It had been a while since I did a sauna crawl.
I called a taxi from Yuno Hana Sento Zuisho Matsumoto-kan and headed to Ringo no Yuya Obu~. I always set myself a goal of five sets for a morning sauna session. I had already done two sets at Zuisho, so three sets remained for Obu~. The taxi ride served as a perfect interval. Over the roughly twenty-minute drive, I gradually let the excitement from Zuisho settle and brought my mind and body back to a calm state.
Ringo no Yuya Obu~ was the final destination of this trip.
From the planning stage, there was a reason I saved it for last. I had a feeling it was among the finest facilities in all of Nagano. The cold plunge bath uses nano water — subterranean water from the Northern Alps refined even further with nanotechnology. And you can actually drink it. From the moment I learned that, I could barely contain my excitement. I want to end every trip at the most exceptional facility I can find. That is my personal philosophy. If you close out a journey at a truly great place, it gets sealed into your memory as a truly great experience.
I arrived at the facility. The exterior I had looked at so many times on the website finally appeared right in front of me. The moment something you have only seen on a screen becomes real — it never fails to make my heart race.
It was still morning, but there were already a fair number of people. Clear proof that the locals love this place. I bought a towel at the front desk and made my way to the main bath area. They seemed to have a good selection of original merchandise, so I decided to pick something up on the way out.
Stepping into the bathing area, fifteen different baths caught my eye all at once. A carbonated bath, jet baths, a high-concentration oxygen bath — an impressive lineup. But my purpose was clear: the sauna and the cold plunge bath. Since I had already warmed up at Zuisho, I went straight into the sauna.
For the first set, I started with Arigatou SAUNA.
It is a compact space that fits about eight people, but the sauna stove is clearly oversized for the room. That is exactly why it gets so hot. The humidity is high too. In the calm, dark-toned interior, you can do self-service löyly at your own pace — though the facility controls the timing. When the time comes, a light turns on and water is poured into the container. Whoever feels called to do it then laddles the water over the stones. I had made the mistake of sitting on the upper bench without thinking. The instant someone performed the löyly, a wave of steam came crashing over me. Sweat poured off me like a waterfall. No mercy whatsoever. I held out for a while, but I had hit my limit.
I headed for the Bincho charcoal cold plunge bath.
It felt so good I had no words for it.
The water was 13 to 14°C cold, yet so velvety smooth that I could have stayed in forever. There was almost a sweetness to it. So this is what it feels like — Northern Alps subterranean water turned to nano water. I bathed simultaneously in the water trickling down the Bincho charcoal walls and the water cascading from above like a waterfall. My whole body was being cooled down, but this was on a completely different level from an ordinary tap-water cold bath. It did not pierce the skin. It enveloped me. Velvety smooth is not even enough to describe it. It felt like the blessings of the Northern Alps were seeping into every cell of my body.
I stepped out of the cold plunge bath and moved to the outdoor relaxation space. Chairs were lined up, practically inviting me to sit down and let totonou wash over me. The moment I sat down, I noticed my skin had become incredibly smooth. Perhaps the effect of the nano water. The wind passed right through that skin, stroking it gently, and my consciousness nearly drifted away. I sat there in a daze for quite some time.
For the second set, I moved on to Otoko-mae SAUNA. Even the names of the saunas here are wonderful.
The moment I stepped in, a lovely aroma hit my nostrils. An aufguss session had apparently just finished, and the lingering fragrance still filled the room. The layered red cedar on the walls was heavy and textured, almost like a work of art. The seating was wide, offering plenty of room to sit comfortably. The temperature was around 90°C with just the right level of humidity — hot, yet with a distinct sense of pleasure. The self-service löyly at Arigatou SAUNA was great, but sitting stretched out in a spacious, open sauna had its own appeal.
As I sat there reflecting on the trip, a deep sense of happiness came over me. It had started at Sauna Shikiji in Shizuoka, passed through Yamanashi, and arrived here in Nagano. Natural water cold plunge baths at every single facility, extraordinary experiences at every single stop. I let those thoughts settle in my mind as I slowly warmed my body.
Back to the Bincho charcoal cold plunge bath.
From there until just before the third set began, I have no memory. That is how good it felt. After coming back to my senses during the outdoor relaxation, I made my way to the solo cold plunge bath in the outdoor area called Hitori Mizu. A Shigaraki ware vessel with Northern Alps nano water flowing into it constantly. I scooped up the water flowing from the spout with my hands and drank it down in one go.
Ah — delicious. So refreshing. Absolutely perfect.
The third set was in Otoko-mae SAUNA, the fourth in Arigatou SAUNA. I had originally planned on three sets, but I ended up adding one more.
With each additional set, the reality of the journey ending sank in a little deeper. At the final facility, alongside the pleasure, a wave of sadness at not wanting the trip to be over began to rise inside me. I wished the journey could go on forever, but everything must eventually come to an end. Nothing lasts forever in this world. That is precisely why I think it matters how you meet that ending. Having ended this trip at the most exceptional facility I could find, this memory is now carved into me as the greatest souvenir I could take home. I absolutely must come back to Ringo no Yuya Obu~.
After finishing four sets, I ordered Shinshu's local specialty sanzoku-yaki and a salad at the restaurant inside the facility. It was really good. The restaurant seemed popular too — full of customers and buzzing with energy. The spices from the sanzoku-yaki seeped into my post-bath body in the best way. As I finished my meal, I called a taxi. While waiting for it to arrive, I picked up some original merchandise at the shop.
On the taxi ride to Matsumoto Station, a wonderful encounter awaited me.
The driver's very first words were: "Did you reach totonou at Ringo no Yuya Obu~?" I was taken aback. I never expected that kind of question from a taxi driver. When I told him it had been absolutely wonderful, he nodded with a big smile.
"Calling a taxi all the way to a super sento — does that mean you're traveling specifically for the saunas?"
Exactly right. I told him I had been making my way through Shizuoka, Yamanashi, and Nagano, and was now heading home.
"Is that so? If you don't mind me asking, which facilities did you visit?"
I told him I had started at Sauna Shikiji, come through Yamanashi, and stayed at Shinshu Kenko Land the night before. At that, his expression completely changed.
"Really? We might have actually crossed paths. I'm a member at Shinshu Kenko Land — I went there last night and again this morning. I go every single day."
I couldn't believe it. There was a chance we had been at the same facility at the same time. Who could have imagined that on a sauna trip, the taxi driver taking you home would turn out to be a fellow sauna enthusiast?
From that point until we reached Matsumoto Station, we were deep in sauna talk. I also picked up some great tips about other wonderful facilities in Nagano. As we parted, the driver said: "I never expected I'd get to pick up a fellow sauna lover. Please come back to Nagano again. There are so many more great saunas here!"
I was genuinely grateful for that encounter.
Ending the trip at the finest facility of all. And then, on the road to the station, meeting a fellow sauna devotee. As a finale to a journey, it could not have been better.
Travel is a constant string of once-in-a-lifetime encounters. I will probably never see this driver again. If we do meet someday, perhaps that could be called fate — but realistically, the chances are slim. Feeling a quiet bittersweetness at that fleeting encounter, I boarded the train home from the platform at Matsumoto Station.
And with that, this sauna journey came to a close.
