Soaking in a hot spring while gazing at a beautiful natural landscape — this is something truly special. The scenery, shaped by immense natural forces and an almost incomprehensible span of time, is something no human hand could ever replicate.
My Hokkaido sauna journey was finally entering its most exciting phase. Having savored the wild, rustic morning at Yuyado Daiichi in Nakashibetsu, I was now driving toward my next destination: Lake Akan. Along the way, I stopped at Lake Mashu to soak in that mesmerizing Mashu Blue — a shade of blue that seems to pull you in. Above me stretched a cloudless, perfectly clear sky. If conditions were this good, Lake Akan would be nothing short of spectacular. Everything about this trip was flowing too perfectly. Day one: the "sea" of Shiretoko. Day two: the "forests" of Nakashibetsu. And today: the "lake" of Akan. With each passing day, the entire atmosphere shifted dramatically, and my senses were being retuned right along with it. At every stop, I was able to fully immerse myself in experiences that could only happen in that one place.
I parked at the lot near the shore of Lake Akan and walked straight to the New Akan Hotel. My lodging for the night was at a different hotel, but there was no way I could pass up this place's spectacular sauna and famous spring water bath. I timed my arrival to coincide with the start of day-trip bathing hours, pulling up at exactly 2:00 PM.
After checking in at the open, airy atrium lobby, I made my way to the top floor — the 9th floor of the Shangri-La wing — where the panoramic grand bath awaited. Since it was right at the start of day-trip hours, the place was nearly deserted. Holding back my excitement, I stripped off my clothes in the changing room and opened the door to the grand bath, Unkai. The sight that greeted me was almost unbelievable.
Beyond a massive floor-to-ceiling glass window, the vast expanse of Lake Akan spread out in a sweeping panorama. Surrounded by deep forest and Mt. O-Akan, the glassy, mirror-still lake reflected the deep blue sky and white clouds perfectly. Born from a volcanic caldera, this lake holds a quiet yet somehow mysterious and powerful presence. There was no need to go out of your way to find a lookout point. This grand bath was the finest vantage point from which to behold Lake Akan in all its glory.
Reining in my eagerness, I rinsed off and headed first to the semi-open-air bath, which lets in the outside air. The main indoor bath was wonderful too, but I wanted to feel the natural air directly.
I sat on the edge of the open-air bath and simply gazed, mind empty, at Lake Akan stretching out before me. Faced with scenery that has probably remained unchanged since ancient times, all the petty worries of everyday life just fell away. The view I was looking at from this open-air bath in this very moment was something only this moment could offer. I burned it into my memory with everything I had, determined never to forget it.
After warming up thoroughly in the renowned waters, it was finally time for the sauna. Looking around the entire bathing area, there were only about five guests. I opened the sauna door to find zero other visitors inside. I had it entirely to myself. Targeting this quiet window before the check-in rush was absolutely the right call.
The sauna was a 90°C dry sauna. The moment I stepped inside, an indescribably pleasant aroma drifted toward me — unlike anything I had experienced before. What was this? It was nothing like the familiar scents of birch or vihta. According to the hotel's website, it was an original aromatic water blend unique to this hotel, though I couldn't find out exactly what went into it. But this unfamiliar fragrance only deepened the sense of being somewhere extraordinary.
I poured the aromatic water over the stones and did a self-service löyly. With a deeply satisfying sizzle, hot steam laden with that scent flooded the room all at once. The humidity was high, yet there was no stuffiness — just a wonderful setup that drew sweat out of you with certainty. I happened to glance up and noticed that through the sauna window, I could see Lake Akan beyond the indoor bath. Gazing at that breathtaking view, wrapped in exquisite fragrance, quietly sweating it all out — was I really allowed to indulge like this? Yes. Yes, I was.
I emerged from the sauna with a body well and truly steamed. Waiting just nearby was the cold plunge bath fed by Kushiro Akan Century Water — a water vein filtered deep underground over long years by Akan's rich natural environment. I poured some over myself, then slowly lowered my body in.
"...Ahhhh."
A sound escaped me involuntarily. Cold. But not a sharp, brutal cold. There was a mellow, overwhelmingly gentle softness to it, as if the water were tenderly enveloping my skin. Immersed in this prized water infused with the gifts of the earth, I could feel my flushed blood vessels cinch tightly and every last cell in my body cry out in joy.
From there I moved to the open-air space and sank into a reclining chair. With the spectacular view of Lake Akan directly ahead, a cool breeze off the lake drifted over my entire body. I closed my eyes, and the lingering scent of that original aroma from earlier mingled with Akan's crisp air, filling my lungs all the way to their depths. Perfect.
The second set was, naturally, just as magnificent. The original aroma that filled the sauna room was truly one of a kind — something you could only find here. A scent I had never encountered at any other facility. This is the very essence of travel: accumulating, one by one, experiences that can only happen in a single, specific place. That accumulation is what makes life rich.
I cooled myself again in the sublime cold plunge of Akan Century Water, then let the open-air rest dissolve me into the sky above Lake Akan. Gazing at the blue stretching on without end, I felt myself shrink into something small and insignificant — and strangely, that felt wonderful. The pleasure of letting go of the ego in the face of nature's greatness. This is why sauna travel is impossible to give up.
Reluctant as I was, I decided to wrap up my sauna session at the New Akan Hotel after two rounds. Under normal circumstances I would push on for three or four, but today that simply wasn't an option.
My final destination for the day was right there, just steps away: a facility renowned throughout Hokkaido for its world-first, one-of-a-kind sauna alongside a panoramic view of Lake Akan. Its name: Akan Yuku no Sato Tsuruga. In fact, I had already been able to see its impressive building from the open-air bath at the New Akan Hotel. A few minutes' walk, at most.
Dragging my body — completely finished off by the exquisite aroma and the century-old water — I set off toward the next sauna, the last one of this journey. The finale of my sauna trip was finally about to begin.
