With winter approaching, thoughts in Japan turn to onsen, the luxurious hot springs that bless the entire length of this volcanic archipelago.
For the past five years, though, the onsen’s Nordic cousin, the sauna, has been gaining in popularity here. What started as the third “sauna boom” around 2019 has evolved into a lasting cultural movement. According to a 2024 survey by the Japan Sauna Institute, the number of sauna enthusiasts — or “saunners” (pronounced saunā), as they’re called in Japan — has grown by an additional 1 million in the past year alone.
Spa Metsa Otaka, a sprawling Finnish-inspired bathhouse in Nagareyama, Chiba Prefecture, houses the ostentatious “Dragon Sauna,” among other spaces. Around 35 men — naked apart from woolen hats to insulate their heads — enter a sweltering, dimly lit chamber containing four tiers of benches facing a line of heavy-duty sauna stoves. The men are vying for vacant spots on the higher benches like it’s a game of musical chairs; the higher you’re seated, the hotter it gets. Playing in the background is an ambient composition by Kengo Tokusashi, who writes music specifically with sauna sessions in mind.
The group hunkers down and breathes deeply.
On the hour — every hour throughout the day — spotlights illuminate the five stoves and the music switches to the theme from Bruce Lee’s 1973 kung fu flick “Enter the Dragon.” Sprinklers shower water onto red-hot stones in the five stoves at the front of the room, filling the space with the hiss of healing steam that Finns call “loyly” (pronounced rōryu in Japanese).
The humidity provides an intense, pore-opening heat that does wonders for the skin, and the group endures it for the reward that follows: a plunge into a 16 degree Celsius mizuburo (cold bath) at the front of the room. With the music and movement, the session almost feels like a sport, and Spa Metsa Otaka isn’t the only place providing something more sensational than your average steam.
Tent saunas deep in the wilderness, the retro charm of a capsule hotel sauna, repurposed buses and interactive art projects are all hoping to deliver that ecstatic rush of relief to Japan’s saunners as their bodies go from hot to cold. They want to provide the sensation aptly captured by the sauna buzzword totonou — a natural high with connotations of recalibrating your inner world and harmonizing with your surroundings.
The way of steam
Getting a regular sweat has been shown to relax muscles, support cardiovascular function, lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation, promote immunity, improve sleep and nurture mental well-being. Heating the body eases stiff muscles and enhances the skin by expelling toxins from the pores, making saunas popular among fitness buffs and the beauty conscious alike.
If you’re a budding saunner looking for a place to start your journey, why not start at the top? Mimicking the authority of Michelin’s gourmet rankings, sauna consulting collective TTNE confers its own prestigious Saunachelin Awards upon a handful of locations each year.
This year’s No. 1 spot went to Totopa, a gorgeous location in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward with several saunas, breathing rooms and other amenities. An hour there will only set you back just over ¥2,000 with tax. Coming in at second and third place were Tokyo Sauna and Treatment Sauna SteaMs, both in Minato Ward.
TTNE isn’t the only group getting the word out about saunas in Japan. Locations across the country are meticulously inventoried, rated and ranked by thousands of connoisseurs on the sleekly designed website and app Sauna Ikitai, which currently lists nearly 14,000 sites. Each entry is carefully categorized by type, stove type, sauna and mizuburo temperature, as well as features like menu options for sameshi (sauna food) or even background music.
Sauna Tokyo in Minato Ward scored the second spot on this year’s Saunachelin rankings.
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This latest surge in popularity can be traced in part to manga artist Katsuki Tanaka, the Japan Sauna and Spa Association ambassador whose 2011 book “Sado” (“The Way of the Sauna”) — and the subsequent hit TV series it inspired — played a pivotal role in this sophisticated wave of sauna appreciation.
Celebration of stoic hot-cold contrast therapy and the quest for the perfect totonou experience distinguish the current sauna boom from its predecessors: the first wave of sauna mania sparked by the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and the second driven by the rise of large-scale health and relaxation day-spas in the 1980s.
Unlike those earlier establishments, which helped customers retreat from the stress of their lives through the generous provision of in-sauna televisions, comics, arcades and other forms of entertainment, many newer saunas offer a break from technology through minimalist and organic design, inviting users to meditate upon the subtleties of sound, aroma, touch and sight.
Speaking to Bloomberg at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, Tanaka himself highlighted the goal: “Spending so much time at home, surrounded by information on computers and smartphones, unable to go abroad, makes people want an experience that will satisfy your five senses,” he said.
Young saunners, refresh and connect
A significant proportion of saunners today are young Japanese people in their early to mid-20s, a generation profoundly affected by the alienation and mental strain of COVID-19 during their formative years.
During the country’s states of emergency, most saunas and baths stayed open as “essential infrastructure,” providing an opportunity to gather in person. Now in his second year at Nihon University, student Taisuke Koiwa recalls saunas as a rare sanctuary during that period in his life.
“For me, saunas were my only source of relaxation during the tense days of the pandemic when I was trying to pass my entrance exams for the second time and spending long hours stuck studying at home,” he says.
The outside of Umeyu sauna in Kyoto.
| GREG DVORAK
With pandemic restrictions over, saunas not only provide young people with a place to meet but a reprieve from electronic devices. As an escape from the relentless barrage of notifications, social media and surveillance, saunas have become spaces where patrons can savor meaningful bonds or find contemplative solitude.
An architect of sauna and sentō (public baths), Kentaro Imai notes that financial challenges also play a part in their popularity.
“One factor is that young people today don’t earn much,” he says. “In that context, I think many young people prefer to spend time with just a small group of close friends or like-minded individuals. For just a few thousand yen, it’s the perfect leisure activity.”
At the same time, amid broader trends of self-improvement, fitness and beauty in Japan, saunas also offer the tangible benefits of radiant skin and relief for tired muscles, making them an appealing choice for young people seeking both wellness and connection.
Motonobu Matsumoto can attest to the transformative energy that young saunners have brought to traditional bathing culture. As the third-generation custodian of Matsumoto-yu in Tokyo’s Nagano Ward, founded in 1936, he set out to modernize his family’s aging bathhouse by traveling to more than 400 saunas, onsen and sentō across Japan, gathering innovative ideas to enhance customer comfort and create a space welcoming to all generations.
Matsumoto-yu, a public bath and sauna in Tokyo’s Nakano Ward, saw its clientele rebound after reopening in 2021. Owner Motonobu Matsumoto says around 80% of the new visitors are younger patrons.
| COURTESY OF MATSUMOTO-YU
With the help of Tokyo government subsidies and crowdfunding, he installed robust, spacious saunas, a deep mizuburo and a variety of other baths, as well as massive LED screens to adorn the space with artistic imagery and community messages. When Matsumoto-yu reopened in 2021, despite the uncertainties of the pandemic, Matsumoto was overwhelmed by a two- to threefold increase in clientele, with approximately 80% of visitors now being younger patrons.
“So many young customers started coming here by train from other places and bringing fresh energy to my bath and to the whole community,” he says. “Since they’re making the effort to come all the way here, I hope they’ll also explore the area and have a good meal somewhere before they go home.”
He estimates that over 60% of his sauna users are young men, reflecting Japan’s traditionally male-dominated sauna culture, but he also notes a growing interest among women. While the crowds brought by younger customers have led to a decline in older patrons, this demographic shift has injected fresh energy and repositioned his sentō as a vibrant hub for the aging neighborhood. Unlike many upscale saunas or spas, Matsumoto-yu remains affordable enough for frequent visits or even daily use. Entry to the bathhouse costs ¥550 for adults, with an extra ¥500 charge to use the sauna.
Although rising energy costs continue to challenge Matsumoto and other sentō owners who have undertaken similar renovations, the unwavering passion of sauna enthusiasts across generations ensures these traditional baths endure as vital community spaces.
From karafuro to aufguss
Japanese sweat baths, known as karafuro and mushiburo, have long been ritualized spaces for health and healing, often promoted by Buddhist practitioners.
Tsukahara Karafuro in Sanuki, Kagawa Prefecture, is said to have been established 1,300 years ago by the Buddhist priest Gyoki (668-749). Its kiln-like structure, built with red clay and stone, remains in operation today and was recently granted a Saunachelin award, highlighting its enduring cultural significance.
It would also seem that the enjoyment of a good sweat isn’t just timeless — it’s universal. Japanese sauna fans and bathhouse owners are increasingly taking satabi (sauna pilgrimages) to Europe specifically to learn and incorporate their knowledge back home. (On a recent trip to Finland, I encountered young Japanese saunners at every sauna I visited, as well as Finnish sauna-goers who told me they had started learning Japanese to communicate with these new guests.)
A whisking team that held an event at Totopa featured Yoichi “Nebanya” Nebata (top right), who was recognized with a Saunachelin Award.
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One practice that has been locally adapted is whisking, a traditional technique common in Slavic, Baltic and Nordic cultures, now available at over 80 facilities throughout Japan. Whisking entails brushing, tapping and beating the body with bundled leafy branches, commonly made of birch, oak or maple and soaked in warm water to soften the leaves and release their natural oils.
Whisking master Masakatsu Kuroda has conducted nearly 3,000 sessions for various clients around Japan, in which he draws upon techniques from Russia and Latvia to create a unique whisking experience that incorporates Japanese herbs, botanicals and rituals. Although Kuroda usually administers his healing atop a high-rise building surrounded by a concrete jungle of highways and billboards at Marushin Spa Sauna in Shibuya Ward, he says he hopes “to make people one with the forest through the power of plants and nature, wherever they are.”
This hybridity of Japanese sauna culture is also evident in the aufguss ritual that has become popular in the past three years. In this kitschy German custom, practitioners dance to music or perform skits while fanning their audiences with fragrant steam. Some incorporate the studied motions of Japanese tea ceremony as they pour water on the hot sauna stones, while others use choreography resembling shrine purification rituals.
Rising aufguss star Minami Shakeyama has performed her creative routines at over 100 saunas in Japan, including Disney-inspired skits in which she wields towels, sometimes two at once, in synchronization with music. Staying true to German protocols, she enhances these routines with carefully curated scents, such as peppermint for “The Little Mermaid” or ylang-ylang for “Aladdin,” transforming the sauna into an immersive sensory experience.
Minami Shakeyama is an “aufguss” master whose movements enhance the sauna experience.
| COURTESY OF MINAMI SHAKEYAMA
“This is a moment where people entrust their lives to me,” she says. “A lot of people who are dealing with stress tell me that they’ve been saved by saunas, and aufguss also provides them a sense of joy and belonging. My fans have even become friends with each other.”
Alongside teammate Netsuko Goto, Shakeyama placed fourth at the Aufguss World Championships in the Netherlands in September. The pair was also honored recently with TTNE’s prestigious Saunner of the Year Award, underscoring their contributions to this particular blend of spectacle, care and human connection that is redefining sauna culture in Japan.
Building on innovations like these, Japan’s sauna culture continues to thrive, shaping a unique identity that playfully blends ancient wisdom with modern ingenuity, reuniting city-dwellers with the wilderness. Much like ramen — originally Chinese yet transformed into a quintessentially Japanese dish — saunas are also being reimagined and embraced as a distinct part of Japanese bathing culture. They have become far more than just places to sweat; they are where restoration, creativity and shared experiences are possible.
Greg Dvorak is a professor at Waseda University whose interdisciplinary work bridges Pacific and Asian history and popular culture to explore themes of identity, memory and place. He is currently working on a book about Japanese bath and sauna cultures in the global context.