After enjoying sightseeing in Unazuki Onsen, I made my way to my accommodation for the night: SPA BALNAGE. I got off at Uozu Station on the local line and took a stroll around the area. There were a lot of snack bars — almost every shop on the street was one — and you could tell the neighborhood must have been lively back in the day. I sometimes wonder what life would have been like if I'd been the type to haunt those kinds of bars, but these days I find myself in a sauna before I even realize it.
About a five-minute walk from Uozu Station brought me to the hotel. It has a distinctly upscale feel — the kind of place that hosts weddings. I checked in and headed to my room. I'd booked one on the top floor, and the windows were enormous, offering a sweeping view of Toyama Bay. It was raining that day so there wasn't much to see, but on a clear day the view must be breathtaking. Satisfied with the room, I set off for the main event: the sauna.
SPA BALNAGE is well known as a facility produced by Sasano Mikie, the daughter of Sauna Shikiji — widely considered the sacred ground of Japanese sauna culture. Taking full advantage of the location's rare ability to look out on both the Tateyama mountain range and Toyama Bay at the same time, she designed two separate saunas: one facing the mountains and one facing the sea. By swapping their availability between evening and morning, overnight guests can experience both views while they sauna. On top of that, there are two distinct types of sauna room: a Scenic Sauna, bright and designed for taking in the view, and a Meditation Sauna, dark and meant for turning inward. The cold plunge bath, too, uses 100% groundwater sourced from the blessings of the Tateyama mountain range.
Eager to experience all of this firsthand, I headed to the main bath. But expectations and reality don't always match. My first impression upon entering was: cramped. The changing room, for a start, was way too small. I suppose that's unavoidable in a hotel setting, but since the facility also welcomes day visitors, I can only imagine how chaotic it gets during peak times. There were only two hairdryer stations, set so close together that the person next to you would be blowing hair in your face. The washing area had just two or three stations as well, making a wait almost inevitable. Rinsing off before getting in the bath is basic etiquette, but there were moments when even that felt difficult.
I shook it off, washed up properly, and warmed myself in the bath. Then I moved out to the outdoor area. The outdoor space was excellent — the flow from the Scenic Sauna to the cold plunge was seamless, and there were about ten reclining chairs set up for a comfortable rest afterward.
I started with the Scenic Sauna. Inside were two small Harvia iki stoves, fitted with an automatic löyly system that kicks in overhead. The temperature hovered around 90°C. Every thirty minutes, löyly is triggered and the heat surges all at once. There's no TV — just a quiet space where you can be alone with your thoughts while gazing out at Toyama Bay. It's a really great sauna.
After working up a serious sweat, I moved on to the cold plunge. The water was around 16°C, and there was a tap beside the bath from which you could apparently drink the water. I submerged myself to cool down — and that's when something felt off. There was a faint smell of chlorine. And the tap that was supposedly drinkable had almost no pressure at all; even fully open, barely a trickle came out. If this were truly 100% high-quality groundwater, there shouldn't be any chlorine smell, and the pressure should be much stronger. Was it the water line? A mechanical issue? Was it really groundwater at all? Something didn't add up.
For my second set, I headed to the Meditation Sauna, which is located in the indoor bath area. I sat cross-legged in the dim room, closed my eyes, and meditated. The temperature was a gentle 80°C or so — comfortable and easy to settle into. After about ten minutes of meditation, the automatic löyly kicked in. I was pleasantly surprised to find this sauna had it too. The perceived heat climbed sharply and sweat poured out all at once. When I hit my limit, I decided to head for the cold plunge — but the routing was poor. The cold plunge was far away. I had to leave the indoor area, walk down a long outdoor corridor, and make my way to the other side. By the time I got there, my body had already cooled down, so I skipped the plunge and went straight back into the Scenic Sauna to heat up again.
I did one more set in the Scenic Sauna after that, bringing the total to three sets, and called it a night.
After getting out of the sauna, I settled into the adjoining lounge for a breather and decided to have dinner. Looking through the hotel's menu, I spotted a special beef tendon curry set, so I went with that. Down in the first-floor lounge, I had a delicious bowl of curry. After the sauna, my tired body soaked up every bit of those spices. As I ate, I found myself looking back on the day. I'd started the morning at FUROBAKKA, spent the afternoon sightseeing around Unazuki Onsen, and ended the evening with a sauna and a night's stay at SPA BALNAGE. Another great day.
Back in my room, I started planning for tomorrow. I was due to head to Kanazawa in Ishikawa Prefecture, but there was one place I absolutely had to visit in the morning first. Tucked quietly into a residential neighborhood in Toyama City, it was a sauna facility featuring a distinctive pine sauna and a cold plunge bath with free-flowing groundwater. Its name: Sauna Talo Toyama.
Another incredible sauna was waiting for me tomorrow. With that little flutter of excitement in my chest, I drifted off to sleep.
