My last visit to Sky Spa YOKOHAMA was on August 7, 2021. That makes it a full four years since I've been back. The reason I remember the exact date is that it happened to be the day of the baseball final at the Tokyo Olympics. I have fond memories of watching the game over a meal at the restaurant after my sauna session. Back then, I was in the middle of preparing to go independent and winding down my time at the company I worked for — I was worn out, body and soul. I'd made the trip to Sky Spa YOKOHAMA in search of some relief, and I was blown away by just how extraordinary it was.
I change into my gear at the locker and step into the large bathing area for the first time in four years. Familiar sights spread out before me. The view from the bath and sauna — an unobstructed panorama of Yokohama's skyline and harbor — is simply breathtaking.
I rinse off and warm up in the artificial hot spring. It's artificial now, but four years ago it was a carbonated bath. Things change over time. And it wasn't just the bath that had changed — there was one more sauna than before. Four years ago there was only the main sauna, but now a löyly sauna where you can pour water yourself had been added.
I start with the main sauna. From the quiet, TV-free room, the city of Yokohama stretches out before you. My eyes are naturally drawn to the view. Other guests are also taking their time, enjoying the sauna while gazing out at the scenery. The walls are lined with kelo wood, so the pleasant scent of timber mingles with the aromatic fragrance from the löyly — and with that stunning view filling the room, this space really is something special.
After leaving the sauna, I head to the cold plunge bath. It's wide and deep — the water temperature feels like around 15°C, maybe even a touch colder. I cool my overheated body all at once, then move to the rest area. I settle into one of the chairs lined up there, and even after just the first set, a deep wave of relaxation washes over me.
Once my heart rate settles down, I start the second set. This time I go into the löyly sauna. It's dim, with space for about ten people. At the very top is a prime solo seat. You can't see the view from this sauna. It's a quiet space where you close your eyes slowly and turn inward, away from external stimulation. Gradually my body heats up, my pulse climbs, and sweat begins to pour. I keep my eyes closed and breathe deeply. Someone pours water on the stones. A wave of heat engulfs my entire body all at once. Just when I feel I've hit my limit, I step out and head for the cold plunge. The moment I slip into the water, I'm yanked back to reality.
As I sit in a chair gazing out at the Yokohama cityscape, I find myself wondering why it feels so wonderful to just zone out with no sense of time. In everyday life, time is actually abundant. Some people say there are only 24 hours in a day, but my view is that there are a full 24 hours in a day. Even after subtracting 8 hours of sleep, you still have 16 hours. Of those, how many moments are truly free of thought? We are constantly bombarded by external stimuli — work, smartphone notifications — and if you actually tallied up the time when your mind is genuinely at rest, how many minutes a day would that come to? The sauna gives us the kind of rest that human beings truly need. When you're in a sauna, you're on a journey to another world. I'm still in the middle of that journey right now. There's no phone here, no computer. No one comes to talk to you. It really is a completely different world.
For the third set, I head back to the main sauna. After all, when it comes to Sky Spa YOKOHAMA, this main sauna is the heart of it. Sitting in the sauna while looking out over Yokohama — that's an experience you can only have here. Gazing at the view, I feel a sense of calm, and I find myself wanting to give myself a pat on the back. I've been working hard.
I take a cold plunge and rest, then launch into the fourth set. There's no stopping this rhythm now. I'm on a sauna high — like a runner's high — and it feels like I could keep repeating sets forever if no one stopped me. After the fourth set's rest, I'm straight into the fifth. I repeat the cycle of main sauna, cold plunge, and rest in a state of pure mindlessness. By the time the fifth set was done, I felt a deep satisfaction — a sense of this is perfect. That was my cue to finish. If you miss that fleeting shift, you lose the moment to step away. How you end things always matters.
After leaving the sauna, I head to the restaurant full of memories. Four years ago, I sat at this very counter watching the Tokyo Olympics final over a meal. I settle into what is probably the same seat. It's a story only I would understand, but there's something oddly joyful about it — like sharing the space with my past self. As I savored the ginger pork set meal, I felt a profound sense of happiness.
And with that, I have no regrets about this Kanto sauna trip. I visited the most celebrated facilities in Tokyo, Kanagawa, Saitama, and Chiba, and threw myself fully into the sauna experience. If I could, I'd come every week — that's how many outstanding places there are in the Kanto region. But if you obtained everything, life would lose its meaning. It's precisely because things remain out of reach that you find the energy to keep pushing forward so you can come back again. My sauna journey will never be complete. There will surely be places I never manage to visit before I die. That incompleteness is what life is. It's because life is incomplete that we find the will to keep going each day.
I packed up my things and left Sky Spa YOKOHAMA behind.
