When I was a child, my family went on a trip together. We sightseeing at temples in Kyoto and ate kushikatsu at Tsutenkaku in Osaka, then stayed at a nearby hotel. That hotel was a resort hotel with a huge pool and hot springs. I played in the pool with my father and also entered the large communal bath where you could enjoy hot springs from around the world. I remember it as a truly fun trip. Actually, that memory was from SPAWORLD HOTEL&RESORT. It's quite moving to think that my sauna journey would bring me back to that very place of memories.
I traveled from Tsuruhashi Station, where I was staying, via the Osaka Loop Line to Shinimamiya Station. From there, SPAWORLD HOTEL&RESORT is just a few minutes' walk away. From near the facility's entrance, you can see the main street of Tsutenkaku, one of Osaka's famous landmarks, in full view. I remember eating kushikatsu here as a child. Reminiscing about that, I entered the facility.
While waiting in line for automatic check-in, two women arrived behind me. They seemed to be meeting up, and Woman A said, "Let's go then!" Woman B raised her voice, saying, "Yeah, let's go! I swear, I'm about to explode!" Woman A asked, "What happened?" "He's seriously done. He cares more about his mom than me. He doesn't even look at me. Every single time something comes up, he asks his mom's opinion. Whatever I say doesn't matter—what his mom says is absolute. Just the other day, the kid caught a cold and..." The conversation continued with her fury at her husband. "That's why I want to feel refreshed today! Ugh, I want to be completely empty!" she spat out.
I think that's a wonderful choice for refreshing yourself. When something unpleasant happens, dwelling on it does nothing. Repeating sauna and cold plunge until you feel refreshed is the best solution. This woman clearly understood that. While I speculated idly about the various complications of life, my turn came up. I finished the automatic check-in procedure and went inside. It was time to part ways with the women.
The large communal bath at SPAWORLD HOTEL&RESORT has different floors available each month. There are two floors, "Europe" and "Asia," and this month (January 2026), men could use the Europe Zone. That meant I could experience the Germany area's theater sauna, which can accommodate 140 people.
After undressing in the locker room and entering the large bath area, I felt a strange sense of familiarity, though I couldn't quite place it. A bath modeled after a Roman temple came into view. I felt like I might have bathed here with my father as a child. Walking further in, areas modeled after various countries' bathhouses spread out—a Germany area, a Finland area, and more. Honestly, I was stunned by the sheer scale. I doubt there's a large communal bath this massive anywhere else in Japan.
I headed to the Germany area, home to the much-talked-about theater sauna, and stepped inside right away. For a moment, I mistook it for entering a concert hall. But the heat brought me back to reality—this was a sauna. That's how spacious it was. By far the largest sauna I've ever entered in my life. I'd heard it could hold 140 people, but it exceeded my expectations. And despite being so large, the heat convection was excellent. No matter where you sat, you could feel substantial heat. I've been in saunas that could accommodate around 100 people before, but due to their size, the heat often failed to reach the entire room, leaving me feeling unsatisfied more than once. However, SPAWORLD HOTEL&RESORT is a different story entirely. It's quite hot. Because of the sheer scale, you never feel cramped in the sauna room. You can sit with plenty of room to spare and relax in whatever position you like.
After sufficiently warming my body, it was time for the cold plunge. The scale of the cold plunge baths shocked me too. First, after exiting the theater sauna and opening the door in front of you, there's an open-air area with three types of cold plunge baths. The temperature ranges were 8°C, 15°C, and 20°C. Each had ample depth and width, and I'd estimate each could hold about 30 people. I dove into the 15°C bath, chilling myself from head to toe. After the cold plunge came outdoor rest time. The open-air area had an abundance of chairs, so no matter how crowded it got, no one would struggle to find a seat. Beyond chairs, there were also beds you could lie down on. The outdoor relaxation space is among the largest in Japan.
For my second round, I headed to the Finland area. The space, conceived around a Finnish forest theme, was unified with dim lighting, log cabins, and white birch trees placed throughout, with a pleasant scent drifting in the air. The sauna room, equipped with two units—a far-infrared heater and a stone-type heater—enveloped me in gentle heat. Whereas the theater sauna had powerful heat, this one felt gentle. There are various types of saunas here, and being able to choose the space you prefer is truly a privilege of this scale. I took my time warming my body thoroughly.
The Finland area also had its own dedicated cold plunge bath. Set at 16°C, it was as spacious as a pool. Since no one else was using it, I floated on my back with my limbs spread out, drifting for a while. It felt like floating in a lake in Finland itself. After the cold plunge, I moved to the rest area. Though calling it that is a stretch—there were no chairs, just a space where you lie directly on the ground. This, too, felt wonderful. Rather than sitting in a chair, choosing to lie down instead. This rustic, primal act deepened my memories of the sauna experience.
Since I personally fell in love with the theater sauna, for my third and fourth rounds, I repeated the loop of heating my body in the theater sauna, followed by cold plunge and outdoor relaxation. It combined an overwhelming sense of openness, spaciousness, and comfort, allowing me to relax completely. Since this was also a place tied to my childhood memories, I came to love SPAWORLD HOTEL&RESORT deeply. I'm truly glad I came.
After the sauna, I ordered katsu curry at the restaurant inside the facility. Curry after a sauna session sinks deep into your body. Savoring every bite, I finished my meal and began thinking about my plans going forward. Since tomorrow was also a day off, I could have stayed another night and continued my sauna journey, but how you end a trip matters. Just as there's a concept called the peak-end rule, it's important to end a journey at its peak.
Honestly, I don't think I could top the experience I had at SPAWORLD HOTEL&RESORT on this trip. This is the moment where my childhood memories and today's best memory linked together. My body was also in a perfectly totonou state. Without a doubt, this was the peak of the journey. If that's the case, ending the trip right at this moment and heading home seemed like the best choice.
I took the train back to Tsuruhashi Station and got into my car parked there. Grateful for these wonderful memories, I drove toward home in Tokushima. And so, this sauna journey comes to an end. I wonder what kind of facility I'll get to visit next.
