Kyoto is Japan's most famous tourist destination — yet Ruma Plaza was surprisingly uncrowded.
Gion was packed with people, each of them heading somewhere with purpose. A temple, perhaps, or a stretch of historic streetscape, or one of those cultural experiences you can only have in Kyoto. I was walking among them, blending into the crowd. But our reasons for being in Kyoto were fundamentally different. I had come for the sauna.
Ruma Plaza sits right in the heart of Gion. It's on the main shopping street, and if you're not paying attention, you'd almost certainly walk past it without a second glance. But I didn't miss it. I spotted its distinctive exterior and headed inside. At the front desk, I told them I was there for the sauna and checked in.
I changed in the locker room and made my way to the main bathing floor. Since it was my first visit, I did a quick walkthrough to get my bearings. Entering the main bath area, the main sauna was on the right, and just outside it sat an enormous cold plunge bath. The rest of the floor offered the usual hot bath options — jet baths, plain hot water, and the like. Near the entrance, a staircase led up to an outdoor area, and climbing it revealed an open-air relaxation space overlooking the Gion streets, a Finnish sauna with self-service löyly, and two cold plunge baths at different temperatures. Another staircase continued upward to the rooftop, and when I reached the top, the heights of Gion greeted me. Nothing blocked the view — a full 360-degree panorama of Kyoto stretched out in every direction. With no glass panels either, anyone in a nearby building who looked this way deliberately — with binoculars, say — would have an unobstructed view of some very naked people. I was lost in the sheer openness of it all when a chill ran through me. Right — I hadn't even washed yet, let alone been in the sauna.
I headed back down, cleaned myself up, and entered the main sauna room. The spacious interior housed two sauna stoves. That's when something caught my eye: tucked into one corner of the sauna room was a single lying-down space where you could stretch out flat. It was free, so I moved there immediately and enjoyed my sauna session lying down. The one downside was that the wooden headrest was scorching hot. I hadn't layered a towel over it, and nearly burned myself.
After warming up in the main sauna, I stepped into the massive cold plunge bath right in front of it. It seemed fine to submerge fully once you'd rinsed off the sweat. This is what it means to be called Kyoto's number one facility. For any sauna lover, being able to fully submerge in a cold plunge is pure bliss. From my toes to the top of my head, I was completely, crisply cooled. The bath itself was wide and deep — practically big enough to swim in. Superb on every count.
For my second set, I headed up to the Finnish sauna in the outdoor area. There was a generous supply of towels set out in front of the sauna room — a thoughtful touch I was grateful for. Stepping inside, the atmosphere was darker and more dramatic than the main sauna. The wood used in the interior was close to black, which suited the mood perfectly. Since this was a self-löyly sauna, the humidity was extremely high. Sweat was pouring out of me almost the moment I sat down. High humidity really does make a difference in how the heat gets into your body — it's a completely different experience. I'm sure the design is intentional. Impressive.
The flow to the cold plunge was seamless here too. There were two cold plunge baths right outside the Finnish sauna — one at 15°C and one at 20°C. Without hesitation, I stepped into the 15°C bath and let my body cool down. Afterward, I relaxed in the fresh air, gazing up at a brilliant blue sky and out across the Gion streetscape. A large crowd had gathered near the entrance of Yasaka Shrine just below. I found myself wondering: if I shouted "Hey!" from up here, would any of them look up? Probably not — most of them had no idea there was an incredible sauna right above their heads, so they'd have no reason to trace the sound. I let that thought drift away as I savored the outdoor rest in wonderful, refreshing air.
For my third set, I heated up again in the Finnish sauna, took another cold plunge the same way, and finished off my morning sauna session gazing down over the streets of Gion.
After eating at the restaurant inside the facility, I was hit by an overwhelming wave of drowsiness. I moved to the reclining room to take a nap. The amenities beyond the main bath area were excellent, and I was genuinely thankful for that. I was sleeping soundly when a loud cough jolted me awake. Someone had settled in next to me at some point, and they seemed to be the source of the noise. It was a deeply unpleasant way to wake up, but I'd managed to get a solid nap in, so my energy was restored.
Well, that was all I needed from Kyoto. I'd had my fill of the long-awaited Ruma Plaza, so I decided to head back to Osaka. For the night, I had a hotel booked near Tsuruhashi Station in Osaka. Tsuruhashi is often called Osaka's Korean town, and it's a lively neighborhood packed with yakiniku restaurants and all kinds of dining spots. Why was I staying in Tsuruhashi? My interest was fixed on a particular facility. A super sento that draws sauna enthusiasts from all over Osaka is located in Tsuruhashi — and that facility is Ten'nen Onsen Nobehu no Yu Tsuruhashi Branch.
