I Went to Nagoya, the Mecca of Saunas! Part 2
In Part 1, I introduced Nagoya food and Sauna Lab, but in Part 2, I will introduce my experience at the mecca, Wellbe.
I also stayed overnight at Wellbe, so I will introduce it in a way that even those who are not sauna lovers can enjoy reading.
There is also a second installment of Nagoya food!
Table of Contents
1 Day of arrival
2 Day after arrival
1 Day of arrival
Sauna Lab and first, time for a meal (Wait, didn't you eat miso katsu 3 hours ago!)
I was drawn into a "Machi-O Shoten" that I happened to find in the morning to recharge my energy. 🍜
Now that I was battle-ready, it was finally time for Wellbe!
There were two entrances, but guests staying overnight used the one on the first floor. I've used capsule hotels many times, so the flow was almost the same everywhere, but Wellbe had an "automatic reception" system installed!
Beep, beep, beep, and check-in was done.
The lockers and capsule hotel were on the first floor, the bathroom and restaurant were on the second floor, and the third floor was the relaxation area.
Since it was Sunday evening, I prepared myself for it to be crowded and headed straight to the sauna.
As expected, it was crowded.
Wellbe Sakae has two saunas. One is a regular sauna, but it had pillows and three beds where you could lie down.
When you lie down, your head is lower and the temperature is lower, so you can spend more time there than usual. This felt great!
Other than that, it was a normally large sauna.
The other one is the "Forest Sauna," which feels a bit like the Sauna Lab I visited during the day, and you can also enjoy self-löyly.
And actually, there is one more sauna at Wellbe Sakae. That is the
"Ice Sauna!!"
The ice sauna at Wellbe Sakae has a temperature of minus 25°C, and the water is at the freezing point, which is 0°C.
That was just the maximum, so the water wasn't actually frozen, but rumor has it that it's always around 2°C.
Is this a punishment game! Who would get into such a cold water bath! Well, I did get in (Wait, you did!). But 10 seconds was my limit.
The thing I was looking forward to most on this sauna trip was this single-digit water bath. In the sauna world, water baths below 10°C are called "singles," which I also recently learned.
Sweat to your heart's content in the sauna, then dive into the 2°C water bath! People who have never experienced a sauna might wonder why anyone would do such "crazy things",
but the health benefits of sauna & water baths are medically proven. However, it puts a strain on your heart, so be careful.
After repeating the sauna -> water bath -> rest set a few times, one of the things I was looking forward to: "Sauna Meal"
(Wait, you had ramen at Machi-O Shoten earlier...)
Since I was there, I ordered the DX (Deluxe) curry and the famous "Oropo".
Even though the hotel was fully booked, the restaurant was surprisingly empty. Perhaps many people went out to enjoy the night in Sakae. I don't drink alcohol 🍺, so there was no need for me to go out, so I went to bed early (is 23:00 early?)
2 Day after arrival
I wake up early on holidays (Are you an elementary school student!)
The bath opens at 5:00 🕔, so I had some relaxing time checking my notes until then.
It was a little early, but when I went to the bathroom, more than 10 people were already inside.
I immediately enjoyed the first sauna of the day!
A sauna when there are few people is pure bliss.
I headed to the ice sauna & 2°C water bath early in the morning, but it said it was available from 7:00 🕖...
I had no choice but to do 3 sets and head to breakfast! GO!
After breakfast, I timed my activities to match the 8:30 Aufguss. Of course, I enjoyed the 2°C water bath.
It's not that I love it, but since I was there, I participated in the Aufguss.
Aufguss is an attraction where a person called a "heat wave master" uses a towel or fan to stir the hot steam generated by löyly throughout the room.
What you have to be careful about at this time is that the top level of the sauna room is attacked by heat steam at a limit level. I've already learned my lesson, so I chose the middle level.
Satisfied with the aufguss, I finished by soaking in the final 2°C cold bath, ending the experience on a very refreshing note.
Wellbe Sakae, thank you for having me.
I left the sauna at 10:40 AM, thinking I should enjoy some Nagoya cuisine (Eating again? ...), so I went to the restaurant that Gemini recommended yesterday.
“Eel shop only open for lunch”
There was already a line before it opened! I hesitated, but since I came all the way to Nagoya, I decided to wait in line!
“Payment is in cash or PayPay in advance”
(What was that? I didn't bring my wallet!)
I panicked for a second, but then I remembered I had a “Yukichi” tucked away in my phone case. It's the age of cashless payments, so I forgot about it since I rarely use it. And it's still a Yukichi, not a Shibusawa...
I successfully ordered the hitsumabushi, paid, and waited 10 minutes.
“Thank you for waiting, here is your hitsumabushi.”
“Thank you.”
(Tell me how to eat it! ☆♪〒…)
How am I supposed to eat this again?
I have a faint memory of hearing how...
What is this upside-down bowl for?
Wait, is it “soba water”?
For now, I'll just eat it normally...
Delicious!
When the amount gets low... that's right! Transfer it to the bowl, add this soba water—no, dashi broth—and the condiments... Oh!
That's when the incident happened!
A blunder like an elementary school student, my excitement was halved.
Still, I pulled myself together and enjoyed the rest of it. Thank you for the meal. 🙏
I left the restaurant, but the stain on my pants 👖 was embarrassing (though nobody probably noticed...). That's it! I'll go to Komeda!
I waited 30 minutes while drinking iced coffee ☕️ at Komeda, and my pants finally dried. It was good that it was clear soup; if it had been red miso soup, it would have been much worse.
There were some mishaps, but my sauna trip to Nagoya was very fulfilling and a valuable experience.
With this report, I, Itsukawa, may have surprised you by coming out as a sauna lover (though nobody probably cares...), but I posted this in the hope that it would add depth to my writing activities.
Thank you for sticking with me until the end
#Announcement: I plan to post a sauna trip extra edition tomorrow
Novelist ✖️ Reporter 🟰 Dual-wielder
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Getting too carried away!