Collection
Japan has its own sauna culture: a hot room, a cold plunge, then a rest in the open air, repeated a few times. At some ryokan the sauna sits inside the hot-spring bath, so you can move between the sauna and the onsen. At city hotels it is often part of the spa or the fitness area.
Before you book, check the opening hours, whether you need to reserve a time, and whether the sauna is shared with day visitors. Some places also have rules about tattoos. The stay reports on each page often describe the cold plunge and how busy it was.
Ordered by how many stay reports we have linked. We do not rank or score hotels.
ジャヌ東京
The first hotel under Aman’s sister brand, in the Azabudai Hills development. With a large wellness floor and a run of restaurants, it aims at being a place where people gather — the opposite of the guarded quiet at Aman Tokyo.
インターコンチネンタルホテル大阪
A hotel next to Grand Front Osaka in Umeda, about five minutes on foot from JR Osaka Station and the Hankyu, Hanshin and Midosuji-line Umeda stations. Guests can use the pool, large bath, sauna and fitness room. Umeda’s shopping is within walking distance. It holds one Michelin Key in the 2026 selection, has several restaurants and a bar, and Kansai Airport is easy to reach by JR or limousine bus.
hotel nansui
In Kamimachi in Kochi, on the site of the house where Sakamoto Ryoma was born. It sets out to be a place to "launder yourself", and the interiors put Japanese and Western together. There are 33 rooms: sixteen twins of 37 sqm, sixteen corner twins of 38 sqm, and one Premium Sauna Suite of 86 sqm with a sauna and a place to rest in the bathroom. Inside are the restaurant MARGINAL, a bar lounge, a terrace and a free space called Okyakuba.
HOTEL 白林 HAKODATE
A hotel in the former Russian consulate on a hill in Funami-cho, Hakodate, restored and joined by a new wellness wing. The consulate was built in 1908 by Imperial Russia. All six rooms are suites, each with its own private sauna. The hotel has French cuisine at the main dining room, Byakuya, which looks down on Hakodate harbour; Sushidokoro Funami, an eight-seat counter; and a bar.
NOT A HOTEL ISHIGAKI
EARTH is a single villa on a 3,000-tsubo plot on Ishigaki Island, designed by Sou Fujimoto. The round building has a bowl-shaped roof, so it reads as a low hill. It has four bedrooms for up to 10 guests, an infinity pool facing the sea, and a sauna lit by light falling through the water of the pool above.
NOT A HOTEL MINAKAMI
TOJI is a group of five villas on a hilltop in Minakami, near the source of the Tone River. SUPPOSE DESIGN OFFICE planned it as a modern hot-spring village under copper roofs laid in the traditional ichimonji style. A 15-metre infinity pool wraps around the living room, with a natural hot-spring bath, sauna and cold plunge alongside.
The Pool & Sauna Villa MOTOBU
A villa property at Shinzato in Motobu, in the north of Okinawa’s main island. There are seven separate units, each with its own private pool and a barrel sauna beside it (the saunas were completed across all seven in February 2026). Each unit is 160 square metres, with two bedrooms holding four semi-double beds and a Japanese-style room; with futons added, up to eight people can stay. Kitchen appliances and a full set of cookware, a washer and dryer, two toilets, a bathroom and a shower room are provided. There is no restaurant on site, so meals are ordered in — a breakfast box, a barbecue set and so on. About an hour and 40 minutes by car from Naha Airport, and well placed for the Churaumi Aquarium and the Bise fukugi tree lane.
強羅花壇 富士
Opened by Gora Kadan on 20 July 2025 at Subashiri in Oyama, on the eastern foot of Mount Fuji. All 42 rooms are suites, three of them detached villas. The communal baths, fed by a natural alkaline spring from below the grounds, have both indoor and open-air pools, and the heated swimming pool is set so that the window runs out towards Fuji. There is a golf course on the grounds.
NOT A HOTEL FUKUOKA
An urban property in the residential streets of Yakuin, Fukuoka, made up of eight rooms with different characters. Every room has a private sauna; some add a study, others a bar counter. The PENTHOUSE on the top floor has a rooftop terrace with an outdoor kitchen and a fireplace.
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NOT A HOTEL NASU
A group of private villas on the Nasu highlands, designed by Makoto Tanijiri's SUPPOSE DESIGN OFFICE. Each house is built around a different idea: MASTERPIECE (three bedrooms, up to 10 guests) has a pool cantilevered out over the plateau, CAVE sets its cold plunge in a dim, cave-like room, and THINK adds a detached study. Every house has its own sauna and fireplace.
ザ・プリンス さくらタワー東京、オートグラフ コレクション
A hotel in Shinagawa and Takanawa, about three minutes on foot from the Takanawa exit of JR Shinagawa Station and about five from Takanawadai Station on the Asakusa line. It is part of the Autograph Collection, and guests can use the sauna and gym. It holds four stars in the Forbes Travel Guide 2026 and has restaurants. Grand Prince Hotel Takanawa and a Japanese garden share the grounds.
OSTERIA SINCERITA
An auberge taking just three groups, at Akayu Onsen, the annex of the ryokan Yamagata-za Takinami, about eight minutes by car from JR Akayu Station. The rooms have open-air baths and saunas. Akayu is in Nanyo, among vineyards and wineries, and the auberge holds one Michelin Key in the 2026 selection. It serves Italian cuisine and stands apart from the main Takinami building.
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熱海温泉 味と湯の宿 ニューとみよし
A hot-spring inn facing Nagahama beach at Shimotaga in Atami, about 7 km from Atami towards Ito on Route 135. It has several private open-air baths and saunas, free to use, and faces Sagami Bay. Rooms look out over the bay, and meals feature seafood such as spiny lobster. Shimotaga is a seaside village between Atami and Ito, easy to get around by car.
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