The morning after my transcendent experience at Ogaki Sauna, I woke up at 5 a.m.
I had gone to bed at 10 p.m. the night before. Seven hours of sleep, and I felt absolutely great. Stepping outside for a morning walk, the temperature was 25°C — a hint of autumn in the air. The pleasant coolness soothed me as I switched my body on with a brisk walk. After about an hour, I returned to the hotel, took a shower, and headed to the breakfast hall. I fueled up on a meal made with carefully selected Gifu Prefecture ingredients. After all, my destination today was Sauna Shikiji. I had to arrive in perfect condition, fully prepared.
After a great night's sleep and a nourishing breakfast, I checked out of the hotel. I boarded a train at Ogaki Station bound for Nagoya. Being a Saturday, it was packed. About 30 minutes later I arrived at Nagoya Station, then hopped straight onto a Hikari Shinkansen and pulled into Shizuoka Station an hour later. I made a beeline for the taxi stand and told the driver, "Sauna Shikiji, please." I wanted to get there fast. I could barely contain my excitement — I felt like an elementary school kid on a field trip. Before long, the building I had seen in so many magazines came into view. Just like the day before at Ogaki Sauna, arriving at a place I'd seen in TV dramas and magazines sent my excitement through the roof. I stepped out of the taxi feeling like the main character of a drama.
First, I took a photo of the exterior (for the thumbnail), then headed to the front desk. I had studied the check-in process from the TV drama "Sado" in advance — fumbling around here would be unworthy of a true sauna enthusiast. I received a packaged towel and indoor wear, then headed to my locker. I stripped off my clothes at lightning speed and made my way to the main bath area. The exact scene I'd seen in Sado unfolded before my eyes. There were already plenty of people there, but everyone's eyes were sparkling. They must have been feeling the same thing I was — completely intoxicated by the fact that they were here, at the sacred ground, actually enjoying the sauna.
I desperately wanted to jump straight into the cold plunge bath, but I held back and started as always — by washing myself. Then I moved to the herbal bath to slowly warm up my body. Shikiji tends to get attention for its sauna and cold plunge bath, but their herbal baths are equally impressive. Apparently they travel all the way to Korea to source herbs, blending them with domestic varieties. The combination of the soft groundwater and the herbs felt absolutely wonderful — a true baptism by the sacred ground.
After warming up thoroughly in the herbal bath, I still held off on the cold plunge and headed to the high-temperature sauna. The thermometer read 110°C. Seriously hot. But there was no pain whatsoever. It's a Finnish-style löyly sauna, so the humidity is high and the atmosphere is surprisingly comfortable. Even so, after about five minutes, beads of sweat were pouring off me and my heart rate was climbing. Sensing I was nearing my limit, I decided it was time for the cold plunge.
I took a deep breath and felt genuine gratitude for being about to experience this legendary cold plunge bath. I eased in slowly from my feet up to my shoulders. The softness was unreal. I'd read countless reviews over the years saying you could stay in Shikiji's cold plunge forever, and now I understood why. After soaking for about two minutes, my body had cooled down nicely, and it was time for the ritual I had been dreaming of: drinking the water from the cold plunge bath. I cupped the overflowing water from the inlet with my hands and drank it in one go. The words "This is seriously incredible..." escaped my lips involuntarily. I could feel my insides being purified, from my throat downward. A guy roughly my age nearby caught my eye, and I shared the moment with him: "This is seriously the best, right?" He knew exactly what I meant.
For my second set, I decided to take on the herbal steam sauna. I'd done my homework on this one too. Apparently the steam is so intensely hot that you should cover your face. Peering in from outside, I could see almost everyone had their faces wrapped in towels, leaving only their eyes uncovered. I prepared myself the same way and stepped inside. An intense blast of hot steam hit me simultaneously with an overwhelming herbal aroma. Bringing my nose close to one of the herb bags, I caught a rich, curry-like fragrance. I wanted to breathe in all that health-giving herbal steam as deeply as possible, but it really was scorching, so I took it in little by little. About five minutes in, I'd hit my limit. The miracle cold plunge bath — my oasis — was waiting right in front of me. I rinsed off the sweat and surrendered myself completely to the cold plunge. I was so blissfully comfortable I nearly lost consciousness. Just like the first set, I cooled down while gulping the water down. This time I murmured, "God, this is incredible." Listening carefully, I could hear the word "incredible" echoing from all around me. I felt that this place — this atmosphere included — was truly a sacred ground.
Afterward, I did one more set each of high-temperature sauna & cold plunge and steam sauna & cold plunge. Four sets in total — my sauna session at the sacred ground was complete. I relaxed in a reclining chair for a while, and then came the moment I'd been waiting for: mealtime. Time to dig into Shikiji's legendary ginger pork set meal. I really do keep ordering ginger pork set meals wherever I go.
The ginger pork at Shikiji was outstanding as well.
The moment I took the first bite, I was overcome with gratitude just to be alive. It happens every time — after the sauna and cold plunge, your body is in peak condition, and then you sit down to a delicious meal. Honestly, with this in life, everything feels right. And I got to do that ultimate routine at the sacred ground itself. There is no greater satisfaction.
After the meal, I took about an hour-long nap. Sauna takes quite a bit out of you physically, so at any facility with reclining rooms, I always try to nap and recover. Besides, I still had one more place I wanted to visit that day. While planning the trip, I had been researching sauna facilities in Shizuoka Prefecture. I discovered that accessible from JR Fuji Station, there was a facility where you could enjoy naturally flowing spring water from Mt. Fuji. That facility was Fujisan Tennen-sui SPA Sauna Takanoya.
I changed my clothes, bowed respectfully to Sauna Shikiji, and climbed into a taxi toward my next destination.
To be continued.
