By night, the streets of Hakata carry the scent of desire. By morning, they fall completely still. The whole city seems to be sleeping. I wandered through that quiet early-morning Hakata, making my way toward Sauna Yogan Fukuoka Tenjin, the stage for my morning sauna session. Sauna Yogan Fukuoka Tenjin is located on the 9th floor of Heiwadai Hotel Tenjin, a business hotel. There are two sauna options: a public sauna and a private sauna. The public sauna is for men only, while the private sauna is reservation-based and open to all genders. I walked in right as they opened at 7:30 a.m. As I was changing, I noticed the lockers were cramped. Since there weren't many people around, it wasn't a problem — but I imagine three people sharing the space at the same time would feel pretty uncomfortable. From there, I moved to the large bathing area where the sauna is located and took stock of the layout: the sauna, the cold plunge bath, the rest area. Getting a feel for where everything is before you start is genuinely important if you want to enjoy the sauna to its fullest. Wandering around confused mid-session is a surefire way to lose the mood. I rinsed off in the shower and headed into the sauna. Sauna Yogan Fukuoka Tenjin is a sauna-focused facility, which means there's no warm bath like you'd find at a typical sento. So I went straight into the sauna without warming up in hot water first. For reference, there are two types of sauna to enjoy here: 1. Yogan (Lava) The room temperature approaches 100°C. The walls are lined with lava rock, which has excellent heat-retention properties. Two stoves — a far-infrared stove and a Finnish-style sauna stove — work together to generate powerful, intense heat. 2. Yakyo (Night Echo) A sauna built around sound, featuring high-end speakers. Self-service löyly is available. I decided to start with Yakyo. It's a compact room that fits about five people, and since it was early morning, I had it all to myself. I poured water over the stones right away, raising the humidity with a self-service löyly. At around 85°C, it's just the right temperature for a first session of the day. With no TV, I focused my attention on the sound coming from the high-end speakers, and before long I was sweating nicely. It felt like every cell in my body was waking up. After the sauna, I slipped into the cold plunge bath. The water temperature was 9°C — brutally cold. Jumping into 9°C water first thing in the morning is a serious shock to the system, but I steeled myself and got in. Ten seconds was about all I could manage. I do want to flag something about the cold plunge bath that bothered me enough to put it in writing. The handrail installed at the entrance to the tub was not properly attached to the bathtub — it was unstable and, frankly, dangerous. When I grabbed it and put my weight on it to step in, it nearly toppled backward. The same issue came up getting out: the handrail wobbled as I gripped it to climb the steps, and I could easily see someone taking a fall. I rested in the relaxation area for a while, then headed into Yogan for my second set. This room holds about fifteen people and gets seriously hot. The heat convection and humidity management are impressive — apparently a steam generator keeps the humidity at a constant level. The walls are also lined with lava rock, and the whole room has a thoughtfully crafted feel. The atmosphere inside the sauna room is comfortable, and there are benches long enough to stretch your legs out, so you can enjoy the space in different ways. No TV here either. The quiet lets you sit with the heat and turn inward — exactly the kind of sauna I like. I got back into the 9°C cold plunge bath. Hitting single-digit water temperatures during a morning sauna gives you an almost electric jolt of wakefulness. Feeling sharp and alert, I called it a wrap on my morning session.

By night, the streets of Hakata carry the scent of desire. By morning, they fall completely still. The whole city seems to be sleeping. I wandered through that quiet early-morning Hakata, making my way toward Sauna Yogan Fukuoka Tenjin, the stage for my morning sauna session. Sauna Yogan Fukuoka Tenjin is located on the 9th floor of Heiwadai Hotel Tenjin, a business hotel. There are two sauna options: a public sauna and a private sauna. The public sauna is for men only, while the private sauna is reservation-based and open to all genders. I walked in right as they opened at 7:30 a.m. As I was changing, I noticed the lockers were cramped. Since there weren't many people around, it wasn't a problem — but I imagine three people sharing the space at the same time would feel pretty uncomfortable. From there, I moved to the large bathing area where the sauna is located and took stock of the layout: the sauna, the cold plunge bath, the rest area. Getting a feel for where everything is before you start is genuinely important if you want to enjoy the sauna to its fullest. Wandering around confused mid-session is a surefire way to lose the mood. I rinsed off in the shower and headed into the sauna. Sauna Yogan Fukuoka Tenjin is a sauna-focused facility, which means there's no warm bath like you'd find at a typical sento. So I went straight into the sauna without warming up in hot water first. For reference, there are two types of sauna to enjoy here: 1. Yogan (Lava) The room temperature approaches 100°C. The walls are lined with lava rock, which has excellent heat-retention properties. Two stoves — a far-infrared stove and a Finnish-style sauna stove — work together to generate powerful, intense heat. 2. Yakyo (Night Echo) A sauna built around sound, featuring high-end speakers. Self-service löyly is available. I decided to start with Yakyo. It's a compact room that fits about five people, and since it was early morning, I had it all to myself. I poured water over the stones right away, raising the humidity with a self-service löyly. At around 85°C, it's just the right temperature for a first session of the day. With no TV, I focused my attention on the sound coming from the high-end speakers, and before long I was sweating nicely. It felt like every cell in my body was waking up. After the sauna, I slipped into the cold plunge bath. The water temperature was 9°C — brutally cold. Jumping into 9°C water first thing in the morning is a serious shock to the system, but I steeled myself and got in. Ten seconds was about all I could manage. I do want to flag something about the cold plunge bath that bothered me enough to put it in writing. The handrail installed at the entrance to the tub was not properly attached to the bathtub — it was unstable and, frankly, dangerous. When I grabbed it and put my weight on it to step in, it nearly toppled backward. The same issue came up getting out: the handrail wobbled as I gripped it to climb the steps, and I could easily see someone taking a fall. I rested in the relaxation area for a while, then headed into Yogan for my second set. This room holds about fifteen people and gets seriously hot. The heat convection and humidity management are impressive — apparently a steam generator keeps the humidity at a constant level. The walls are also lined with lava rock, and the whole room has a thoughtfully crafted feel. The atmosphere inside the sauna room is comfortable, and there are benches long enough to stretch your legs out, so you can enjoy the space in different ways. No TV here either. The quiet lets you sit with the heat and turn inward — exactly the kind of sauna I like. I got back into the 9°C cold plunge bath. Hitting single-digit water temperatures during a morning sauna gives you an almost electric jolt of wakefulness. Feeling sharp and alert, I called it a wrap on my morning session.