Gifu, Nagoya, Mie, and then back to Nagoya. Going back and forth on the map, I finally reached the final destination of the trip. After leaving Shinme no Yu and returning to Nagoya, I was feeling a little tired as expected. I went into a cafe, had a coffee, finished some shopping. All that remained was the sauna. I counted the facilities I visited on this trip: Shin Gifu Sauna, Mitsumine Natural Hot Spring, Yudokoro Minori, Shinme no Yu. All of them were wonderful. And one last long-established place remained. I had been to Nagoya many times before, but I had never been inside this longtime spot. I hopped into a taxi and said, Sauna Fuji, please. When I arrived and was taking photos of the exterior, I noticed a hitsumabushi restaurant across the street. Isn't that a Nagoya specialty? My sauna meal was decided. To finish the trip with a Nagoya specialty felt like an incredibly perfect ending. Sauna Fuji opened in 1997 and underwent a major renovation in 2022. It is a long-established men's sauna in Sakae. The building extends down to the fourth basement level. Having a sauna in an underground space is great. There is a thrill like sneaking into a secret base. A man's romance. The relaxation lounge is as wide as a hall, and it feels much more upscale than I expected. I took the stairs down to basement four. The moment I entered the large bath, I gasped at the scene before me. In the dim lighting a 20 m-long gigantic pool lay across the center of the space. Behind it rose a rock installation inspired by a waterfall, and with a roar a huge volume of water poured into the pool. Rows of chairs for resting lined the poolside, and men who had just come out of the sauna sat in various postures, sunk into their own states. Everyone seemed to be in a state of totonou. I had visited other facilities with pools, but none I recall had crafted their worldview this thoroughly. The lighting reflecting on the pool surface, the roar of the waterfall, the texture of the rock face — the immersion made me forget I was four levels underground. Just looking at it, I already felt satisfied. There are three types of saunas. The main Men's Sauna is a vast space for up to 40 people and triggers a triple automatic löyly every hour on the half hour. Komorebi Löyly is a quiet room with no TV. Subtropical Steam is a lower-temperature steam sauna. The cold plunge baths are 13°C Deep Sea Water and 22°C Shallow Water. The variety is more than enough. First set. I entered the Men's Sauna without hesitation. The room had a modern atmosphere, and shortly after I sat down the triple automatic löyly began. It was long. At roughly two-minute intervals three löyly blasts were delivered, while air was blown from the front. The TV image switched to a bonfire and the lights dimmed. Gradually, the waves of heat invaded the sauna. Sweat poured like a waterfall, yet somehow it wasn't unbearable. It was a pleasant sensation of being slowly driven to the edge. The triple pattern is exquisite, changing the room temperature in stages. It was fascinating. I immersed myself in the 13°C Deep Sea Water and headed to the poolside. I sat in a chair near the waterfall. The roar hit my ears and the spray lightly touched my skin. The sense of openness was overwhelming. It was hard to believe I was in basement four. I barely held back a voice. To have this level of satisfaction in the first set — when the final stop of the trip hits the mark, the whole journey shines. For the second set I chose Komorebi Löyly. In the TV-free room a vihta hung on the wall. In contrast to the Men's Sauna, a quiet time flowed. There happened to be no other guests, so I stretched my legs on the top bench and relaxed. Steam from löyly descended from three vents in the ceiling, and true to its name Komorebi, heat came gently from above. It felt almost meditative. After the cold plunge, I returned to the poolside. I closed my eyes and listened to the waterfall. I could repeat that flow forever. For the final set I tried Subtropical Steam first, but besides being low-temperature there was a slight smell that bothered me. To be frank, it wasn't to my taste. I left after a short time, regrouped, and returned to the Men's Sauna. Just then a staff-led aufguss was being held, filling the room with excellent heat. It was the perfect heat to crown the trip. One concern, however, was that a floorboard in the sauna room had split. It created a pitfall that could cause injury if stepped on carelessly. Staff attended to repairs, and people from the front desk rushed over to check. I headed straight for the cold plunge with that in the corner of my eye and finished my final set of the trip.

I went into the hitsumabushi restaurant across the street. The Nagoya specialty soaked into my totonou body. Getting clean in the onsen and saunas, feeling totonou, and eating delicious food with that refreshed body — just these things can make life happy. I think that moments when you eat great food are the true pleasure of being alive, and a sauna trip is exactly that repetition. It only brings happiness, never misfortune. That's why I can't stop. I started the trip on a Friday night and visited five facilities in two nights and three days. There was not a single identical experience at any of the places. Everything was fresh, everything was once-in-a-lifetime. I returned to Nagoya Station and boarded the shinkansen wrapped in great satisfaction. While watching the scenery outside the window, I found myself already thinking about the next trip. Really, what a problem. This trip is hereby concluded.