What determines the value of a hot spring or sauna? The quality of the facilities, the temperature of the sauna room, the purity of the cold bath water — there are countless criteria for evaluation. But location, the kind of experience you simply cannot have anywhere else, is also a powerful factor that elevates a facility into something truly one-of-a-kind. After savoring an exquisite kelo sauna at Spa & Hotel Maihama Eurasia and checking into my hotel, I spent some time lying on the bed recovering my strength. The morning sauna session had been so wonderful that I was tempted to just fall asleep then and there — but the night had its own destination waiting for me: JFA Yume Field Makuhari Onsen Yuraku-no-Sato. This facility sits along the Makuhari coastline, and from its panoramic open-air bath, you can reportedly take in a sweeping view of Tokyo Bay — Tokyo Skytree, Yokohama, and even the silhouette of Mount Fuji on a clear day. A prime seat right at the center of the bay's curve. Unable to contain my excitement about what kind of experience awaited, I burst out of the hotel. From Kaihin-Makuhari Station, I made my way to the facility on foot, the sea breeze at my back. Passing Makuhari Messe and nearing Chiba Marine Stadium, the passionate chants of Lotte fans rang out into the night sky. Spending your life fired up at a baseball game might be a perfectly wonderful way to live — but for me, sweating it out at JFA Yume Field Makuhari Onsen Yuraku-no-Sato is everything. As I approached the facility, I could see a long line of cars waiting to get in. Full house. With a location this exceptional, it's only natural that people would flock here. I had braced myself for crowds, and I walked boldly through the noren curtain. Inside, as expected, the place was packed. After checking in and barely keeping my excitement in check, I headed for the large communal bath. The moment I stepped in and shed my clothes, a stunning view of Tokyo Bay burst into my field of vision through the window beyond the indoor bath. The room was crowded with people, but the scenery was so overwhelming that such minor details ceased to matter. Moving out to the open-air bath area to check out the facilities, the view grew even more breathtaking — the coastlines of Tokyo, Kanagawa, and Chiba spread out before me in a sweeping panorama. I just wanted to sink into that open-air bath as soon as possible. Driven by that single desire, I rinsed off at breakneck speed and made my way back to the outdoor area. The tubs were crowded, but I found a gap and slipped in, securing the spot with the clearest view of the sea. The design creates something like an infinity pool effect — an illusion that the water and the ocean have merged into one. Soaking in the strong saline spring drawn up from deep underground, known as the Netsu-no-Yu (hot spring of heat), I slowly took in the scenery. Strangely, despite the crowds, they didn't bother me at all. The young man beside me, the middle-aged gentleman beside him — everyone was silently gazing at the view, quietly unwinding. Faced with a vast sea, the human heart naturally grows calm and expansive. The facilities themselves may not be very different from a standard super sento. But this extraordinary location elevates the value of this place to something entirely different. I was so thoroughly satisfied by the stunning open-air bath that, honestly, I could have left right then — but having come all this way, I decided I might as well properly enjoy the sauna and cold bath too. The sauna room is spacious enough for roughly 25 to 30 people, with the thermometer hovering around 90°C. It operates with an automatic löyly system that triggers at regular intervals. The tiered seating has little variation in height, so wherever you sit, you can warm up relatively evenly. To be honest, there's nothing particularly remarkable about it — it's a standard dry sauna. But that's perfectly fine. Here, the star of the show is the open-air bath and the outdoor rest area. I sweated thoroughly, and when I hit my limit, I headed for the cold bath. The cold bath felt somewhere around 15 to 16°C — properly cold. It's large and deep enough for about 8 people at once. I cooled my heat-soaked body in an instant, then moved back out to the open-air bath area. Sitting in the resting chair with the sea breeze washing over my whole body, the magnificent night view came flooding back into view. I've soaked in many hot springs over the years that overlook the sea or a lake, but one with such an unobstructed panorama of Tokyo Bay was an experience I'd never had in my life. Tokyo Bay was far more vast and commanding than I had imagined. Captivated by the grand view, I found it impossible to stop my outdoor rest. After the outdoor rest, I slipped back into the open-air bath and gazed at the scenery again. I happened to notice a sign reading: "If you stand on the edge of the tub, there is a possibility that your body may be visible from the sea side." I didn't mind. What mattered far more was taking in this magnificent view with every inch of my being. I lost track of time soaking in the open-air bath, then went back to the sauna, cooled off in the cold bath, and enjoyed the breathtaking outdoor rest and hot spring all over again. I had been thinking of wrapping things up early, but in the end I completed a solid 3 sets.

Once again, I am reminded that location is something truly special beyond all else. The quality of the spring water, the clarity of the groundwater drawn from the earth — none of it can be experienced without going to that specific place. The fact that there's a hot spring right in the middle of a spot where you can gaze out over all of Tokyo Bay is nothing short of a miracle. I am deeply drawn to places that offer experiences available nowhere else on earth. Carrying a deep sense of satisfaction and a heart as wide as the sea, I left the large communal bath behind. After leaving the facility, grabbing dinner, and returning to my hotel, I started sketching out a plan for the next day. This was, to put it plainly, an utterly unplanned trip — I hadn't mapped out a single thing for the days ahead. I knew which facility I wanted to visit. The question was how to get there. First thing the next morning, I was plotting to visit SATOYAMA TERRACE, one of Chiba Prefecture's premier outdoor saunas. The facility, however, is located deep in the Boso Peninsula in Futtsu City, Chiba — an almost hopeless journey by train. By car via the expressway, it's about an hour away. But if I rented a car here in Makuhari first thing in the morning, there was no way I'd make it in time for the 9 a.m. opening. Why was I so fixated on being there at opening time? Because it was a matter of life and death. Outdoor saunas are, as a rule, mixed-gender. That means couples in swimsuits and groups of young people descend in droves. Showing up in the afternoon like a straggler, a lone visitor like me would be completely out of place — a fish out of water, shrinking into the corner. Charging in the moment the doors open, soaking up the finest sauna before the couples arrive — that is the absolute key to a solo visitor enjoying the experience in comfort. After much deliberation, I arrived at a conclusion: the best plan was to take the train south as far as I could in the early morning, then rent a car somewhere convenient like Kimitsu. A flawless strategy, if I do say so myself. But I had no energy left to keep thinking. I'd had a superb sauna session at Maihama Eurasia in the morning, and in the evening I'd been swept away by the breathtaking views at Yuraku-no-Sato. It had been an extremely full day, and a ferocious wave of sleepiness was already closing in on me. I could figure out the rest in the morning. After all, I'd inevitably wake up on my own past 5 a.m. like the old man I've become. And so, feeling deep gratitude for a wonderful day of sauna adventures and the chance encounter with an overwhelming view, I drifted off into a deep sleep.