I have this quirk where, if my daily life stays too monotonous for too long, I get this urge to smash it all apart. A sauna trip is the perfect remedy for that. Stepping into unknown territory, having an experience you can only have in that particular place. Even just one day of a sauna trip is enough to reboot your entire life. That morning too, the moment I woke up, I'd already decided: today, I reboot. I knocked out my work first thing, then turned the key in the ignition. Destination: Osaka.
As I cruised down the highway, my anticipation for the destination kept building. My first stop was SPA&SAUNA Mizuho Hattori Ryokuchi. Mizuho is a well-known hot spring bathing brand representing the Kansai region, but I'd heard that this particular location was a premium facility fused with the rich nature of Hattori Ryokuchi park. What kind of sauna and cold plunge awaited me? Just imagining it made me grin.
I parked the car and headed up to the second floor of the building. The instant I passed through the gate beside the shoe lockers, I felt like I'd wandered into the lounge of a high-end hotel by mistake. A refined, beautiful space, and a wonderful sense of openness. I could feel just how serious Mizuho was about this place.
Holding back my impatience, I changed clothes at lightning speed in the locker room of the large bathing area and headed inside. Inside the bathhouse, a wide variety of tubs typical of Mizuho lined the space. Following my personal rule, I first did a full check of the layout. There were three saunas and three cold plunge baths. Each sauna room had a cold plunge positioned right in front of it - the flow was perfect. The cold plunge temperatures were also extremely ideal, at 7°C, 12°C, and 15°C, with nothing lacking in either size or depth. Looking toward the outdoor area, nearly thirty relaxation chairs stood lined up in a row. On top of that, there was a natural radon hot spring rock bath, a rarity even in Kansai, with the lush greenery of Hattori Ryokuchi spreading out in front of it. What kind of facility had they built here? Having finished my layout check, I quickly washed up and began my first round.
First, the main Netsuha Hakkan Sauna (Heat Wave Sweat Sauna). The instant I opened the door and stepped in, I felt on my skin the absolute prerequisite of a good sauna: high humidity. The thermometer read 90°C, and it was a massive space that could fit around 40 people. Enormous rocky stoves sat at both ends toward the front. The width of the bench seating and the quality of the mats left nothing to be desired. What's more, the top bench had its backrest angled for comfortable leaning, and there were even wooden headrests provided. A huge TV stood at the front, making the place feel like a theater room. This is purely my personal preference, but I couldn't help wishing they'd play the drama Sa-Do instead of regular broadcast programming.
Having heated myself to the limit, it was time for the cold plunge. I dove into the largest one, the 15°C bath. It was spacious enough to comfortably fit ten people, with plenty of depth too. My body, flushed from the heat, cooled down instantly. Savoring the sensation of my blood vessels tightening, I moved to the outdoor relaxation area. With thirty chairs available, there was zero risk of wandering around lost looking for a seat to totonou in. The sheer scale of this place - I simply have no other words for it. Sauna, cold plunge, outdoor air bathing - a perfect triangle. Hats off.
For my second round, I headed to the Meiso Sauna (Meditation Sauna) in the outdoor area. Stepping inside, a dimly lit space perfectly suited for meditation spread out before me, with an incredibly pleasant scent of wood. Luckily, no one else was there - I had it entirely to myself. Closing my eyes in the silence, I slowly warmed my body.
It was then that I noticed a shift in my own preferences lately. In the past, whenever I found myself in a sauna with self-service löyly available, I would always do it - I even used to think I had to. But lately, I've found myself increasingly choosing not to do löyly, precisely so I can savor this kind of silent space instead. When you keep doing sauna trips for a long time, you start noticing these changes within yourself. That, too, is fascinating.
Having reached my limit and stepped out of the sauna room, right in front of me were two pot-shaped solo cold plunge baths side by side. The temperature: 12°C. Water was constantly flowing in and overflowing, so the water quality was outstanding. The instant I sank in, a burst of refreshing coldness shot straight up to the crown of my head. And since there were chairs right where you exit the cold plunge, I could transition to outdoor air bathing in an instant. Perfect.
As I sat there bathing in the breeze of Hattori Ryokuchi, I realized that my reboot was already complete. Enjoying a sauna you love in a place different from your everyday life - that alone is enough to feel like a journey, and to notice physical responses and shifts in mindset you'd never notice in daily life. This, precisely, is the true pleasure of a sauna trip.
For my third round, I went back to the main sauna, and for my fourth, I reset my mind and body once more in the meditation sauna. Four rounds in the morning alone. Having fully savored a supreme sauna experience, I left the large bathing area.
After leaving the large bathing area, I took a stroll around the facility. The lounge at SPA&SAUNA Mizuho Hattori Ryokuchi is luxurious to the extreme. Numerous books are beautifully displayed, and you can relax on plush sofas while indulging in reading. Following printed words after emptying your mind in the sauna must be the ultimate luxury for any book lover.
I headed to the restaurant and had curry for lunch. Curry eaten after a sauna is exceptionally delicious - the spices seem to soak into every cell in your body. My heart, my body, and even my stomach were completely satisfied.
Now then, time to head to my next destination.
Right now I'm at SPA&SAUNA Mizuho Hattori Ryokuchi in Toyonaka City, but tonight I plan to head to another Mizuho location at Tsurumi Ryokuchi. A Mizuho-to-Mizuho hop. Experiencing facilities in succession that share the same brand yet offer different settings and different amenities in different locations - this kind of touring isn't bad at all.
The journey has only just begun. In search of the next supreme experience, I climbed back into my car.
