Day 3 of my Hokkaido hot spring and sauna journey. When I woke up, the world outside was faintly brightening. It was a remarkably refreshing awakening. The night before, at Toya Manseikaku Hotel Lakeside Terrace, I had thoroughly indulged in superb hot springs and a hybrid löyly sauna — and before I knew it, I had lost consciousness and fallen asleep. The clock read 4 a.m. Normally I would go back to sleep, but being in the middle of a trip, and with morning sauna to look forward to, my mind was wide awake. I decided to just get up. Until around 5 a.m., I sat in my room gazing vacantly at Lake Toya, then spent about an hour walking along the lakeshore. The cool morning air filled my lungs, and the lake surface wrapped in silence was beautiful. Before long, it was time for morning sauna. I headed back to Toya Manseikaku Hotel Lakeside Terrace, just as I had the previous day, and checked in for a day-use bath. This facility rotates its men's and women's baths daily. Today being an odd-numbered date, the men's section was Hoshi-no-Yu on the top floor (8F) of the west wing — a true sky-high oasis featuring an infinity outdoor bath with a breathtaking panorama of Lake Toya and a classic self-service löyly sauna. I stepped into the elevator and headed for the 8th floor. Even the changing room offered a panoramic view of Lake Toya. And tucked at the back of the changing room was something called a "foot bath terrace" — an area where you could soak your feet while taking in the full view of Lake Toya, fully clothed. Every comfort imaginable had been thought of. I shed my clothes and entered the main bath. In an instant, the grand vista of Lake Toya spread before me through the floor-to-ceiling glass of the indoor bath. Moving to the outdoor area, I found an infinity open-air bath that gave the uncanny sensation of floating on the lake itself. And the renowned Toya Onsen water flowed into every single tub. This experience of becoming one with the lake was something I had been eagerly anticipating. After washing up, I moved to the outdoor bath. I sank into the slightly yellowish, cloudy Toya Onsen water and simply gazed at the beautiful scenery of Lake Toya spreading out before me. If I lay forward along the edge of the outdoor bath, the boundary of my field of vision disappeared, and I truly felt the infinite sensation of floating on Lake Toya. Honestly, if the human body had no such thing as overheating, I would have stayed in that outdoor bath forever. It felt as if time had stopped — or rather, as if time did not exist at all. There were several other guests besides myself, but everyone seemed to be speechless, transfixed by the view. When a person is truly at peace, they cannot hide it on their face. Feelings like "this is really beautiful" and "this feels so good" always show. Seeing the people around me through that lens, I could feel unmistakably that everyone was having an extraordinary time. Now, let's get into the first sauna set. When I entered, there were already about five guests inside. The sauna in Hoshi-no-Yu, unlike the artistic design of last night's Tsuki-no-Yu, was a classic, conventional Finnish-style sauna. The bench was L-shaped, with room for about ten people. The thermometer read 85°C, and self-service löyly was available. You could also see Lake Toya through the sauna room's window. I closed my eyes for a while and slowly let the heat build in my body. Then I heard a voice: "Gonna do löyly, yeah?" — not "May I do löyly?" but "Gonna do löyly, yeah?" — a phrasing I had never encountered before. If you're going to do it regardless, there's no real point in asking. And this kind of phrasing presupposes that everyone else loves löyly just as much and is eagerly waiting for it — a rather careless and presumptuous attitude. Having traveled to many saunas, I've come to realize that there are indeed people who don't enjoy löyly. Some people are simply not fond of the sensation of intense steam rushing toward them. More than once during my travels, when I asked "May I do löyly?" someone replied, "Oh, I'm not great with it actually..." That's precisely why facilities encourage the manner of asking for permission before doing löyly. But back to the story. Looking at who had spoken, I saw a cheerful, stocky man of about fifty who was clearly a sauna enthusiast — wearing a sauna hat inspired by the drama Sado, and a sauna watch (a wristwatch made especially for sauna lovers) on his left wrist. He also called out to the other guests with a "Here we go!" energy, clearly trying to liven up the room, and gave the impression of being a warm and generous person. The guests around him were laughing. Up to this point, there was nothing wrong. Löyly was performed, and pleasant steam rose up. In essence, that alone is what löyly is meant to be. But then the man started vigorously swinging his towel around. I understood the intention — to improve the circulation of the steam, like an imitation of aufguss — but the method was the problem. Why would anyone swing a towel that is soaked in their own sweat? The aroma was completely overpowered, and the smell of sweat was filling the sauna room. Being able to make the people around you smile doesn't mean anything goes. As my body was already well warmed up, I quietly made my way to the cold plunge bath. Here too, a cold plunge bath fed with flowing water drawn from Lake Toya was positioned right beside the sauna. It had space for about four people, and the water temperature was 12°C. First set of the morning, 12°C cold plunge. And yet there was no sharp, biting sensation — it was remarkably smooth and at the same time invigorating. Natural water drawn from the deep part of the lake reportedly maintains this coldness at all times without any chiller. Lake water really is the best. After the cold plunge, it was time for outdoor rest while gazing at the view of Lake Toya. In the outdoor area, a long bench ran along the wall, and the style was to sit on that bench for your rest. Due to space constraints, there were no reclining chairs. I sat on the bench, leaned against the wall, and let myself be drawn into the scenery of Lake Toya. The heart that had been pounding hard from the sauna and cold plunge gradually settled. I think I spent about three times as long as usual on my outdoor rest. A sweeping natural landscape really is something special. You can get lost in it indefinitely without any sense of time. You don't even mind how long you've been sitting there. Time simply does not exist here. On to the second set. The löyly man from before was gone. A fresh start. I sat on a bench with a view of Lake Toya through the window and, gazing outside, let my body warm up slowly. After a while, another guest politely asked: "Excuse me, would it be alright if I did a bit of löyly?" A complete contrast to the previous person — thoroughly gentlemanly. I replied, "Please, go ahead," and with a satisfying hiss, pleasant steam spread through the sauna room. This person did not swing their towel around either. Which is perfectly normal, of course. Once again, through the supremely pleasant cold plunge bath, and on to the timeless outdoor rest. I lost myself in the scenery indefinitely, continuing to gaze until I heard an inner voice saying, "Time to head out." When I left the main bath area, two hours had passed. I felt as though I had slipped through time.

I returned to my hotel, had breakfast, and checkout time was drawing near. It was almost time to say goodbye to Lake Toya. I knew I wanted to come back without fail, but that is not a guaranteed future. This visit might, perhaps, be my last in this lifetime. That thought left me feeling quietly moved, but the next destination was waiting for me, and I had to keep moving forward. From Lake Shikotsu to Date to Noboribetsu to Lake Toya — the journey had continued, and the end was finally in sight. The next stop would be the last. My next destination is Jozankei Onsen. It too is one of Hokkaido's premier hot spring resorts — a place steeped in history, where there is even a facility called Shika-no-Yu, named after the sight of wild deer soaking in the springs to heal their wounds. From what I researched in advance, it ranks among the very best in Hokkaido for the quality of both hot springs and sauna. There is far more there than a single trip could cover. From among the options, I chose two facilities for this visit. I am now heading to the first of them. Its name: Jozankei Manseikaku Hotel Milione. From one Manseikaku to another. My Hokkaido sauna journey is heading into its final climax.