And so, the Hyogo sauna journey has finally reached its last destination. Despite a tight two-day schedule, I managed to visit four facilities. It's a simple trip — nothing but hot springs and saunas — yet each place brought me into a new world, and I couldn't be more satisfied with the extraordinary time I've had.
I arrived at Koino Onsen Uhara no Yu at 6 p.m. A line of cars stretched out in front of the facility. The parking lot appeared to be completely full. After waiting a few minutes, I found an open spot. I passed through the stylish concrete entrance and made my way to the front desk. I picked up a towel and took a stroll through the facility. In addition to the large bathing area, there's a reclining lounge and a restaurant — quite a substantial operation for a super sento.
Koino Onsen Uhara no Yu draws its water from 1,089 meters underground and offers it as a kake-nagashi free-flow spring. On top of that, there's a large sauna room that can hold over 20 people, along with a cold plunge bath fed by natural spring water (groundwater). For anyone who loves hot springs and saunas, this place is absolutely mouth-watering. I stripped off my clothes at the locker room without a moment's hesitation and headed into the main bathing area. A quick scan of the indoor baths revealed that the tubs had taken on a discolored tint — the result of the undiluted spring minerals. Hyogo Prefecture is home to the famous Arima Onsen, and the discoloration here is strikingly similar. There's no doubt this is an exceptional hot spring.
First, I slipped into the outdoor bath to soak up the natural hot spring. The blessings of the earth wrapped gently around my body, healing me from the inside out. The slightly cool outside air made the warmth of the spring feel all the more pronounced. With everything working in my favor, I found myself drifting into a blissful, empty-headed stupor in the water for quite some time.
Once my body was thoroughly warmed up, I headed into my first sauna set. The sauna room runs a dual setup — a far-infrared heater combined with a convection stove stacked with sauna stones — with the temperature sitting around 75°C. Eavesdropping on a conversation between regulars, I learned that today's temperature was unusually low. Apparently it's normally much hotter. I settled onto the top bench and took my time letting the heat work through me.
A lower-temperature sauna can be absolutely wonderful. In other words, hotter isn't always better. What matters in a sauna is relaxing the body and mind, and raising your pulse to boost circulation. A lower temperature deepens relaxation, and for circulation, you simply compensate by staying in longer — the effect is the same. The sauna room was nearly packed, and quite lively. That kind of energy isn't bad at all.
After the sauna, it was time for the cold plunge. I stepped into the bath labeled Rokko Spring Water Bath. Spacious and deep enough — perfectly comfortable. A faint hint of chlorine suggested it was running through a filtration system rather than flowing freely, but the soft quality of the groundwater was unmistakable, and it cooled down my sauna-heated body beautifully. After the cold plunge, I moved outside for an outdoor air bath. I gazed up at the Kobe night sky and breathed in the fragrant scent of the natural spring water rising around me.
For me, the most relaxing moments in life are when I'm in a hot spring or sauna. There is no other time in the day when I feel this free, this at ease. Everyday life is hectic, busy, and full of stress. But if I can carve out even one hour in twenty-four to reset, I don't carry that day's fatigue into the next — and I can end every day feeling like it was the best one yet. Being able to think right now, in this moment, that things are wonderful — that's proof of happiness. With those thoughts drifting through my mind, I did three more sets, cycling through the loop of hot spring → sauna → cold plunge. If I didn't put a limit on myself, I could keep going forever — but I had the drive home to think about, so I called it there.
I usually eat at the facility itself, but since I had to get back home to Tokushima that evening, I decided to grab dinner on the way. Driving from central Kobe toward the Akashi Strait, I spotted a sushi restaurant. Wandering into a restaurant I happen to pass by is something of a personal tradition. Tonight it was sushi — and after a sauna, everything tastes even better.
Sure enough, the sushi was delicious. After feeling so good from the hot springs and sauna, then topping it off with a great meal, I found myself in that warm, forward-looking headspace: Today is ending. Thank you for another good day. It's the kind of feeling that puts you right to sleep. I still had to drive all the way back to Tokushima tonight, so I'd push through just a little longer — and work hard again for the sake of the next sauna trip.
Where should I go next? There's no shortage of places I want to visit. The journey goes on.
