At the "Adults' Playtime" event held at Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store from March 16th (Tuesday) to March 21st (Sunday), a passionate talk show titled "my sauna style" featuring top professional sauna enthusiasts was held.
The venue was filled with excitement as the members, all striving to master the art of the sauna, engaged in a passionate exchange of talks!

What is an adult "sauna" experience like, starting with self-introductions from the experts?

---Some of our customers may know you, while others may not, so could you please briefly introduce yourselves? Let's start with Ms. Seo.

Keita Seo (hereinafter, Seo): My current go-to home sauna is a sauna facility in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture. I go there almost every day, but my personal record for sauna visits has been about 14 times in one week.

Tanaka Katsuki (hereinafter, Tanaka): I do niche things like drawing manga with saunas as the theme. My current home sauna is the sauna at a nearby gym. I use the sauna like I would my bath at home, but the most times I've ever been in a sauna was when I went on a sauna tour in Finland.

Daisuke Akiyama (hereinafter, Akiyama): I went on that tour with them, and it was amazing!! (laughs).

This tour takes you to famous saunas in Finland, the home of Tanaka saunas. You start with a sauna at your hotel in the morning, then visit three more saunas in the morning, afternoon, and evening, traveling by bus equipped with sauna rooms, and finally finish off the day with another sauna at your hotel in the evening.

I spent the whole day in a sauna wearing a bathrobe... that tour really exceeded my expectations in terms of the number of times I went in!

Akiyama: It was exactly as Tanaka-san described the tour, with absolutely no sightseeing at the destination (laughs).

By the way, my personal home sauna is the gym sauna, just like Tanaka-san's. I usually go to the sauna three times a day—morning, noon, and evening—and I went again this morning. That's about 500 times a year.

Compared to the two of you, Seo , 14 times a week is still pretty tame (laughs).

What is the "sauna technique" according to top professional sauna enthusiasts?

--- It's said that there are no rules for how to use a sauna, but there are many sauna enthusiasts who have their own preferences. Please tell us about your sauna habits.

The basics of Seo Sauna are said to be washing your body, going into the sauna, taking a cold bath, and then resting (outside for fresh air), but my ritual when I go into the sauna is to "push all the unpleasant things from work and home into the sauna."

Akiyama , what do you mean by "shoving someone into a sauna"?

Seo : For example, when something unpleasant happens, I spend about 15 minutes in the sauna thinking about it, then I refresh myself by taking a cold bath and enjoying the fresh air outside. I bring the unpleasant things into the sauna, wash them away in the cold bath, and then freshen up by enjoying the fresh air outside.

Tanaka, that doesn't solve the problem, does it? (laughs) I'm trying to improve the sauna at my local gym so that I can enjoy it comfortably.

What improvements are being made to Seo Sauna?

Tanaka: For example, if I notice an unpleasant smell in the changing room, I'll say, "I'd like you to put an air purifier in the locker room," or I'll communicate any points I've noticed that would make the sauna experience more comfortable to the facility.

In terms of how to enter a sauna , the entrance to the facility is very important. The approach before you take off your clothes is the most important thing.

The Akiyama entrance is important, isn't it? I think people who like saunas probably like the number "37". By the way, my socks today are also "37" (lol).

First, when you go to a sauna, you choose locker number 37, which sounds like "sauna." In larger facilities, you might choose "1137," which sounds like "good sauna," or at TTNE, we propose "1111," which sounds like "a day to get into the zone." We're particular about numbers related to saunas, and we're satisfied once we get one of them.

Tanaka: I'm not usually one to be particular about numbers, but when my wristband was number 37, I thought, "Oh, that's nice," and took a picture (laughs).

Seo: I've never really paid attention to numbers, but the competition for "number 37" at a famous sauna facility is incredibly fierce.

Even Akiyama , if he sees locker number 37 empty, thinks, "The sauna is empty today!" (laughs).

Please tell me your "essential sauna items"!

--- Next, we've asked everyone to bring their sauna bags today. I'd like to ask about sauna essentials.

Tanaka Sauna facilities have the advantage of allowing you to go empty-handed, but since I go to the sauna at my gym, I bring my face towel and bath towel. Also, something I've recently discovered is a "sitting cushion" for the sauna.

Unlike specialized facilities, the sauna room doesn't have mats laid out, so I bring my own sauna mat that I find comfortable. It feels great because I don't have to hunch my back, and my pelvis naturally straightens up!

Akiyama: I train in the sauna to judge the temperature of the cold plunge pool by feel, and practicing to match my perception with the actual temperature is essential. I'm often asked, "What's the ideal temperature for a cold plunge pool?" and personally, I think 16.5℃ is just right.

I bring a thermometer that floats in the water to tell the temperature, or a diver's watch with a built-in thermometer. Lately, the difference between my perceived temperature and the temperature of the cold plunge pool has been around 0.5°C.

If you see a thermometer floating in the cold bath at Seo , it means, "Master is in the sauna today?!"

My essential item is a heavy, large towel. You know how sometimes, when you're in the sauna, you suddenly get the urge to have an Aufguss?

Aufguss is when a specialist fan the steam generated by löyly (steam) towards the bathers with a towel or other object. We carry a large towel specifically for Aufguss in the sauna room in case someone asks, "Is there anyone in the group who can do Aufguss?"

Akiyama: That's the same kind of thing as asking, "Is there a doctor among the customers?" (laughs).

If you see me in the Seo sauna room, please request an Aufguss. If the shop allows it, I'll do it! (laughs)

Tanaka: I want to soothe my skin, which tends to dry out after a sauna. However, while many saunas have body lotion (toner), not many have face lotion readily available. So, my younger brother, who works in the beauty industry and is a huge sauna enthusiast, developed an original face lotion specifically for use after a sauna. It's called "Totonou Face Lotion," and it smells great too. I'll bring that with me.

Seo Tanaka, you should sell that! I'll also bring a towel for Aufguss, my wife's handmade sauna hat, cosmetics, a sauna clock, and earplugs.

However, some saunas don't allow sauna hats, so in those cases, I cover my eyes with an eye mask towel like a character from a certain manga (lol).

Why are Tanaka earplugs used?

I want to completely block out all information in the Seo sauna room.

Tanaka, so, can you hear the voice saying, "Please perform an Aufguss"? (laughs)

Seo: That's the only thing I can hear (laughs).

Tanaka and Akiyama burst into laughter

Akiyama: I started the brand TTNE because I thought that if there are brands specializing in surfers, there should also be brands specializing in saunas. We make clothes that sauna enthusiasts can wear. We've also made sauna pants for outdoor saunas, so these "saunar-and-land" pants will be useful in the coming seasons.

We asked top professional sauna enthusiasts, "What is the current situation surrounding saunas?"

---The number of celebrities and other public figures who enjoy saunas is increasing, and the trend is really taking off. What are your thoughts on this unprecedented boom?

Even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of views for "Sauna Time" has been increasing. In fact, when I go to the sauna, I notice a lot of young people who haven't been to saunas before, which I think is a good thing. But if you ask me, "Is the sauna booming?", I think it's like how people take baths every day, but nobody says, "Bathing is booming."

Personally, I think that saunas will become a normal part of life, a kind of culture, in the future.

A tent sauna has appeared at the Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store.

During the event, a sauna room appeared as a photo spot in the event venue. A social media hashtag campaign, "#MitsukoshiSaunaClub," was also held.

Tanaka: I agree with Seo-san. The fact that Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store is even holding an event to invite three middle-aged men who love saunas shows just how popular saunas have become. I hope saunas become commonplace, and with the boom, new sauna facilities will be built, and I think the scene will become even more exciting.

Akiyama , it's amazing that you're actually setting up a tent sauna on the rooftop of the Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi main store and holding a talk show there!

Saunas are fun, but "after-sauna" activities and professional "secret techniques" are even more fun!

---By the way, if you three have any sauna "insider tips" that you're familiar with, please share them.

Before entering Akiyama's sauna, in winter, you can "prepare by taking a bath" to warm up your body, or "prepare by taking a cold bath" before entering the sauna, and after getting out of the cold bath, wipe off the water droplets from your body with a tightly wrung towel and then enjoy the fresh air outside... Everyone in the audience is nodding, so I guess these aren't secret tips for people who are into saunas anymore (laughs).

In the first volume of Seo's manga "Sa-do," it says that on a cold winter day, if you go into a sauna, don't go into the cold bath, dry yourself thoroughly, and go home in very light clothing like a T-shirt and shorts, the cold on the way home will give you a state of deep relaxation.

Akiyama : That's right, my own little trick is that since I want to get from the locker room to the sauna as quickly as possible, I hook my fingers into my pants and carefully take off my socks as if shedding a skin, put them in the locker room in that shape, and when I come out of the sauna, I stretch them out and put them back on (laughs).

Seo : I totally understand that. I also pay the entrance fee at the front desk and start undressing while I'm heading to the locker room. I want to stay in the sauna room for as long as possible!

Akiyama, I totally understand that feeling! You just want to take off your clothes as quickly as possible, minimize travel time, and eliminate wasted time.

Tanaka: I pretty much agree with Akiyama-san. Going to the sauna is something I do every day, so to be honest, I don't want to think about it at all. When you take a bath at home, the placement of your towel and shampoo are unconsciously linked to your body's movements, right? I want to reach that state of mind when going to the sauna, so recently, when I go to the sauna at the gym, I stick to a routine of going at the same time every day.

That's a routine that's so typical of Akiyama Tanaka (lol).

As a result of wanting to avoid thinking about it as much as possible, Tanaka's pants and underwear are now made with elastic so that he can shed his skin even with his eyes closed.

There's something calming about routines, or rituals. Apparently, it's called a sauna ritual.

That's why, whenever I need to think hard, I go to the sauna to relax and focus. That's the beauty of saunas.

--- You ended with a wonderful story. Thank you all for taking the time out of your busy schedules.

I'd like Tanaka-san to wrap things up not with "See you again, goodbye," but with "Sauna!"

 

Tanaka: Alright everyone, let's go to the sauna!

Photograph: Taku Fujii
Text: Makoto Kajii

Related article: [Conversation] Four people who deeply love saunas talk about their encounters with saunas and their own unique sauna rituals

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