After skiing, you'll want to warm up your frozen body, and a sauna is the perfect place to do that. Getting good snow is the most important thing for us skiers, but we also want to place equal importance on a fulfilling après-ski experience
In recent years, the sauna boom has been revived, and a wide variety of sauna facilities have been added. Here we will introduce some recommended sauna spots where you can enjoy both skiing and saunas
1. Hoshino Resorts Risonare Tomamu, Hokkaido
Located at the base of the Hoshino Resort Tomamu slopes, RISONARE Tomamu is an all-suite hotel. Every room is equipped with a private sauna. You can set the temperature to your liking whenever you like, and you can enter the sauna anytime during your stay. Outside the guest rooms, there is a jet bath with a view of the slopes, allowing you to enjoy the ultimate in luxury
, Nakatomamu Ski Resort, Shimukappu Village, Yufutsu District, Hokkaido 079-2204
Hoshino Resorts Tomamu
Opening Hours: For hotel guests only.
Rate: 31,200 yen per night (Design Suite Five Room, per person based on 3 guests, tax and service charge included, breakfast included).
Official Website:https://www.snowtomamu.jp/winter/
② Hokkaido Sahoro Resort Hotel
Hokkaido is known as a sauna powerhouse. Tokachi has an organization called the Tokachi Sauna Council, which promotes the appeal of saunas in the area nationwide. One of these, Sahoro Resort, has a Finnish-style sauna where you can do self-loyly. You can experience the aromatic effects of the vihta (a bundle of young birch leaves) installed inside the sauna
Karikachi Plateau, Shintoku-cho, Kamikawa-gun, Hokkaido 081-0039
Sahoro Resort, a ski resort near
Opening hours: 6:00-8:00, 12:00-23:00
Price: Adults/1,000 yen, Children (4 years old to elementary school age)/700 yen
Official website:https://sahoro.co.jp/hotel/spa
③Toyama Prefecture The hive
The Hive is a building that is half buried in the ground. You can retreat into the earth and experience the feeling of being one with nature. There are two types of saunas, "IRORI" and "ENGAWA", both of which allow for self-loyly. "ENAGAWA" has a gently sloping wall, allowing you to lie down against it. You can also see Mount Tateyama from the large windows inside the sauna room
〒930-3213 18 Ueno, Nichu, Tateyama-machi, Nakaniikawa-gun, Toyama Prefecture, Japan
Nearby ski resort: Awasuno Ski Resort
Opening Hours: Day use is available only on days without overnight reservations. There
are four time slots: 7:00-9:30, 12:00-14:30, 16:00-18:30, and 19:30-22:00. Reservations are limited to one group per time slot.
Price: 25,000 yen.
Official Website:https://the-hive.jp/
④Mushiro Sauna in Akita Prefecture
A low-temperature, high-humidity Finnish-style sauna that can be enjoyed by everyone from children to beginners. You can lie down in the spacious sauna room or chat with friends while bathing. The cold bath is equipped with a former miso barrel. In the summer, you can fill it with ice-cold water and submerge yourself up to your head, or in the winter, fill it with hot water to create a larger bath, allowing you to use it at your own pace
88-1-2 Daidohigashi, Jumonji-machi, Yokote City, Akita Prefecture 019-0527
Nearby ski resort: Jeunesse Kurikoma Ski Resort
Opening hours: For hotel guests only.
Price: From 22,680 yen.
Official website:https://www.chillnn.com/1835aed0dfc134#hotelMenu
⑤Fukushima Prefecture Lakeside Hotel Minatoya
You can enjoy a Finnish-style sauna experience in a tent sauna set up on the sandy beach of Lake Inawashiro. Don't underestimate the power of a tent sauna. Not only is the tent airtight, but you can also add firewood yourself if the temperature drops. You can create your own sauna environment. For the cold bath, you dive into Lake Inawashiro. The water temperature in the middle of winter can drop into the single digits
870 Nagahama, Okisawa, Inawashiro-machi, Yama-gun, Fukushima 969-3285, Japan Hotel Minatoya
Nearby ski resorts: Inawashiro Ski Resort, Hoshino Resorts Nekoma Mountain
Opening hours: 9:00 AM - 9:00 PM (Closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays)
Price: From 5000 yen
Official website:https://h-minatoya.com/
⑥Kami no Yu, Kandatsu Ski Resort, Niigata Prefecture
Kami no Yu, located at the base of the Kandatsu Ski Resort, is an auto-loyly sauna supervised by a "Totonoe Oyakata" (master of relaxation), and the low ceilings allow for careful attention to the way the heat circulates. The temperature is set at a not-too-high 70 degrees. In the Totonoi space, you can relax while swaying in a hammock, offering a unique sauna experience
4121-1 Kandatsu, Yuzawa-machi, Minamiuonuma-gun, Niigata Prefecture 949-6102
Nearby ski resorts: Kandatsu Ski Resort (directly connected), Yuzawa Nakazato Snow Resort, Kagura, Naeba, Yuzawa Kogen, Iwahara
Opening Hours:
(Monday-Thursday) 14:00-18:00
(Friday) 14:00-24:00
(Saturday) 00:00-9:00 / 14:00-24:00
(Sunday) 00:00-9:00 / 14:00-18:00
Price: 1300 yen (2-hour ticket)
Official Website:https://www.kandatsu.com/
⑦Niigata Prefecture Matsudai Shibatoge Onsen Hotel Unkai
Hotel Unkai's sauna is available for day trips. It is a sauna type that heats from the feet, and unlike a dry sauna where the heat comes from the front of the body, it warms the whole body. The relaxation space is located in the open air, and you can relax while watching the sea of clouds hanging low over the mountains
11-1 Yomogihira, Tokamachi City, Niigata Prefecture 942-1544
Nearby ski resort: Matsushiro Family Ski Resort
Opening hours: 10:00 - 20:00 (Closed on Wednesdays)
Price: 800 yen (Elementary school students: 400 yen)
Official website:https://shibatouge.com/
⑧ Nagano Prefecture HAKUBA ZEKKEI SAUNA
HAKUBA ZEKKEI SAUNA boasts a sauna with a spectacular view of the Northern Alps. You can refresh your body and mind by doing a loyly using water infused with aromatic sauna oils from Finland. After the sauna, you can submerge yourself up to your head in water from a Shigaraki ware tub bath and relax while gazing at the Hakuba mountain range. If you're visiting Hakuba, don't miss the chance to try a sauna
21582 Hokujo, Hakuba Village, Kitaazumi District, Nagano Prefecture 399-9301, Japan Hakuba Highland Hotel Rooftop
Nearby Ski Resorts: Hakuba Sanosaka, Happo-one, Tsugaike Kogen, Hakuba Iwatake, 47, Hakuba Goryu, Hakuba Norikura, Hakuba Cortina
Opening Hours: By reservation every two hours
: 8:00-10:00 / 10:30-12:30 / 13:00-15:00 / 15:30-17:30 / 18:00-20:00
Price: From 20,000 yen (maximum 5 people)
Official Website:https://hakuba-zekkeisauna.com/sauna/rooftop.html
9. Nagano Prefecture Hotel Grand Phenix Okushiga
Hotel Grand Phoenix, located at the foot of Okushiga Kogen, has two saunas: a dry sauna with large windows offering a great view, and a newly built Finnish-style sauna where you can do self-loyly. In the dry sauna, the view from the window of the snow-covered world makes you feel like you've entered another world. The temperature is also high, exceeding 100 degrees. The Finnish-style sauna is 80 degrees with 40% humidity, and you can feel the heat as if you're being slowly steamed
381-0405 Yamanouchi-machi, Shimotakai-gun, Nagano Prefecture
Nearby ski resorts in Okushiga Kogen: Okushiga Kogen Ski Resort (directly connected), Shiga Kogen Yakebitaiyama Ski Resort
Opening hours: For hotel guests only.
Price: From 24,500 yen (per person, per night, including two meals).
Official website:https://www.hotelgrandphenix.co.jp/