KANONJI, Kagawa Prefecture—Through several twists and turns, a company that supplied bricks for what is now the Atomic Bomb Dome in Hiroshima is now a hot spring facility with the most different saunas in Japan.

The renovated Kotohiki-Kairo facility, operated by Sanuki Renga, reopened on Sept. 15 along the Ariake beach famed for its sunset views over the Seto Inland Sea. It sits adjacent to Kotohiki Park, a scenic site marked by huge Zenigata Sunae coin-shaped sand art.

The onsen facility covers an area of more than 10,000 square meters, comparable to a baseball field.

Eleven types of sauna and seven styles of cold-water bath started operations at Kotohiki-Kairo between March and September.

“It is likely Japan’s No. 1 complex in terms of variety of sauna types,” said a representative of the Japanese arm of Harvia, a Finnish sauna stove manufacturer.

Sanuki Renga officials said the kiln-resembling Kama Sauna is a modern revamp of a traditional “kamaburo” steam bath. Users must bend down to open the compact door and enter a dimly lit space.

They can sprawl out on a rush mat on the floor amid the high humidity at a relatively low temperature of around 50 degrees.

After dripping with sweat, users can cool off in a chilled water bath of 10 to 20 degrees.

Ship Sauna is designed like a boat in the image of a sauna complex in Oslo, the capital of Norway, one of the world’s best sauna countries. The steam bathroom appears to float on the water, offering a sweeping view of the Seto Inland Sea.

Other facilities include the Setouchi Lemon Sauna, which provides a refreshing and soothing aroma of the Setouchi Lemon species.

Another hot room in a tent can withstand outdoor temperatures of minus 20 degrees or lower.

DIVERSIFY IN LONG HISTORY

Sanuki Renga was founded as a brick factory 127 years ago in 1897.

It provided clay blocks for the Hiroshima Prefectural Commercial Exhibition Hall, which dates back to the Taisho Era (1912-1926) and was near ground zero of the 1945 atomic bombing of the city. It is currently called the Atomic Bomb Dome.

Demand for bricks fell after World War II, and Sanuki Renga suspended its clay block business in 1994.

The company’s businesses now include Kotohiki-Kairo sauna facility and the Kanonji Driving School.

Shogo Kawasaki, 32, a managing director of Sanuki Renga who is the eldest son of Chairman Ryuzaburo Kawasaki, came up with the idea of operating many types of saunas at Kotohiki-Kairo.

Shogo graduated from Keio University and found a job at an information technology startup in Tokyo. He returned to Kanonji in 2019.

After the spa division’s sales plunged during the COVID-19 pandemic, Shogo proposed introducing “glamping” (glamorous camping) for the company’s financial recovery.

Shogo’s guidance in reviving the company is one reason his steam bath complex project was given the green light.

His long love for saunas also helped. Shogo once spent an entire month touring around 30 sauna locations in northern Europe. His experiences are reflected in the reopened Kotohiki-Kairo.

RESHAPED BUSINESSES

The updated Kotohiki-Kairo symbolizes Sanuki Renga’s endeavor to move further forward beyond its over 100-year history.

Kotohiki-Kairo, installed a quarter-century ago, showed signs of aging, and its customer numbers dropped.

The revived spa facility is taking full advantage of its broad site and landscape to target visitors particularly from outside Kagawa Prefecture and Japan.

Sanuki Renga also believes that the Kanonji Driving School’s future amid the shrinking population depends on the success of its driver’s license training camp program designed for young people, especially from remote areas.

A specialized intensive driving package allows students to use Kotohiki-Kairo free of charge.

It attracted more than 3,500 license seekers last year. And Kanonji Driving School has been one of the most popular academies in the Chugoku and Shikoku regions.

Students can bathe in onsen and saunas after becoming exhausted by driving lessons and may be awakened by the sound of waves in the morning, the company said.

“We expect our bathing establishment to enliven the local community much more, as we are pursuing the ultimate goal of turning it into Japan’s best sauna facility packed with visitors won over by the hot bath sanctuary,” he said.

Visitors cannot enjoy all saunas on the same day because men and women bathe in different areas on even-numbered days and odd-numbered days. Contact Kotohiki-Kairo in advance for details on bathing schedules.