Before I knew it, I was in the car, speeding across Awaji Island.
It was just past ten in the morning. While I was drinking my morning coffee, the words Sauna DESSE in Osaka suddenly floated into my mind. The instant they appeared, that was it. I had to go. I had to go today. And so I bolted out of the house.
I hadn’t booked a room. I had no plan. This was a completely plan-free trip.
But I know myself. Even on a whim of a trip like this, by the time I get home I’ll always be wearing the face that says, that was truly the best! No schedule, no inn booked, it doesn’t matter, as long as there’s a sauna, the trip works out. If anything, having nothing decided makes it more fun. That’s what a sauna trip is.
Crossing the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, I looked out the window. The sky hung heavy and grey, and rain was falling. Most travelers would probably feel their spirits sink at a sky like that. But inside, I was grinning to myself. I know exactly how good an open-air bath feels on a rainy day.
Now, I would save Sauna DESSE for tonight’s pleasure, but there was somewhere I needed to stop by first during the day: ZIKKAI SPA in Miki, Hyogo Prefecture.
I consider this place one of the very best baths in Hyogo Prefecture. The first time I visited, I was blown away by the sheer quality of the whole place. It was so good that I decided right then I would definitely come back. And since it sits right along the road to Osaka, there was no reason not to stop.
I got off the highway at the Miki Higashi interchange, and within a few minutes I had arrived. ZIKKAI SPA sits inside Nesta Resort Kobe, a nature theme park surrounded by forests and hills. As I parked the car, the building’s familiar facade came into view, solid and imposing, carrying an air of quiet majesty.
The moment I stepped through the entrance, a soft scent of incense drifted over me. My senses were already under its spell. I checked in at the front desk and walked the long corridor toward the main bathhouse. The calm interior of wood and stone felt just like an onsen inn. With every step, everyday life fell further behind me.
Incidentally, zikkai is a Buddhist term referring to the ten states of mind, ranging from hell to buddhahood, between which the human heart wanders back and forth depending on the day and moment. This place apparently expresses those states through its various baths and saunas. So, I wondered, which state would I reach today?
I stripped off my clothes in the changing room in record time. The curtain was rising on something wonderful.
After washing up, I first warmed my body in the carbonated bath indoors. Fine bubbles clung to my skin, and warmth seeped in slowly. Now I was ready. I headed for the open-air bath.
Baths of various sizes were scattered through the forest, and a fine rain fell quietly over all of them. The leaves of the trees caught the raindrops, and the smell of earth and green rose up. If negative ions really exist, I thought, they must all be gathered right here.
It was a little chilly. Still carrying that chill, I lowered myself into the natural onsen, at roughly 40°C (104°F).
Ahhh...
The sound escaped me before I could stop it. The sodium chloride spring water wrapped around my chilled body, warming me from the core. When I breathed deeply, the fresh, rain-washed air reached all the way into my lungs.
I sat there in a daze for a while, but gradually my body warmed, and I could feel energy slowly filling my emptied-out body.
Once I had warmed up enough, I climbed the stairs to the second floor. Before I even reached the top, a smoky scent drifted down to meet me. A bonfire. In the outdoor cooling-off area, you can gather around a fire pit built like a traditional hearth. This, I thought, is the true pleasure of this place. I decided to save it in full for after the sauna and cold plunge.
I opened the door to the sauna room. At the center of the black-toned space sat a SAWO iki stove, commanding and dignified. I settled onto the middle of the wide bench and slowly closed my eyes. The smoky scent of the bonfire had drifted in here too. Heat, wood, and the smell of smoke. It felt exactly like sitting in a sauna inside a cabin deep in the forest.
Sweat gradually beaded on my skin, then began to run. Once my heart rate climbed, it was time.
The cold plunge next to the sauna room was equally perfect. The water sat at 14 to 15°C (57 to 59°F). It was large enough to fit around fifteen people, and had real depth to it. The moment I sank in up to my shoulders, my blood vessels pulled taut all at once. It was so spacious there was no worry of bumping shoulders with anyone else. In a space with no trace of crowding, I let my body cool thoroughly.
And then, at last, I sat down before the fire.
The crackle and pop of burning firewood. The rising scent of smoke. And the warmth of the flames, just enough to counter the coolness of the outside air. There is simply no better pairing than a bonfire and time spent cooling off in the open air. Whoever first thought of this combination, I believe, was a genius.
I took my eyes off the flames and looked around at the forest. The rain-soaked trees stood there quietly. For hundreds of years, people must have gathered around fires just like this, letting their minds drift. No phone. No work. No one to talk to me. There was only fire, forest, and onsen. And that alone was enough to leave a person feeling utterly fulfilled. I could feel a month’s worth of exhaustion rising into the sky along with the smoke.
From that point on, my mind was empty.
I let myself be drawn into the forest baths, heated my body in the spacious sauna room, and snapped it tight again in the large cold plunge. And then the fire was waiting. I lost count of how many rounds I did. There was no need to count.
After leaving the main bathhouse, I ordered a chicken nanban set meal at the restaurant.
After eating, I lingered for a while in the resting area, doing nothing in particular. I felt the pull of temptation to just fall asleep right there. But that wasn’t allowed. Another place was waiting for me.
The rain was still falling. I switched on the wipers and drove on toward Osaka. Tonight’s destination was Sauna DESSE in Osaka.
