A Sauna Not Yet Found

A few weeks earlier, it had already been decided that I would visit Sado Island, yet no matter how much I searched existing websites for places to stay or hot springs, nothing truly stirred me. So I began sliding the cursor along the roads on Google Maps, as if I were actually driving them, searching for somewhere that had not yet been found.

That was when I noticed the word “sauna,” written almost casually on the northern side of the island, facing the Sea of Japan. What was this place? It appeared in no guidebooks, nor in the travel blogs of others. My heart quickened. Moments like this are one of the true pleasures of traveling.

“Sado Island, floating off the coast of Niigata Prefecture. On this remote island, shaped by vast, abundant nature and layered cultural histories, ist – Sado stands.On either side stretches the deep blue Sea of Japan; behind it rises the mountain range of Ōsado. Winds passing in from the sea, the sun sinking into the horizon, stars spreading across the night sky, and a quiet, beautiful dawn. To feel, with one’s whole body, the breeze moving through, the rustle of grass and trees, the sunlight shimmering on the surface of the sea—and to spend time in the company of nature.”

This is the official description. From these words, one can imagine a place where nature is encountered through all five senses. I want to see the island’s stars, too. I want to take a long, deep breath in clear air—air impossible to find in Tokyo. My body was asking for it, entirely.

After passing through a narrow, winding mountain road, I arrived at a settlement that felt like a hideaway—contemporary, yet pastoral. Small houses are scattered through the mountains, looking down over the Sea of Japan. These houses, varied in size and linked together, form the lodging. I am staying in the smallest one, called Nest. It is a clean, warm, and functional house, one that feels easy to live in.

Could I ever have imagined that such a beautiful, village-like sauna would exist this far north—north of Niigata Prefecture, and even farther north on Sado Island, perhaps at its very northern edge? ーA place you want to share, yet hesitate to tell anyone about: a true hidden refuge.

After checking in, we headed to the sauna. The sauna is open to non-guests as well, at a remarkably reasonable price. (This truly surprised me.) Sitting there, my whole body grows hot and flushed, while the Sea of Japan lies directly before my eyes.

Leaving the sauna and stepping into the cold bath, the contrast is almost dizzying. As I sit on the bench, I hear the voices and music of a couple camping a short distance away. Living alongside nature. The sea, the wind, singing voices, and the heat lingering in my body.

My friend who lives in Niigata returned to the mainland ahead of me for work. As for me, I lay down alone at night in a pitch-dark parking lot. Above me, countless stars. Each time I look at the stars, I feel, unmistakably, that I am part of the universe. People often say they want to go to space, but we are already in space, and we see it every day. These stars, that moon—they are no different from what one would see from “outer space.”

I lay there, absentmindedly gazing upward, but before long I realized I might accidentally get run over by a car (there were only about five guests in total, myself included), so I returned to Nest.

The triangular ceiling is made of glass, and I wake as the morning sun pours down from above. How luxurious it feels. Though it is August, the dawn air is slightly cool. On a quiet morning walk, there are the voices of small birds just awake, and the soft hum of insects’ wings. From a distant tent drifts the scent of breakfast. I make my way to the main lodge to eat as well.

The lodge’s homemade breakfast is prepared promptly by the staff. It is truly delicious, made with generous use of vegetables from Sado. A large noren curtain sways in the wind, moving from right to left. Here, time seems to be moving, and yet standing still.

After leaving the lodge, I drove clockwise around the island, heading back toward the port. Here, one strange experience remains. Along the way, after losing my direction and turning onto a mountain road, I remember descending a slope and encountering the incoming tide. Was it a dream? Without thinking, I reversed the car and drove back up the hill.

Even now, as I write this journal, it feels deeply strange. Perhaps this journey to Sado offered me that sensation—the moment when reality and dream begin to blur. If this was a dream, I want someone to go and find out in my place.

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Written by Tama (NOTA)