It was approaching the second evening of my Nagoya sauna trip.
Since I'd be heading home tomorrow, tonight was my last night. I already knew where I was going: Sauna Eagle, a men-only sauna facility in Chiryu, Aichi Prefecture. It's a well-known spot where you can enjoy two types of saunas (a main sauna and a meditation sauna) and three types of cold plunge baths (7°C, 16°C, and 30°C).
I drove over from my hotel and arrived around 8:00 PM. I picked up my locker key at the front desk and headed to the bathing area. Right when you walk in, the main sauna is on your right — and an aufguss event happened to be in full swing. Three staff members were working together to fan the heat waves through the room, and the sauna looked seriously intense. Even the staff were swaying on their feet.
I took all that in from a distance and started by washing up and soaking slowly in the artificial hot spring. The feeling that washes over you — another day drawing to a close — was right there. After warming up for a while, I headed into the main sauna after the aufguss event had finished. The air was thick with the scent of aroma and heavy with humidity. The thermometer read 85°C, but it felt closer to 100°C. I let the heat sink slowly into my core. Inside a sauna room, your mind can't wander too far. It's so hot that your awareness naturally turns to your own heartbeat and sweat. You let go of the mental noise and focus entirely on the state of your body. I love that feeling.
Just outside the main sauna is the cold plunge bath. A sign read: "If you rinse off thoroughly, you're welcome to submerge." I was deeply grateful. Submerging your whole head in the cold water lets you cool your entire body evenly. Since your head gets heated in the sauna just like the rest of you, going fully under gives you a much more refreshing sensation. At that point, it was confirmed: this place is a legendary facility.
Most Japanese bathing facilities prohibit submerging your head. The main reasons are hygiene concerns and infection control. But if the water is kept in active circulation — constantly overflowing out of the bath — anything unclean gets flushed away and the water stays fresh. At Sauna Eagle, fresh water is constantly being supplied and old water continuously drained. The circulation is excellent. You can tell that real thought has gone into this.
After the cold plunge, I moved to the indoor relaxation area, lined with chairs. There were plenty of them. You can feel the design intent — nothing about the setup lets that precious post-plunge window go to waste. I sat in a chair for a while, completely zoned out. Reflecting on the trip, daydreaming about where to go next. By the time those thoughts settled, my heart rate had come back to normal. Time for the second set.
For the second set, I headed to the meditation sauna. It's a bit of a walk from the cold plunge, which slightly interrupted the flow, but the moment I stepped inside, the design stopped me in my tracks. The room was dim, and the atmosphere was the kind that would make even a restless person want to meditate. There were also two special seats — wooden benches shaped like reclining chairs where you could lie down and enjoy the sauna. When I walked in, both happened to be free. I didn't hesitate for a second. I stretched out.
In Japan, it's standard to sit upright in a sauna. Facilities that let you lie down are genuinely rare and precious. Lying back in a sauna just feels incredible. At first, a soothing warmth spreads evenly across your whole body, and then gradually you feel your pulse quicken. Because the heat reaches every part of you equally, you don't get that sensation of your head overheating while the rest of you lags behind. You can warm up slowly and thoroughly. The meditation sauna at Sauna Eagle is around 70°C — not too hot. It's designed so you can relax and enjoy the heat at a comfortable level. The main sauna hits you hard with serious heat; the meditation sauna wraps you in gentle warmth. You can feel the care that went into every element — the space, the temperature, the humidity.
For the third set, I went back to the main sauna for a strong blast of heat, then moved from the 7°C cold plunge to the 16°C cold plunge in a cool-to-cool alternating bath. For the fourth set, I returned once more to the soft heat of the meditation sauna. In all, I did two sets in each sauna — four sets total.
Day two was done, and strangely enough, I felt better than when I'd set out. That's how it always goes on a sauna trip. Normally, traveling wears you out. But a sauna trip actually restores you. You have the most incredible experiences, and your mood just keeps lifting. Every trip brings a new facility, and every facility brings a different experience. On a sauna trip, you never encounter the same thing twice. There are still so many places I want to go. My list of facilities to visit has nearly 400 entries on it. If time and money allowed, I feel like a sauna journey could go on forever. I'll keep pushing forward so I can keep this wonderful adventure going. With those thoughts in mind, I got in the car and drove back toward my hotel.
