Wood-fired saunas in Japan

Higashiizu, Japan

Atagawa Sauna Koya Fuminaya is a small guesthouse in Higashiizu, built around a wood-fired sauna. A rooftop infinity cold plunge faces the Pacific. The sauna runs on self-poured löyly and takes one booked party at a time, up to eight people.

Hisayama, Japan

The Vanish is a tiled bathhouse and wood-fired sauna inside Nayuta, a shopping and dining complex near Fukuoka. Two bathing rooms alternate between men and women each day, both fronted by historic tile art. An outdoor sauna house sits beside the open-air bath.

Ichinomiya, Japan

HERMiT ichinomiya is a bamboo-forest glamping site in Chiba, taken over by one group, a five-minute walk from the beach. A fixed barrel sauna with unlimited use sits on the deck next to an outdoor hot tub, alongside a dome tent and barbecue space. Bookings run through an online calendar rather than a fixed price list.

Kihoku, Japan

Log&Sauna Jyouno-hama rents out private log cabins near Kihoku's Kumano Kodo coast. Each has its own wood-fired sauna, a cold plunge, and a hot tub in the same timber-lined space. A private barbecue deck sits outside.

Nasushiobara, Japan

Mori no Tenku Sauna & Roten Buro is a private, wood-fired Finnish sauna in forest above Nasushiobara. Each booking takes one group, with an open-air bath, self-poured hojicha löyly, a cold plunge, reclining chairs and hammocks. Overnight sessions are for guests of the attached villa, and a café serves food afterwards.

Kawanehon, Japan

Trip Train is a private-hire sauna at Sumatakyo hot spring in Kawanehon, with two cabins: Metsa and Maa. Metsa takes at least two people and includes houjicha aufguss and a fire pit. Maa is the simpler, more affordable option, open to a single guest.

Hamamatsu, Japan

Sauna Tenryu is a riverside sauna at TAKI Camping Ground on the Atago River in Hamamatsu. Wood-fired barrel and tent saunas sit beside the water, which doubles as the cold plunge, with infinity chairs along the bank for the outdoor rest. The barrel sauna can be booked privately for small groups.

Nikko, Japan

Sustaina Sauna is a one-group, private-hire wood-fired sauna at a fixed site in Kiwadashima, Nikko. Booking covers the whole cabin for up to eight people, with a self-service löyly and an outdoor rest deck.

Sagamihara, Japan

A fixed tent sauna site on the banks of the Dochi River, ninety minutes from central Tokyo. Each visit is a private booking for one wood-fired tent. River water supplies the cold plunge, with space to barbecue alongside.

Tokyo, Japan

Toshimayu is a shrine-style sento in Kita ward, built with the traditional miyazukuri roofline and a chimney. It runs a mist sauna alongside jet baths, a vibration bath and an electric bath. Firewood heats the bathwater, in the older tradition of the neighbourhood bathhouse.

Sasebo, Japan

Ukusauna sits above the coast on Ukujima island, the northernmost of the Goto islands off Sasebo. Its hinoki cabin is heated by a pair of wood-fired stoves with self-service löyly, and the cold plunge draws on the island's own groundwater. An outdoor rest deck looks straight out over the water.

Shizuoka, Japan

Umegashima Drive-In & Sauna Villa occupies a former roadside diner's site beside a waterfall in the mountains above Shizuoka. Two private villas are on offer, one a Japanese-style room warmed by a German-made stove, the other a Western-style room heated by wood. Both draw their cold plunge from the headwaters of the Abe river.

Shioya, Japan

A wood-fired sauna and Texas-style barbecue diner sits in the Tochigi countryside. Groundwater from a locally celebrated spring feeds the cold plunge. Sessions are sold both as shared, public slots and as private hire for a group.