Japan’s Own Way to Sauna: Three Saunas and a 35°C Hot Spring at an Onsen Ryokan
- 投稿日：
- 2026年10月25日
Saunas are very popular in Japan right now. You warm up in the sauna, cool down in a cold bath, and rest in the open air. Repeat this, and your body and mind feel clear and light. In Japan, this feeling is called “totonou.”
The sauna was born in Finland. After it came to Japan, it evolved in its own way: the idea of “totonou,” the fun of löyly, where you change the humidity yourself, and the combination with onsen hot springs. Just as the animals of the Galápagos Islands evolved in their own way, the sauna took on a form all its own in Japan, a group of islands in the Far East.
A common way to “totonou” in Japan is about 10 minutes in the sauna, about 1 minute in the cold bath, and about 5 minutes of rest. You repeat this three times.
In Japan, people also call this “Sa-do,” a play on “sado,” the Japanese tea ceremony. Sauna lovers search for their own best “totonou,” as if they were mastering a traditional art.
The saunas at Tofuya Ryokan were made by our 7th-generation owner, a sauna lover himself. We have three different saunas and a 35°C hot spring. You can choose the way to “totonou” that suits your mood and how you feel that day.
1. A real sauna just for two: “Tsurukame”
“Tsurukame” (crane and turtle, symbols of long life) is a private sauna, by reservation only. It holds up to two people, so couples can go in together.
The stove is made by Tylö of Sweden. You can pour water on the hot stones yourself, which we call “self-löyly,” and choose from five aromas. The sauna room has two tiers, and the upper tier is wide. You can sit or lie down. Because the sauna is private, you are free to lie down and warm up, which Japanese sauna lovers call a “sleeping sauna.”
You can make the cold bath extra cold with ice, or keep it mild. For resting, there are reclining chairs. Besides the indoor rest space, you can also rest in the fresh outdoor air.
While you rest, try “Oropo,” a slightly mysterious drink that is a classic among Japanese sauna lovers. It is a mix of the energy drink “Oronamin C” and the sports drink “Pocari Sweat.” At Tsurukame, you can enjoy Oropo for ¥500.
Guests staying with us can also try “whisking” if they ask in advance. A bundle of birch or other leafy branches is used to gently tap your body and send steam and scent over your skin.
Prices (tax included)
| 60 min | 90 min | |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel guests | 1 person ¥2,750 2 people ¥4,400 | 1 person ¥3,960 2 people ¥5,720 |
| Day visitors | 1 person ¥4,290 2 people ¥7,150 | 1 person ¥6,270 2 people ¥9,900 |
120-minute and 150-minute plans are also available. Towels, bath towels and sauna mats are included.
2. A steam sauna you can enter in a wheelchair: “Yakan”
“Yakan” (kettle) is a private steam sauna. The temperature is about 50°C and the humidity is 100%. Soft steam wraps your whole body. We recommend it if you find hot saunas hard, or if you want to warm up while being kind to your skin.
After warming up, you cool down under a cold shower. It is easier on the body than a cold bath, so even first-timers can enjoy going between hot and cold.
The room is barrier-free, and you can enter in your wheelchair. It holds up to two people.
Prices (tax included)
| 60 min | 90 min | |
|---|---|---|
| Hotel guests and day visitors | 1 person ¥4,290 2 people ¥7,150 | 1 person ¥6,270 2 people ¥9,900 |
The price is the same for hotel guests and day visitors. Both can also enjoy 30 minutes in our large public bath after the sauna.
Yakan is inside our suite. On days when guests are staying in the suite, no one else can use it.
Video (English subtitles): the steam sauna “Yakan”
3. The sauna in the men’s large bath: “Kaze to Mandala”
The men’s large bath has a sauna you can use without a reservation. It pours löyly automatically and blows hot wind automatically. The temperature is about 80°C. It may feel mild, but thanks to our warming hot spring and the steam, you will sweat well. The steam wraps your body softly, so you can take your time. Every 30 minutes, a mandala of light shines across the room.
After the sauna, cool down in the 35°C hot spring, then rest in a hammock in the open air. The sauna is open from 3 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Video (English subtitles): “Kaze to Mandala” and the low-temperature hot spring bath
4. A 35°C hot spring instead of a cold bath
Our large baths have a “low-temperature hot spring bath” where 35°C spring water flows straight from the source. This is the natural temperature of the hot spring. It is the same 35°C, but in the men’s bath it feels like a cold bath, and in the women’s bath it feels like a lukewarm bath. After the sauna, men cool down in this spring water.
The women’s large bath has a 42°C hot spring bath and a lukewarm bath close to body temperature. In the lukewarm bath, you can enjoy “fukanyoku,” or neutral-temperature bathing. You soak slowly for a long time in water close to body temperature, which feels neither hot nor cold. It is easy on the body and is said to calm the mind. You can also go back and forth between the two hot spring baths, hot and cool. In Onogawa Onsen, Tofuya is the only inn with a lukewarm bath. If you also want a sauna, try the private sauna “Tsurukame” or the steam sauna “Yakan.”
5. What sauna lovers often miss: the onsen combination
If you love saunas, we especially want you to know about combining them with the onsen. The water of Onogawa contains salt, and we call it a “warming hot spring.” Salty hot springs are said to leave a thin film of salt on the skin, so your body stays warm longer after bathing.
- From the warming hot spring to the sauna: before the sauna, go into the onsen first. In Japan, this is called “shitayude,” or pre-boiling. When you enter the sauna after warming your body to the core, you sweat more easily and warm up quietly and deeply.
- From the sauna to the warming hot spring: after you repeat sauna, cold bath and rest and reach “totonou,” go into the onsen one last time. The onsen warms your body even more, and the cozy warmth lasts long after your bath.
Not just a sauna, and not just an onsen. Going back and forth between the two is something only a sauna at an onsen ryokan can offer.
And after your bath, have a soft-serve ice cream. At Japanese onsen, eating soft-serve after bathing is a classic. At Tofuya, too, you can enjoy soft-serve and choose your flavor.
6. Without staying the night: “Wednesday Onogawa Onsen”
Tsurukame, Yakan and our private baths can also be used by day visitors. This day-use service is called “Wednesday Onogawa Onsen.”
Hours: Wednesdays 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturdays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and other days 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Closed on Thursdays. Please book on the “Wednesday Onogawa Onsen” website (in Japanese). If you are staying with us, you can also book at the front desk on the day.
For guests with tattoos
In Japan, many onsen and public bathhouses do not allow guests with tattoos. One reason is that, in the past, tattoos in Japan were linked with certain antisocial groups. Today, more people know that many enjoy tattoos as fashion or as a way to express themselves. Still, a large public bath is a place where strangers bathe together. Out of consideration for other guests, many places cannot change their rules.
Our private saunas and private baths are not shared with other guests. Guests with tattoos can use them without worry.
If you would like to use the large public bath, please feel free to talk with us at the front desk. We will ask about the size and place of your tattoo and think together about how you can bathe.
One more rest after the onsen
Our large baths are open all night, until 9 a.m. Warm up in the sauna, cool down in the hot spring, and feel the outside breeze. Then back to the onsen again. Come and experience the “Galápagos evolution” of the Japanese sauna at an onsen ryokan in Onogawa.
We also write this article in Finnish and Swedish out of respect for the sauna. So far, the only guests from Europe who have tried our private sauna came from Poland (as of October 2026). We would be very happy if people from the home of the sauna could try a Japanese sauna and tell us what they think.