Inside Osaka Bay Tower in Minato Ward, Solaniwa Onsen is a hot-spring theme park right by Bentencho Station, about ten minutes by train from Osaka/Umeda. It has nine kinds of baths using a natural hot spring from 1,000 m underground, a Finnish-style sauna with auto-löyly, and a cold plunge. Everything below is based on the official website.
LocationBenten 1-chome, Minato Ward, Osaka (Osaka Bay Tower)Hot springNatural hot spring (simple spring) from 1,000 m underground, with a free-flowing outdoor bathSaunaFinnish-style sauna (auto-löyly at :00 and :30, 11:30–22:30) and cold bath / mist sauna for women
Introduction
A hot-spring trip without leaving Osaka
The official site says there are nine kinds of baths and a sauna, using a natural hot spring from 1,000 m underground.
Its signature is the garden-view bath, an infinity bath overlooking a Japanese garden of about 1,000 tsubo (roughly 3,300 m²). Both the men's and women's baths have a free-flowing outdoor spring bath.
01 · Sauna
Auto-löyly sauna
A dry, hot sauna with a TV; between 11:30 and 22:30, auto-löyly runs at :00 and :30 every hour.
The women's bath also has a medium-temperature mist sauna.
The mist sauna
02 · Cold bath
A cold plunge
A cold-water bath next to the sauna.
The cold bath
03 · Garden-view bath
Overlooking the garden
An infinity bath with a view over the Japanese garden.
The garden-view bath above the Japanese garden
04 · Outdoor baths
Free-flowing and rock baths
A source bath using the spring water as it comes up, and rock baths and reclining baths among greenery.
The free-flowing outdoor bathThe outdoor rock bath
What is auto-löyly?
A system that automatically pours water on the hot sauna stones to make steam.
At Solaniwa Onsen it runs at :00 and :30 every hour between 11:30 and 22:30.
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