We had a holiday on a Friday and it was my friend's birthday so we had an excuse to go out and celebrate. We've decided it was time for them to go back to Spadium Japon because it's already getting cold and soaking in a hot bath would be relaxing. It's my first time though so I wasn't expecting anything other than onsen, onsen, and onsen.
We met at Higashi-Kurume station at 8:30 AM to get on the free shuttle bus at 8:50 AM. My partner who didn't come with us asked why so early. I realized the answer when we were waiting for the bus. At 8:30 AM, there were already lots of people waiting but luckily, we managed to secure a seat on the free shuttle.
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When we arrived at Spadium Japon, there was a long queue going in. @appleeatingapple arrived earlier than us because she took another route going here so while we were outside waiting to get in, she was already inside looking for a place where we could settle in.
We got our tickets online so we just scanned the QR code before going inside. It's advantageous to get it online because it's discounted, from 2,200 yen (14.70 USD) we only paid 1,900 yen (12.70 USD). It's 200 yen cheaper if you come here on weekdays.
So what's Spadium Japon? It's a place of relaxation. 😅 So far, it's the largest hot spring facility I've visited in Tokyo, on the outskirts. It houses different facilities like a bedrock bath, sauna, spa, and my favorite - onsen or the hot spring bath and what's more - they are of different types! For me, a few hours isn't enough to enjoy the entire establishment.
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Once you're in, you have to get your yukata and towels. They have 4 designs at that time. I think you cannot exchange it anymore once you get it so make sure to get the right size. The staff was repeatedly confirming my size because she thought I was one size lower than what I said to her. 😆
We immediately headed to the 5th floor to meet up with Apple. She was waiting for us in the lounge area, particularly in the free space where there were bean bags and tatami floors. We wanted to stay in a closed space only for us, but they were full already. This place opened at 8 AM, we arrived at 9 AM and the beds in the free space were all taken. That's how crowded this place is.
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We changed into the yukata so it would be easy to move around. There were lockers in the changing area so we left our valuables there. Some of us hadn't had breakfast yet so we roamed around and found the cafe on the 5th floor seemed to be just right. While the men were roaming around and doing whatever, we ladies were just in the cafe reserving our tables while chatting.
The 5th floor is very huge. Besides the open space where you can sit and lie down, there's a manga corner and reclining chairs for a very comfortable reading experience. Though you would notice many towels and mangas on the chairs and beds, people were hoarding their space. We noticed around noon time to afternoon, the staff was so busy putting notices on the spaces hoarded by people. If no one's around, they would put a card, and when you would still not be there, they would get your belongings and put it somewhere safe to free up the space so people could sit on it. This happened to my friends who hoarded a sleeping space. 😅
It was noon time when we decided to relax in the bath. Yes, naked! It's an onsen after all.
If you're not familiar with it, basically you start by washing yourself in the shower. The facility provided shampoo, conditioner and body soap so there's no need to bring yours unless you're very particular with it. No makeup too, really very naked. After the shower which by the way was super nice we wanted to take home the shower head, we dipped in the normal onsen.
It wasn't as hot as I expected it to be, probably because I'm too used to onsen already. But this level of hot is just right, no burns.
There were many different baths - bubble bath, mixed jet bath, milk foam bath and even a seasonal bath. After the normal bath, we went to join another friend in the bath outside. She was in the electric massage bath. I tried it and it hurts a bit, but it was kimochi~ (great feeling). I felt like my muscles broke, and my fats gone. It was all in my imagination though. 😅
We went to the milk bath next. Nothing too fancy, but there was a TV where people enjoying the milk bath could be entertained. At this point, I was feeling dizzy already so I looked for a place to sit to cool down. It's important to let your body cool too.
And yes, we're still naked so of course, no photos. Just imagine. You can bring a small towel with you in the onsen, but as courtesy, it shouldn't be get wet on the hot bath. You can put it on your head to cool down. You can use that towel to cover yourself, but well, everybody doesn't really care, especially if you're like me who's used to onsen already. Probably if you're new to this onsen life, you would get conscious and it's understandable, just practice more and you'll not mind it anymore like me. 😅
It's also common courtesy to not dip your head in the bath, only til the neck. I forgot the reason why, but if you notice other people, they're not putting their heads underwater so just follow what they're doing and you'll be okay.
I was resting in the chairs in the carbonated hot bath area and it seems attractive to soak in a small bath tub so I went in after it got vacant. This is the only bath where you can soak solo. I tried sleeping because others were doing it but it was uncomfortable.
My friend and I went to sauna. Would you believe this is my first time in sauna? I've been to many onsen places but I never really tried their sauna, and if I decided to do it, it would be on repair or closed already. It was so hot! How can people enjoy this kind of relaxation? I tried my best to stay there for more than 5 minutes but I wasn't sure what time I left there. There was a cold bath outside but I couldn't bring myself to dip in it, only my legs. LOL
After changing into yukata again, my friends met at the lounge area. We decided to take turns going to the cafeteria for lunch. I was in the 2nd group so we tried to sleep first while others were taking lunch. I wasn't able to sleep though but at least I was lying down after doing something.
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The cafeteria area was huge and there was even a restaurant that seems so premium. We just went to the normal restaurant and ordered our lunch there as they have a variety of options. I got myself a pork cutlet curry and gyoza (dumplings). The curry was good, or maybe I was too hungry, but the gyoza I didn't really like.
We went back to the lounge area but I went outside to see what's there. There were domes/tents which they called as glauna combining glamping and sauna together. It was hard to get in though, it's always full. It would have been great to go in as a group.
The rest of the afternoon was spent playing games and we didn't notice the time. It was already 6 when we started going inside the different bedrock baths.
We first went inside the hottest of them all. It was so funny because after going in, I immediately went out without even lying down. My friend asked me where the others were and I told them they were inside, then we went back. This time though I got courageous and was able to stand the heat and lie down in the rocks.
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We went to almost all of the bedrock baths - almost only because I couldn't stand the heat anymore. Imagine the first one was 61 degrees, then 52, then 41, and I don't know anymore. It made me rethink my life choices - why do people enjoy this kind of activity?
There's even a place where claustrophobic people should avoid. It seems private but it's also very small. It's like a capsule hotel but not really. I didn't go into one though.
The ending was going inside the cold room which made me happy because I like cold. There was snow falling from the ceiling. It's a good room to cool down after all the heat from the bedrock baths.
Before we left in the evening, we went back to the onsen for a refreshing bath. We're sweating a lot and I couldn't wait to freshen up. This time we went to the baths we didn't enter in the morning. I especially like the jetpack bath, it felt like the water was massaging me. We went to the salt sauna too. My friend started rubbing salt into her body, so I followed. I was honestly just copying what other women were doing. 😅
The onsen bath would never be complete without drinking a cold delicious milk afterwards. It was so refreshing!
We checked out at around 9:30 PM. Checkout means you need to put back the towels and the yukata, and pay for the services you availed. The entire time we were there, we just use the bracelet to swipe for things we want, so if you're not careful you will be surprised at the checkout corner for the payment. 😅
It was really a day of relaxation - after that, the entire week I felt so lazy. 😂 The onsen refreshed me a lot. We honestly need a day or two to just relax and not think of our responsibilities - a stress-free day dedicated to ourselves. I think people should do this often, but going to Spadium Japon is really far and expensive so I'll just make this a yearly habit or a bi-annual activity.. who knows? The goal is to relax and Spadium Japon is one of the best places to go to.
Thanks for reading!
See you around! じゃあ、またね！
With love,
All photos are taken using my phone unless stated otherwise.