Over the years, I've visited countless sauna facilities. Among them, the ones that make me think "I absolutely have to come back!" all share something special — a defining feature you simply can't find anywhere else. Megumi no Yu in Kakamigahara City, Gifu Prefecture, has exactly that in the form of what I'd call Japan's finest herb sauna, and after my visit I seriously considered moving to Gifu. If I could live in Kakamigahara and build my weekly sauna routine around the following dream schedule, I could happily stay in this city for the rest of my life.
Monday: Ogaki Sauna
Tuesday: Megumi no Yu
Wednesday: Ogaki Sauna
Thursday: Megumi no Yu
Friday: Ogaki Sauna
Saturday: Megumi no Yu
Sunday: Megumi no Yu
On this particular day, I had spent the morning at Hakusanyu Rokujo in Kyoto, soaking in their free-flowing groundwater cold plunge bath, before making the two-hour drive to Gifu Prefecture. I crossed Shiga Prefecture from Otsu through Kusatsu to Maibara, then entered Gifu and cut across it from Yoro to Ogaki to Kakamigahara. I arrived around 4 p.m., so I checked into my hotel first. When I turned on the TV, a Chunichi Dragons game was on. It looked like the retirement game for pitchers Okada and Sobue. Takahashi Hiroto was pitching with incredible intensity, trying to send the two veterans off in style. Part of me wanted to keep watching, but I had somewhere I needed to be. Megumi no Yu was waiting for me.
I drove about fifteen minutes and arrived at Megumi no Yu. The exterior, which I'd seen in sauna magazines, came into view. As soon as I walked through the entrance, the scent of herbs filled the entire building. At that moment, my sense of smell was completely taken over.
Megumi no Yu is a hot spring facility that also operates its own herb garden. They cultivate over thirty varieties of herbs there, blending them seasonally and offering the results in their baths. The facility even has an in-house research lab, where they reportedly bring in doctors to test which herb combinations produce the deepest relaxation effects on the human body. It's through that kind of dedicated effort that visitors get to enjoy the very best herb blends. And the herbs aren't limited to the baths — the restaurant inside serves herb-infused dishes, and you can also purchase original products like herb bath salts and herb seasonings. Search every super sento in Japan, and you won't find another one growing its own herbs on-site. When it comes to herbs, this place is without question number one in Japan.
I suppressed my excitement as best I could and headed to the main bath area. Even the spacious changing room was filled with the scent of herbs. Stepping into the bathing area, I was greeted by a generous, open space. The first thing that caught my eye was the free-flowing groundwater cold plunge bath. Yes — free-flowing groundwater here too. But Megumi no Yu's water is on another level entirely. It's a blend: the underground water from Mount Ibuki mixed with local groundwater, creating a luxurious free-flowing combination. A posted water quality analysis showed it contains far more minerals than commercially available drinking water. The tub is also wide — there's no queue for the cold plunge. And diving under is explicitly allowed. That alone is remarkable. It's only possible because the abundant free-flowing groundwater constantly overflows, feeding in a continuous stream of fresh water. What is this place? It's not just the herb side — this facility is at the very top of Japan across the board. By this point, there was simply no containing my excitement — and I hadn't even bathed yet.
I took a seat in a shower booth to rinse off. On closer inspection, even the shampoo and body wash appeared to be original house-brand products. I picked them up and gave them a sniff — a lovely herbal fragrance drifted up. I cleaned myself thoroughly, and finally the moment had come to enjoy the baths. I decided to head straight to the sauna. After all, the centerpiece of Megumi no Yu is the fresh herb löyly sauna — you can enjoy löyly with live herbs harvested from their own farm. The instant I stepped into the sauna room, I was wrapped in the scent of herbs. And as luck would have it, the automatic löyly started just one minute later. A large pour of water hit the sauna stones, and the resulting steam carried the herbal fragrance throughout the entire room. What a sauna this is. Even mid-löyly, I could breathe in deeply through my nose and simply enjoy the aroma.
The sauna room itself is outstanding. It's large enough for around forty people, and while there is a TV, the sound was off. Nobody was talking inside. There's also a steamer-like device to help manage the humidity in the room — a thoughtful touch to keep the air from drying out. Even the walls were remarkable. Most saunas have bench backs meeting the wall at a 90-degree angle, but here the walls are angled, allowing you to lean back deeply. I sat there genuinely moved, thinking about how brilliant whoever designed this place must be.
After the sauna, I rinsed off and plunged headfirst into the free-flowing groundwater cold plunge bath. It felt absolutely incredible. The water temperature was around 18°C. Natural water cold plunge baths move me every single time — there's something so incredibly smooth and mellow about them. I could stay in forever. I think I was in for about three minutes. Because the tub is so large — easily fitting ten or more people at once — with no wait, you can take your time to your heart's content.
After cooling down to my core, I headed to the outdoor area for some fresh air. The feeling was so good I nearly lost consciousness entirely. The bliss of the sauna and cold plunge combined with the way the herbal fragrance was soothing my senses made an enormous difference. I drifted off to somewhere else for a while, but consciousness gradually crept back. And then — a faint scent of mugwort reached me. I followed it and found a lying-down bath area where you could soak in a tub blended with natural mugwort and herbs. I lay down in an open spot. Instantly, the scent of mugwort took over and all the tension drained from my body. A lying-down bath is a tub where you can soak while lying flat, and this was without question the best lying-down bath I'd ever experienced — nothing else even came close. The perfect temperature, the dim and quiet atmosphere, the sound of flowing water, the fragrance of mugwort and herbs — I nearly lost consciousness while still soaking. Losing consciousness in a bath was a first for me. Is this what supreme relaxation actually feels like? I knew it was time for my second sauna set, but I couldn't bring myself to get out. I couldn't even sit up.
I finally managed to stand and, overwhelmed by how good everything felt, sank into a nearby chair. The autumn breeze touched my body, still warmed from the lying-down bath, and totonou washed over me again. I realized that Megumi no Yu lets you build your own unique set: fresh herb sauna → cold plunge → outdoor air bath to reach totonou, then mugwort lying-down bath → outdoor air bath for totonou all over again. I decided to make that one set and enjoy three more.
In the end, I did four sets in total — about two hours. It might have been the first time in my life I'd ever relaxed so completely and spent that long enjoying a bath. I left the main bathing area in the best mood imaginable.
I was absolutely starving. From what I'd looked up beforehand, the restaurant inside Megumi no Yu also gets high marks, with a number of dishes making generous use of their own cultivated herbs. Having enjoyed herbs in the bath, I figured I'd continue enjoying them through food and made my way to the restaurant.
I was torn between curry and a fried chicken set meal, but went with the fried chicken set. The chicken was seasoned with five different herbs, each with its own distinct flavor and aroma. It was delicious — perfect for recharging after the sauna. For dessert, I ordered a fresh herb tea, and it was so extraordinary it left me speechless. Even the way it was prepared was wonderful: after taking your order, they go out to the on-site farm to pick the herbs and select the very best available that day. Before drinking it, I thought I'd enjoy the aroma first — and I realized I had never in my life had an herb tea that smelled this good. Just inhaling the fragrance alone felt worth the price of admission. When I took a sip, the flavor was every bit as wonderful as the scent, and I could feel the herbal essence seeping into every cell in my body. On top of that, herbs promote blood circulation, so as I drank I could feel my body warming up more and more. It was like the improved blood flow you get from soaking in a hot spring — something I could actually feel happening in real time. Another first.
Following my personal rule of buying something whenever a facility genuinely moves me, I picked up an original Megumi no Yu strap and some herb salt. Then I left Megumi no Yu and returned to my hotel just after 9 p.m.
Back at the hotel, I was reading when — whether it was the relaxing effect of the herbs or something else, I couldn't say — a floating sensation came over me, followed by a wave of sleepiness. I set my book on the nightstand and turned off the light. I lost consciousness at the same moment.
Tomorrow is the final day of my Kyoto-Gifu sauna trip. I already know where I'm headed. This will be my second visit. The destination is about thirty minutes by car from Kakamigahara — a facility some call a sacred ground: Ogaki Sauna.
To be continued.
