh, drying heat that stings the skin; instead, it feels very well balanced. Since it has been renovated, the interior is clean and extremely comfortable. After thoroughly heating my body, I leapt back into the cold plunge bath. Once I had cooled down properly, I moved to one of the lined-up rest chairs. Several people were already lingering there, fully unconscious, but luckily one seat was open, so I sat down. This chair was also excellent: an Italian-made NALDI Folio Relax Chair. When I entrusted my full weight to it and let all the tension drain from my body, I could feel my heartbeat, which had been pounding away, gradually settling down. This time is truly irresistible. Having regained my composure, I began the second set. From here, I started with the free-flowing spring-water hot spring. At facilities that offer high-quality hot springs, my usual flow is not sauna → cold plunge bath → rest, but hot spring → sauna → cold plunge bath → rest. Japan has long had a culture of toji, or therapeutic hot spring bathing, and hot springs are indeed special; there is no doubt that soaking in them improves the condition of the body. And the pleasure of sinking into a warm hot spring after chilling your body to the bone in a cold plunge bath is also something words can hardly describe. I warmed my body in the hot spring and then headed straight to the sauna. I received the heat of the far-infrared heaters with my whole body, and once I had reached my limit, I went to the cold plunge bath. Then I rested in the NALDI chair, soaked in the hot spring again, and went back into the sauna. Finally, I finished with the cold plunge bath. After completing this superb routine for three sets, today's sauna session was complete.