JAPAN'S FINEST ONSEN & SAUNA
The Finest Onsen & Sauna in Japan
57 SELECTIONS
Most of what we surveyed never even made it onto this site. This book is a further cut from what did. Our editor bathed in every onsen and sauna in it, and wrote only what they confirmed on the ground.
Sep 12–15, 2025 ／ 3 nights, 4 days
A week had passed since my pilgrimage to the sacred sauna sites. I powered through the weekdays with high energy, and Friday finally arrived. That day, I wrapped up work early and headed to Yao Grand Hotel, widely revered as one of Osaka's holiest sauna destinations. And so my weekend sauna journey began. On the second day, I enjoyed Gosho Takarayu in Gose City, Nara Prefecture, and Koyaguchi no Yu in Hashimoto City, Wakayama Prefecture. On the third day, I reached totonou again at Koyaguchi no Yu in the morning, then visited Kofuku-yu and Fukuro no Yu in Wakayama City in the evening. On the fourth and final day, I experienced my very first akasuri full-body scrub at Nara Health Land, leaving my skin silky smooth from head to toe.
Every stop on this itinerary was visited in person by the Editor-in-Chief.
Read it in the order we travelled.
