SHIGARAKI SAUNA, the first accommodation facility in the Kansai region to incorporate an earthbag sauna [SHIGARAKI SAUNA] (Koka City, Shiga Prefecture) is scheduled to open on Thursday, May 1, 2025.
This private villa, fully renovated from an old private house, is notable for its earthen sauna, which uses the earthbag method of piling up soil. The design of the sauna is inspired by the Noborigama, one of the six major kilns in Japan, and reuses waste soil produced during the production of Shigaraki ware.
In addition to the earthen sauna, visitors can also enjoy the tea sauna, which uses a special wax water made by roasting the finest Asamiya tea, the oldest tea in Japan with a history of 1,200 years. The rich aroma that rises along with the steam each time you perform the "waxru" makes you feel refreshed, as if you are in a tea plantation.
The two saunas, equipped with world-class intake and exhaust vents, have been thoroughly data collected and tested to realize a "sauna where you can sweat a lot without feeling suffocated anytime you come.