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Autumn Cooldowns: Sauna Is Probably at Its Best Right Now
There is a quiet admission among sauna regulars in summer: the cooldown outside is not that good. The first moment out of the cold plunge is fine, but thirty seconds later the body starts sweating again. The chill has no afterlife. Winter has the opposite problem; the cold drives you back inside after two minutes.
Autumn releases you from both. The air is clearly below body temperature, so the heat drains away at a sensible rate, and yet it is not cold enough to make you shiver, so you can sit with your eyes closed for a long time. Because the air is dry, you can feel the moisture leaving the surface of your skin. It is the season in which the phrase “outdoor bathing” works most literally.
Of the 672 stays listed on Tomaribi, 399 have a sauna. More than half, in other words, can give you this season’s dividend.
Putting a lake in front of you: OKU-TOYA CLUB
Cabin-style glamping in Sobetsu, Hokkaido, looking out to Lake Toya. A separate sauna building on the grounds lets you warm up to the sound of crackling wood and then cool down with the lake in view (60 minutes, 1,500 yen; swimwear required). The glamping containers and trailers each have their own toilet and shower, and there is fruit picking at a partner orchard and BBQ on the deck. Rates start around 8,000 yen per person. Autumn comes early in Hokkaido, so the outdoor chair is already doing serious work in September.
Surrounded by the sound of a stream: Kamogawa SUP BASE
Private glamping limited to three groups per day, on a small stream in Kamogawa, Chiba, about 90 minutes from central Tokyo. The three units, Suiyu, Jakko and Chokai, each have their own character; at Chokai you can cool down surrounded by trees with the stream running past. There is a unit with a hinoki sauna and open-air bath, another that accepts dogs, and premium Boso BBQ featuring Kazusa wagyu. Being close to the city also means leaving on a Friday night and starting the cycle on Saturday morning.
Cooling off in a sea wind: Hyuga Village
An outdoor resort of about 7,500 square meters in Hyuga, Miyazaki, facing the Hyuga-nada sea. Five dome tents stand along the shore, and a full barrel sauna in domestic hinoki with a cold plunge, plus a private tent sauna, are available as options, with cooldowns in Miyazaki’s sea breeze. There is Miyazaki beef BBQ and a unit with a private dog run. Coastal cooldowns work hardest on windy days; because you chill fast, keep the plunge short.
Decide where the chair goes first
A private sauna lets you set the time and the temperature, which also means the logistics are yours. The one trick is to decide where the outdoor chair goes before you go in. Nobody climbing out of a cold plunge has the judgment left to move furniture.
Autumn sunsets come earlier than you expect. Run one cycle in the late afternoon and the sky has changed colour by the second.