Hiroshima's First* Kura Sauna "SAUNA WABI-SABI" Grand Opening on April 1, 2026

ditto Inc. (Headquarters: Hiroshima Prefecture, Representative Director: Masaki Saito) grand opened the kura (storehouse) sauna facility "SAUNA WABI-SABI" in Yuki-cho, Saeki-ku, Hiroshima City, on April 1, 2026. This facility, which renovated a 100-year-old vacant traditional house and earthen storehouse, offers a unique sauna experience found only in this area, centered around a kura sauna equipped with a large wood-burning stove and a cold bath with free-flowing ultra-soft water drawn from underground in Yuki-cho.

Currently, a crowdfunding campaign is also underway on CAMPFIRE.

▶ Project Page: https://camp-fire.jp/projects/850154/view

■ A New Page for 1500 Years of Hot Spring Culture: Sauna

Yuki-cho is approximately 40 minutes by car from the center of Hiroshima City. It boasts two famous hot springs, "Yuki Onsen" (discovered 1500 years ago) and "Yunoyama Onsen," which flourished as a therapeutic hot spring for the feudal lord Asano of the Hiroshima domain. It is a rare hot spring village in Japan designated as both a National Recreation Hot Spring Resort and a National Health Hot Spring Resort. The Mizuuchi River, where the "Queen of Clear Streams," ayu fish, grow, flows through this mountain village, and fireflies dance in the summer. It has long been cherished as "Hiroshima's inner parlor."

However, in recent years, with the progress of depopulation, the vitality of the hot spring town has faded, leaving historical traditional houses and earthen storehouses vacant. "SAUNA WABI-SABI" was born as a facility that renovates such 100-year-old buildings, fusing the "power to heal people" that has continuously existed in this land with modern sauna culture.

■ Facility Name "SAUNA WABI-SABI"

The facility name "WABI-SABI" is derived from the Japanese aesthetic sense of finding beauty in imperfection and the passage of time. It retains the cracks in the earthen walls and the texture of the wood that have marked 100 years, along with the sound of burning firewood, the steam and aroma of löyly, and the sensation of water touching the skin. This facility aims to be a place where one can "reset the present" with all five senses.

Three Unique Experiences Only Found in This Sauna

① Kura Sauna with a Large Wood-Burning Stove

The kura sauna, which can accommodate up to 20 people, is a unique space with high heat retention and humidity generated by thick earthen walls and all-cypress wood. The radiant heat emitted from the large wood-burning sauna stove, crafted by artisans from Kens Metal Work in Nagano Prefecture, provides a softer sensation different from typical saunas. Guests can enjoy löyly as much as they like while watching the firewood burn.

② Cold Bath with Free-Flowing Ultra-Soft Water Where Ayu Fish Thrive

The cold bath uses natural groundwater drawn from underground in Yuki-cho, flowing freely without cooling. The ultra-soft water, with a hardness of approximately 20mg/L, causes less irritation to the skin and remains stable at around 15-16℃ throughout the year. This pure water, clean enough for ayu fish, known as the "Queen of Clear Streams," to thrive, is unique to this location.

③ Outdoor Bathing and Two Indoor Relaxation Spaces with Nature's Sounds as BGM

Enjoy outdoor bathing on the wooden deck. The starry sky visible due to the scarcity of streetlights in this area, the sound of cows from a nearby ranch, and the wind provide nature's background music. Indoor relaxation is available in two locations: the veranda/tatami room of the traditional house and the second floor of the kura, surrounded by earthen walls and wood. These are not flashy but quiet spaces where one can simply relax and find a sense of "totonou" (a state of deep relaxation and clarity).

Facility Overview

■ Operator Profile

Masaki Saito and Yuga Hamada met at the same cram school during their ronin (preparing for university entrance exams) days and started this project as comrades who both loved saunas. With the sole desire to "create the sauna they most wanted to visit," they challenged themselves from zero experience in the sauna industry. One quit his job, and the other balanced it with work, completing the renovation of the traditional house and storehouse in Yuki-cho with a 30 million yen loan. Parts of the interior, the wooden deck, and the garden were created by their own hands.

Contact Regarding This Matter

ditto Inc.
Location: 430-1 Fushitani, Yuki-cho, Saeki-ku, Hiroshima City
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sauna_wabisabi

mail: info@ditto.co.jp

For the latest information, please check Instagram (@sauna_wabisabi).

* According to our own research (as of March 2026, as a kura sauna in Hiroshima Prefecture)