
Kitakobushi Shiretoko Hotel & Resort UNEUNA
Hokkaido
The World Heritage Sea and an Unprecedented 3D Sauna
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.

Jul 31–Aug 3, 2026 / 3 nights, 4 days
I keep a personal list of hot springs and saunas I want to visit before I die. This journey took me to the top-ranked facilities on that list. These were places I had been looking forward to for years, yet the sheer remoteness of eastern Hokkaido made it hard to commit to the trip. I kept worrying that I would one day regret never having gone. That sense of urgency and restlessness only grew with each passing day. So I finally made the decision to go — and what followed was a series of extraordinary experiences that truly deserved the title of a life reboot. I will never forget what I encountered here. Allow me to share the hot spring and sauna experiences born from the magnificent natural landscapes of Shiretoko, Nakashibetsu, and Lake Akan.
Every stop on this itinerary was personally visited by our editors.
Read it in the order we travelled.

Hokkaido
The World Heritage Sea and an Unprecedented 3D Sauna

Hokkaido
Drifting Off in a Lying-Down Sauna, Cradled by the Forests of Shiretoko

Hokkaido
Dawn over the Sea of Okhotsk and a Sauna of Drift Ice

Hokkaido
A sauna experience report from Yuyado Daiichi in Hokkaido. Discover the ultimate immersive experience — surrounded by old-growth forest and mountain streams, featuring an open-air bath, four types of sauna, a river cold plunge, and perfect outdoor rest — where you don't just totonou, you melt.

Hokkaido
Melting into the Breathtaking Views of Akan and Its Century-Old Waters: A Supreme Sauna Experience
