Overtime, finding new Sento and/or sauna to visit can become a challenge. Once you get past a few “Top Three Sento for your visit to Tokyo!!!” articles, navigating further options can be daunting, especially if you can’t read Japanese.
That’s where Sauna Ikitai (litreally translating to “Let’s Go to the Sauna!”) comes in. Perhaps one of the more ingenious creations to come out of Japan’s ongoing Sauna boom, Sauna Ikitai serves as a sauna database logging almost every sauna facility in Japan. Let’s take a look at what that entails, and how to use Sauna Ikitai.
*Author’s Note: This article uses Google Translate extensively. For the purposes of this post and providing images of the web pages that were not originally in English, I decided that using Google’s Translate feature to generate English language versions of the pages would be the best fit for the article. All features of Sauna Ikitai are designed for use in Japanese. Please keep that in mind when you see any translations that may look a bit strange.
The Primary Functions of Sauna Ikitai are (as listed on its website):
- Easy to access Sauna database
- The most common use, and the feature I take the most advantage of. Sauna Ikitai logs over 5,000 sauna (and counting) across Japan, and is the resource for finding information on nearly any given sauna in Japan.
- Information provided includes (but not limited to):
- Sauna and cold bath temperatures
- Sauna auto-heating mechanism time intervals (known as “auto loyly”)(ex. automatically heats every ten minutes)
- Payment methods (cash, card, electronic money, etc.)
- Rental availability (towels, sauna mats, etc.)
- Hours and days open
- Parking availability
- Cost
- Sauna Ikitai Magazine.
- Started in 2017, Sauna Ikitai Magazine takes a deeper dive into sauna culture that goes beyond what Sauna Ikitai can offer as just a database.
- Some recent articles include:
- Serving as a community space for sauna enthusiasts (known in Japan as Saunners). Concretely, this is done in two ways: community message boards on the site, as well as Sauna Ikitai’s presence at in-person events.
- Online: You can create an account that allows you to log which sauna facilities you have visited, as well as leave written reviews for facilities. It even has a system similar to Reddit Gold, in which the Finish sauna deity “Tontou” gives you “gold” in exchange for your good deeds (leaving reviews, engaging with the community, etc).
- Offline: Sauna Ikitai supports in person events. Sauna Ikitai members even get perks at certain saunas, such as a free Pocari Sweat (for those unfamiliar, Pocari Sweat is Japan’s equivalent of Gatorade) or small piece of merchandise. Not too shabby!
What can I use it for?
Looking at Sauna Ikitai’s homepage can be a little intimidating, especially if you can’t read Japanese. I’ll break down its core functions that I use, so you can get some ideas on how it might best suit your needs. A lot of the Google Translations are fairly egregious, (Sauna Ikitai regularly gets translated as Sauna Nike Thailand), so I have gone through with my limited kanji knowledge and sorted through each page.
As a Sauna Database
This is the feature that I use Sauna Ikitai the most for. Here’s how I like to utilize it to find the top rated Sauna in my area
- Starting at the Sauna Ikitai Home Page, select the middle button above the search bar (please refer to the picture of the Sauna Ikitai Home Page above).
- Using Google Translate, select which area/prefecture you would like to visit (for this example, I will use Tokyo Prefecture).
- Author’s note: If you are searching in a larger metropolitan area (Greater Tokyo, Kansai Region, etc.), keep in mind that you may need to select multiple Prefectures to best optimize your results. For instance, Yokohama, Japan’s second largest city and host of a Saunachelin winner, is not included in the Tokyo listing, despite it being 30 minutes away from Downtown Tokyo by train.
- A list of Sauna’s in your selected prefecture(s) will pop up on your screen. The default sorting will be by the most popular, but you can sort by other categories, including by highest or lowest sauna/cold plunge temperatures, highest rated by each gender, and more.
- Please note that Sauna Ikitai only includes facilities that have saunas. Many otherwise great facilities that only have baths are not included on Sauna Ikitai.
As a Community
Sauna Ikitai has several components that allow you to interact with other sauna lovers (saunners) around Japan.
- Logging Saunas and leaving reviews
- If you look at the above picture of the “Sauna Search Result List”, there are two words with numbers following the Sauna listings on the right hand side of the page: “Ikitai” and “Sa-Katsu”
- “Ikitai” loosely translates here to ” Let’s Go”. Here, this is used to demonstrate that you have went to the listed sauna.
- “Sa-katsu” here is a bit tricky to translate, but I believe it means “Sauna Life”, with “サ” standing for the “sa” in “Sauna” in Katakana (one of the two Japanese phoenetic alphabets, most commonly used for foreign loanwords), and “Katsu” coming for the Kanji “活”, for “Life. This is the review section of Sauna Ikitai, where users can share their experiences at the sauna. While all in Japanese, I really enjoy reading from time to time to gain insight into how the sauna community interacts with the venues they visit.
- If you look at the above picture of the “Sauna Search Result List”, there are two words with numbers following the Sauna listings on the right hand side of the page: “Ikitai” and “Sa-Katsu”
- Tontou!
- Similar to Reddit’s “Gold” feature where users gain points for doing good deeds, Tontou does the same for Sauna Ikitai users with the help of Tontu! Accruing Tontu allows you to enter lotteries to win various goods from Sauna Ikitai.
- You may be asking “who is Tontou?”. Tontu is a sauna Elf with its origins in Finnish folklore that looks after sauna goers, and rewards those who uphold sauna etiquette, and punishes those who are disrespectful of the sauna. I promise, I’m not making this up. You can find more info on the Finnish Wikipedia page here .
In the spirit of Tontu, Sauna Ikitai users earn Tontu by adding value for other users on the platform. This can be done by adding information to the page of a given sauna that has missing information (or better yet, adding a facility that isn’t yet on Sauna Ikitai), sharing about your experience, or attending in-person Sauna Ikitai events.
Using in Sauna Ikitai in Person (!)
If you don’t speak Japanese, this probably won’t be super applicable, but I thought it would be interesting to share that it exits! Sauna Ikitai members often get certain benefits at venues partnered at Sauna Ikitai. While normally small, these can include:
- A free towel rental
- Free Sauna Hat rental
- Free Pocari Sweat (for those unfamiliar, think Japanese Gatorade) or drink
Not anything major, but a lot of nice little boosts!
Additionally, using Tontu can earn you free merchandise, and even Sauna visits! Accrued Tontu can be spent in Sauna Ikitai’s Tontu Lottery. The lottery options often include merchandise (sauna hats, stickers, sauna mats, etc.), free entry, and complimentary food/drink vouchers.
User Guide- Using your Sauna Ikitai Account
If you either live in Japan, or are particularly interested in the sauna community in Japan, you can create an account on Sauna Ikitai! For privacy purposes, I won’t be sharing my profile, but I will show you what I have found having an account as useful for:
- Logging visited Sauna
- I visit enough sauna that it becomes hard to keep track at a certain point, especially if I visit several in the same area that use the same kanji. That’s where Sauna Ikitai comes in. I can check back on which sauna I’ve visited based on the pictures provided, which really comes in handy for when I want to revisit a sauna that I can’t remember the name of.
- Tontu
- Having an account allows you to accrue Tontu, which you can use to enter the Tontu lottery. I have started to build up a bit, and am very excited to potentially earn some rewards!
- Updating Profile Information
- There are several fun pieces of information you can put on your Sauna Ikitai Profile, including
- Your Home Sauna
- Your ideal sauna
- The date of your first sauna or “Sauna Debut”
- Self Introduction
- While small, I feel like these help me feel like I belong on the site a little bit more, and it adds あpersonal touch to the experience.
- There are several fun pieces of information you can put on your Sauna Ikitai Profile, including
Concluding Thoughts
I regularly use Sauna Ikitai to search for what sauna I am going to visit next. I wish more countries had somethign similar, and I have a lot of fun using Sauna Ikitai for my various Sauna needs. I hope that this guide is helpful in getting you started on your sauna hunting needs in Japan. Thank you for reading, and I hope you can find some totonou (sauna enlightenment) in your week!
Remember, act like Tontu is watching you…
Sauna Sensei 