No matter what I threw at Gokuraku on a warm, wet night, I just couldn’t hit the spot. Probably because I’d belted myself stupid three days earlier at Kenkou Lando. I had myself submerged in the 18.6 degree plunge pool for over a minute, several times, but alas, I couldn’t get high.
It was all very much like this.
Gokuraku in Tama has all the classics. A tower sauna with a big fuck off tv and some very snuggly floor mats. A long plunge pool, a 41 degree rotenburo, another undercover rotenburo with another big fuck off tv in it, a variety of spa jets… There was also a 40 degree mist sauna (the proper name eludes me) which smelt overwhelmingly like rosemary. Foccacia yeah. Heck, there was even an onsite barber.
But alas, I did not leave a happy man. Goddamn serotonin.
I’ll tell you one thing though- I’ll probably be back soon, as it’s right next to my summer office. And, unlike most onsens/sentos, they can sure as shit take some pretty pictures.
How succuluent I wonder:
|
THE SCOREBOARD OF SENTO SUCCULENCE |
|
| Features: | Tower sauna, mist sauna avec rosemary, 3 rotenburos, very shallow neyu, mizuburo, 3 kinds of jet spa, electric bath, 2 more ofuros |
| Bath Heat/10 | 8 (hottest at just over 41) |
| Sauna heat/10 | 9 (90 degrees, gas) |
| Spatial aesthetic/5 | 3 |
| Quality of Chit chat/5 | 0 |
| Variety of bath types/10 | 8 |
| Quality of rotenburo /10 | 8 |
| Mizuburo/10 | 9 (great planker) |
| Lighting /10 | 7 |
| Cost to value /5 | 4 |
| Accessibility /5 | 4 |
| Little extras /10 | 6 |
| Overall feeling /10 | 6 |
| OVERALL PROXIMITY TO BOILING POINT/100 | 72 |
If you ever find me dead at the bottom of a plunge pool, know that I died a happy man.
June 8, 2014
bastubennett
sweatshopping 