When I'm doing weekend sauna trips, I start getting that restless itch around Wednesday.
I'm a full-blown sauna addict, so I go every day even on weekdays. But visiting the same place every day eventually gets stale. The human brain is wired to get bored when it stays in the same environment. By doing weekend sauna trips, I always have fresh stimulation — and whether I'm at a destination sauna or my home sauna, I can always achieve a truly transcendent totonou.
This week too I worked hard and energetically, but I hadn't decided where to go yet. I opened Google Maps and started narrowing down my options. There was one place in Osaka that had been on my radar for a while: Yao Grand Hotel, famous for its historic Yao natural hot spring and known as a sacred spot of Osaka sauna culture. I wondered if I could build a whole sauna trip around this hotel as the starting point. Looking at Google Maps, Yao Grand Hotel is in Higashi-Osaka, which means easy access toward Nara. Maybe the next day I could head to Gosho Takarayu, another place I'd been curious about for some time. The plan was coming together. I'd figure out the rest tomorrow. For now — enjoy the hot spring, have a good meal at Yao Grand Hotel, and sleep soundly.
I finished work at 4 p.m. and jumped in the car. I drove across Awaji Island, passed through the Kobe waterfront expressway, and entered Osaka. The expressways through Kobe and Osaka were seriously congested. I pushed through the traffic jam patches and headed toward Higashi-Osaka. I arrived at Yao Grand Hotel at 7 p.m. The building I'd seen so many times in books and magazines was right there in front of me. A hotel steeped in history, with a retro vibe that's absolutely irresistible.
After checking in, I headed to my room. I'd booked a third-floor Japanese-style room for the night. When the elevator doors opened, it felt like a completely different world from the front lobby. An unidentifiable smell hit my nose. Walking down the dimly lit hallway, the atmosphere got increasingly eerie. Lights were switched off all over the place. It felt like a school building at night — like a ghost could appear at any moment. Was I the only guest on this floor? At one point I tried to use the floor's bathroom, but it was pitch dark and I couldn't even find the light switch. I was starting to doubt myself — this is supposed to be a historic hotel, right? — and finally made it to my room. The key turned with an unpleasant groan, the door swung open, and a wave of warm air washed over me. I switched on the air conditioning immediately and got ready to head to the large communal bath.
Being a weekday evening, the bath area was nearly empty. In the spacious baths, there were only about ten of us including me. Multiple large bathtubs were lined up, every single one flowing with natural Yao hot spring water. I later spoke to a staff member who told me that even the cold plunge bath uses the same spring water, chilled and kept flowing.
I washed up and sank into a tub blending the free-flowing natural spring water with herbal medicinal essence. The temperature was around 38–40°C — deeply relaxing. The rich mineral content of the hot spring seeped through my skin and warmed me from within. A truly exceptional hot spring makes the body respond. Blood circulation picks up, and the skin becomes noticeably smoother.
Before heading to the sauna, I decided to do a quick dip in the cold plunge bath first. The cold plunge bath at Yao Grand Hotel is wide and deep. Even on a busy day, I doubt there'd ever be a queue. And the water quality is outstanding — the gentle, enveloping softness against my skin was genuinely moving. Right after check-in I'd been a little rattled by the smell and lighting on the floor, but I was starting to forget all that.
After cooling down in the cold plunge, I decided to try the Yao-Matagi. For those who don't know: at Yao Grand Hotel, right next to the cold plunge bath there's a scalding hot tub at around 50°C. Alternating back and forth between the two — straddling between them — is what's known as Yao-Matagi (literally "Yao straddle"). I gave it a casual try, but the hot tub was so brutally hot that I could only manage to dip my feet in. As if to show me how it's done, a stocky guy built like a professional wrestler stepped in and performed a masterful Yao-Matagi right in front of me. Our eyes met a few times, and he communicated with his gaze: this is how you do it.
My Yao-Matagi attempt ended in failure, but I shook it off and headed into the sauna. I dried myself off and stepped inside. It was a dry sauna in the old-school Showa strong style — temperature around 100°C. The benches were wide enough that I could sit cross-legged with room to spare. I sweated it out while watching TV, and when I hit my limit, I made straight for the cold plunge.
I submerged myself fully in the wide, deep cold plunge and let go. For a sauna enthusiast, a spacious cold plunge bath is an absolute joy. No waiting, no rushing — you cool down at your own pace. A cramped cold plunge forces you to think about the next person waiting, which is distracting. You end up not cooling down enough. No such worry at Yao Grand Hotel. After cooling down thoroughly, I settled into a nearby chair. I repeated this for 3 sets, and that wrapped up the sauna session for the day.
I was pretty hungry, so I decided to eat at the restaurant inside the facility.
After much deliberation, I ordered the chicken nanban set meal. I handed my meal ticket to the not-so-friendly staff member and checked which sauna I was planning to visit tomorrow while I waited. Before long, the food arrived. The miso soup soaked into my post-sauna body. Then I took a bite of the chicken. Delicious. That blissful moment had arrived again. I polished off the chicken nanban set meal in a state of pure mindfulness. Well then — after a natural hot spring, a sauna, and a satisfying meal, there's nothing left to do. I'll relax in the room and get some sleep. I watched TV until around 10 p.m., and when drowsiness came for me, I fell into the world of dreams.
The next morning I woke up at 5:30 a.m. feeling refreshed. I lazed around until about 6, and then it seemed the morning sun had risen — the outside lit up all at once. Time to get up. I sat up, washed my face, brushed my teeth, and headed out for my morning walk. Whether I'm at home or on a trip, the routine from waking up to the morning walk never changes. It's a habit I've kept up for years. I learned from a book that getting solid sunlight and a morning walk keeps your drowsiness arriving at the same time every night and leads to better sleep — and indeed, my daily rhythms haven't been off in years. I go to bed at the same time, wake up at the same time, every single day — a life of clockwork regularity. At work, some people describe me as a robot in the best sense of the word.
After the morning walk, it was time for the morning sauna. This is something you can't experience in everyday life. I don't have a sauna at home, and my home sauna is closed at this hour. At Yao Grand Hotel, you can enjoy the hot spring from as early as 5 a.m. I headed to the large bath and, as always, washed up first. That morning I wasn't in the mood for the sauna, so I did 2 sets of hot spring and cold plunge. Nice and leisurely.
Even on a sauna trip, there are moments when you don't crave the sauna. That morning was one of them. My body was asking for a long, quiet soak in the hot spring. Listening to that voice is also part of what makes a sauna trip a success. Success isn't about hitting as many facilities as possible. It's about maintaining your body and returning home in better shape than when you left. I always keep this in mind. I move as my body asks. So sometimes, right after setting out on a trip, I'll feel: that's enough for today, I want to go home. When that happens, I skip the sauna and head back. Cultivating the habit of not going against your true feelings — I believe that's one of the most important things for living a good life.
I got a bit off track there, but after enjoying the morning hot spring, it was time for breakfast. A Japanese-style set meal with grilled salted salmon as the centerpiece — I couldn't put my chopsticks down. I was in great shape, the breakfast was delicious, and I felt like I could go anywhere, do anything. That kind of mental state was coming over me. I went back to the room and lounged for a while. That lazy morning time at a travel destination is one of my favorite things. Eventually, with check-out time approaching, I set out for my next destination.
Next up: Gosho Takarayu, the legendary sento sauna in Gose City, Nara Prefecture.
