HINATA Oshima (HINATA大島), an island resort in Nichinan, Miyazaki Prefecture that held its grand opening on October 1, 2026, has a private sauna in each of its seven villas.
Each sauna is a tea room-style space with a tatami-textured floor and wooden benches, paired with a hinoki cypress tub, a cold plunge, and an outdoor air bathing deck reached directly from the bathroom. Guests can go through the whole sequence of warming up, cooling down, and resting while looking out at the view without leaving their own villa.
In-Room Saunas Remain Rare
According to the "Japan Sauna Survey 2026" (日本のサウナ実態調査2026) by 日本サウナ総研 (Nihon Sauna Soken), about 2.5 million people used saunas four or more times a month in fiscal 2025. That is up about 35% from about 1.8 million the previous fiscal year. The survey was an online poll of 10,000 men and women aged 18 to 69 across Japan, conducted in February 2026 and published in March 2026.
Accommodations with a sauna in the guest room, however, are still limited. MetroEngines Research, an accommodation data analysis company, examined publicly listed prices for stays in May and June 2026 and confirmed in-room saunas at 38 properties and 59 room types nationwide. Most of those properties have only one to three such rooms each. The findings appear in the HotelBank report "In-Room Sauna Hotels Japan: 38 Properties' Price Premium Analysis 2026" (May 2026).
HINATA Oshima designed its saunas not as an amenity that happens to come with a room, but as "the central experience of time spent on the island."
Three Features
1. A Sauna With the Calm of a Tea Room
The interior is finished in Japanese materials, with a floor that has the texture of tatami and wooden benches, and a window that looks out onto the bathroom and the sea. The heater is the TYLÖ "CROWN ELITE" from Sweden. The temperature can be adjusted from a control panel and is usually set to around 100°C. Guests can do löyly, pouring water over heated sauna stones to create steam, by themselves, and aroma water is also available. The sauna room is large enough for two people to use comfortably.
2. A Hinoki Cypress Tub and Cold Plunge
The bathroom has a hinoki cypress tub and a hinoki cypress cold plunge side by side, so guests can step into the cold plunge right after leaving the sauna room. Both baths are roomy enough to stretch out one's legs, and are designed for refreshing while enjoying the scent of hinoki and the view outside. The tub water is about 42°C and can be adjusted with the remote control in the dressing room. The cold plunge is about 18°C, and staff will adjust the water temperature on request.
3. An Outdoor Air Bathing Deck Open to the Sea
Open the bathroom door and step straight out onto the deck. The Ocean Suite Villa has a sun lounger whose backrest reclines to four positions, and the Ocean Villa has a lounge chair with an ottoman. The furniture for both was selected and delivered by Adal Co., Ltd. (株式会社アダル), a Fukuoka-based commercial furniture maker that works on furniture for hotels and restaurants, after a competition. From morning light to the evening sky, the sea view changes with the hours and forms the backdrop for this time.
Each villa also has a sauna hat and sauna wear. Also provided are original loungewear to change into after the sauna, mineral water, a hair dryer, and skincare products.
Sauna Specifications
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Sauna room capacity | 2 guests (a guideline for comfortable use) |
| Temperature | Adjustable from the control panel (usually around 100°C) |
| Heater | TYLÖ "CROWN ELITE" (Sweden) |
| Löyly | Guests can do it themselves (self-löyly); aroma water available |
| Cold plunge | Hinoki cypress, water temperature about 18°C (varies by season) |
| Tub | Hinoki cypress, water temperature about 42°C (varies by season) |
| Outdoor air bathing | Deck reached directly from the bathroom - Ocean Suite Villa: sun lounger "Tango" - Ocean Villa: lounge chair with ottoman "Agu" |
| Amenities | Sauna hat, sauna wear |
The Idea of "Yohaku" (Breathing Room)
HINATA Oshima takes "an island full of breathing room" (余白に満ちる島) as its concept. Here, "yohaku" (余白) does not simply mean time spent doing nothing. It means the freedom for guests to choose for themselves how they spend their time.
The resort offers time and space in which guests are released from the responsibilities and ties of daily life and can feel free in both body and mind. The same goes for the sauna: the order and length of warming up, cooling down, and gazing at the view are left entirely to the guest, who can go at a pace that feels right.
Facility Information
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | HINATA Oshima (HINATA大島) |
| Address | 8004-1 Nakamura Otsu, Nango-cho, Nichinan City, Miyazaki Prefecture (宮崎県日南市南郷町中村乙8004-1) |
| Rooms | 7 villas in total (each with a private sauna, two types of hinoki cypress bath, and an outdoor air bathing deck) - Ocean Villa (98 m²): 1 to 2 guests × 5 villas - Ocean Suite Villa (140 m²): 1 to 4 guests × 2 villas |
| Access | - Dedicated helicopter: between Miyazaki Airport and Oshima (HINATA Oshima dedicated heliport) - Dedicated cruiser: from the pier at the group facility "カームラナイハーバー" to Oshima (小浜港) |
| Rates | From ¥90,000 per person per night (when booking through the official website) |
| Official website | https://lchd-hinataohshima.com/ |
- The dedicated helicopter operates under air transport business and aircraft use business permits.
- The dedicated cruiser operates as a domestic general non-scheduled shipping route business.
