Yesterday I spent a thorough sauna session at Shinagawa Sauna until 1 a.m., and with a bit of sleepiness I was heading toward Saitama Prefecture. When you go to bed late, even if you manage to secure your usual amount of sleep, you rarely feel fully refreshed. In situations like that you need to jump into a sauna in the morning to wake up properly. From today I plan to stay in Tokorozawa City. There are several top-tier facilities in Tokorozawa that I have wanted to visit for a long time. One of them, widely regarded as one of the largest spa resorts in the Kanto area, is called Onsen Balcony King & Queen (Onsen Barukonī King & Queen), and that's where I'm headed. I transferred at Ikebukuro Station to the Seibu Ikebukuro Line and aimed for Kotesashi Station. This was my first time visiting Tokorozawa in my life, and if it weren't for my sauna travels I would probably never have gotten off at Kotesashi. Saunas open up new destinations and life experiences. It's a very moving thing. A free shuttle bus runs from Kotesashi Station, and I boarded it. When I arrived and entered the facility I found a gorgeous interior; the open, hall-like space is set up for dining and drinking. The main bath area is further inside, and the corridors are illuminated with lighting effects that make your heart race just walking through. Excited, I changed and entered the main bath to check the layout. The large bath area is divided into indoor and outdoor sections. The indoor baths include a natural hot spring combined with a carbonated spring, a jet bath, a löyly sauna using Fuji lava stones, a 23°C source-fed cold plunge bath, an 8°C cold plunge bath, and a −20°C freezing room—just the indoor area alone is more than enough. Each bath and sauna is also very spacious, so even when it's busy you won't have any trouble. The outdoor baths include a herbal sauna, an enormous 18°C cold plunge bath, a natural hot spring, a silk bath, earthenware tubs, and a relaxation area with more than 20 chairs. The outdoor area alone is on the scale of a full-fledged super sento, and it is undoubtedly among the top facilities I have ever visited. I cleansed myself and soaked in the indoor natural hot spring mixed with carbonated spring. Many facilities offer only carbonated baths, but it's rare to have the carbonated water mixed with a naturally gushing hot spring from the site. Perhaps because of that, I started feeling warm throughout my body within a few minutes. I then headed straight to the 23°C cold plunge bath to cool off. The cold plunge also uses onsen water, so it felt very smooth and refreshing. I hadn't even been in the sauna yet, but at that moment I already felt totonou — in a state of perfect relaxation. First I enjoyed the main sauna, the Fuji Lava Löyly Sauna. This sauna uses lava stones from Mount Fuji on the sauna stove, so you can feel the energy of Japan's iconic mountain. The sauna room has seven tiers and can seat more than 40 people. The steps are large, and the higher you go the more intense the heat. For my first set I sat around the middle tiers to gauge things, but it was still more than hot enough, over 90°C. The top tier is probably over 100°C, so I'll challenge that later. I slowly sat on the bench, and after only a short time I was convinced this was a wonderful sauna. The seating is very wide, so you have a lot of freedom in posture—you can meditate or even stretch. The sauna mats are plush and extremely comfortable. They are also replaced frequently, so you can use clean mats; I happened to watch the staff replace them and they were very thorough, laying them out neatly to every corner, which showed how much attention they pay to the mats. Many facilities do mat replacement sloppily, so that impressed me. The scent in the sauna room was also superb. A notice on the wall explained that they pay attention to aromatics and offer different aromas each day. Humidity control is excellent too: within minutes of entering I was sweating profusely, and that was due to the humidity. Regular löyly sessions keep humidity high, improving heat transfer and efficiently warming the body. The TV volume was very low as well, which is considerate for those who want to concentrate and reflect. With all these qualities of a great sauna, I ended up giving a long explanation. I was getting hot, so it was time to go to the cold plunge. When I stepped from the sauna room into the outdoor area, I was greeted by the huge 18°C cold plunge bath. It might be better described as a pool rather than a standard cold plunge. It allows swimming, diving under, and even jumping in—fulfilling every wish a sauna enthusiast might have. The water is 2 m deep, so most people can't touch the bottom. I rinsed off and dove in as if plunging into a lake. My whole body cooled, and I was wrapped in a refreshing and overwhelming sense of liberation. It was my first time entering such a large cold plunge. You won't find many facilities around Japan with a cold plunge this huge and exhilarating. After leaving the cold plunge I moved to the relaxation area and sat down in a chair, and the instant I did I blurted out, "This is amazing! It feels incredible!" I usually try not to make noise in public, but when I'm overwhelmed by such a powerful sensation I make an exception. Other guests were also shouting things like "Yes!" or "Awesome!" after exiting the cold plunge, so it was fine. That's how good it felt. At the relaxation area I completely lost awareness for a moment and didn't even know what time it was, but when I came back to myself I headed for a second sauna set. For the second set I tried the herb steam sauna. The room was filled with the scent of natural herbs, and the instant I entered I had the urge to take a deep breath through my nose—and I did. The scent was wonderful. Even though it's a steam sauna, the temperature was as high as 90°C, so it was extremely hot. After about five minutes I reached my limit and dove back into the huge cold plunge. Onsen Balcony King & Queen (Onsen Barukonī King & Queen) really impressed me with both its onsen and saunas, but the massive outdoor cold plunge was the most shocking thing—its refreshing power was extraordinary. In the end, I repeated five sets of sauna and cold plunges that day, and I jumped into the huge cold plunge many times.

After feeling great from the sauna it was time to eat. Onsen Balcony King & Queen (Onsen Barukonī King & Queen) also has an astonishingly large restaurant area—more substantial than a shopping mall food court. You can enjoy dishes from more than 20 shops, many of them popular, so you could even call it a food theme park as well as a hot spring and sauna facility. From among them I went into a Japanese restaurant called Sansui Somoku (Sansui Somoku). I ordered both a ginger-pork set meal and chicken nanban at the same time, and the staff shot me a look that said, 'How much are you going to eat?' but I finished everything in one go. I was able to fully recharge the energy I had spent in the sauna. Now I had to meet someone, so sadly it was time to say goodbye to Onsen Balcony King & Queen. However, the place where I'm staying tonight is also a very famous sauna in Saitama Prefecture. It's just a few minutes' walk from Tokorozawa Station and is called BadenGarden.