I arrived at Kanazawa Station in the early afternoon to a torrential downpour.
I had originally planned to visit Kenrokuen Garden, but the rain was so heavy that going out was out of the question.
Forced to change my plans, I decided to check into my accommodation for the night early. On a day like this, the right move is to hole up in the hotel, skip the sightseeing, and spend your time doing round after round of sauna. The area around the station was incredibly crowded, and I was genuinely surprised by the sheer number of foreign tourists. Was I in Kyoto? That's how many there were. Kanazawa is a city steeped in history, so perhaps that explains the popularity.
I took a local bus from Kanazawa Station and got off at the Matsushima bus stop. After walking for a bit, a massive building came into view — Terme Kanazawa, Natural Hot Spring Relax Park, one of the largest health resorts in the Hokuriku region. I checked in at the front desk and headed to my room. For a hotel attached to a health resort, the room was surprisingly spacious and comfortable. The bedding was a bit lacking, but that aside... it was already past 4 p.m., and with nothing particular to do, I decided to head to the main bath.
The main bath at Terme Kanazawa was enormous. Free-flowing hot spring baths were scattered all around, and despite the considerable crowds, the space was so vast you never felt cramped. There were also two saunas on offer: the Stadium Sauna and the Classic Sauna. The Stadium Sauna fits over 30 people, and the Classic Sauna can hold around 20. As for the cold plunge bath, it uses free-flowing groundwater from the Hakusan mountain range — and the water pouring from the tap right into the bath is clean enough to drink straight. There's truly exceptional water sleeping beneath this ground.
I started by soaking in the free-flowing hot spring. The water was a rich brown color, with a smooth, almost lotion-like texture. Despite the mild temperature of around 38°C, my body warmed up beautifully. I decided to head straight to the cold plunge bath from there. It's always the same — when I soak in a high-quality hot spring, my body warms up so thoroughly that I almost don't even need the sauna. The minerals in the source water must be something else.
The cold plunge bath was wide and deep, with taps mounted along the side walls, water gushing in with tremendous force. I moved over to one, cupped my hands, and took a big gulp. Wild. Delicious. Smooth. The water temperature was around 18°C — comfortable enough to stay in indefinitely. And I hadn't even been in the sauna yet, but my body was already completely under its spell.
Pulling myself together, I headed to the Stadium Sauna. The exterior was striking — a sign blazing with neon lights that made me feel like I was walking into a nightclub. Inside, the space was shaped like an octagon cut in half, with four iki stoves sitting at the center. At the top of each hour, all four perform a simultaneous löyly. Vents near the top of the room distribute the steam throughout the entire space. The setup was impressive.
After heating my body thoroughly, it was time for the cold plunge — as always. I felt the gift of that groundwater on my skin and found myself genuinely grateful to be having such a good time. After the cold plunge comes the outdoor rest, of course, but there were so many people that not a single chair was free. Oh well, I thought. To be honest, the outdoor rest area and its quality don't matter all that much to me. As long as I can relax for two or three minutes after getting out of the cold plunge, anywhere will do. I walked over to the washing area, sat down on a stool, and rested. It's the Ogaki sauna style, but even like this, totonou comes just fine.
For the second set, I headed to the Classic Sauna. The path from the sauna to the cold plunge bath was quite long — poor flow — but I decided to let that go for now. There's no TV in this sauna, and you can do self-löyly. It's a quiet space designed for turning inward and sitting with yourself. A pleasant herbal scent drifted through the room, and I was settling into a real sense of calm — when a group of people walked in, chatting loudly among themselves. I had a bad feeling, but tried to act unbothered. Surely they'd go quiet once inside the sauna, I thought — but they kept on talking. Pointless chatter about some woman or another. In situations like this, I make it a rule to leave the sauna room immediately. I don't want to breathe the same air. Some people seem to endure it, but I can't. I'd rather soak in the hot spring than sit there accumulating stress.
Since I was only half warmed up, I moved straight over to the Stadium Sauna to sauna-hop. The Classic Sauna had already served as my warm-up, so I started sweating almost immediately. Then the automatic löyly kicked in on top of that, and all the unnecessary thoughts just disappeared. Moving was definitely the right call. Afterward, I headed to the cold plunge to cool down, and once again drank deeply from the natural spring water.
After spending the evening in superb natural hot springs, sauna, and the cold plunge bath, I felt completely refreshed. And with that refreshment came hunger. The real reward of sauna is the meal that follows. Terme Kanazawa has an excellent selection of restaurants. I was in the mood for meat, so I headed to the yakiniku place. Solo yakiniku is perfectly normal for me at this point — I've lost count of how many times I've done it. Tonight I wanted good meat and plenty of it, so I splurged on a wagyu assortment and fried rice.
The high-quality meat gave my post-sauna body the energy it needed. The fried rice was loaded with garlic and absolutely delicious. My breath the next morning would be a concern, but since I had no one to talk to, there was nothing to worry about. What if I had an unexpected encounter? Even if I did, anyone would walk away if my breath smelled. Not worth thinking about.
With my stomach happily full, I went back to my room and fell into a deep sleep. Tomorrow is the last day. I have to make it all the way back to Shikoku. Over the course of this Hokuriku sauna trip, I managed to enjoy sauna at six different facilities. Tomorrow should just be the journey home... but there was one more place in Ishikawa Prefecture I had wanted to visit. It's a 20-minute walk from Terme Kanazawa — a historic sento with 100% free-flowing hot spring water, a sauna that the owner has obsessed over, and a drinkable cold plunge bath fed by free-flowing groundwater. A place where introverts and yakuza alike can find their bliss, side by side.
That place is Kinjo Onsen Motoyu.
It opens at 6 a.m., so I decided I'd head over as soon as I woke up — and drifted off into dreams.
