[Tokyo Sauna Report] Reviewing Sauna & Capsule Minami Tachikawa — How Crowded Does It Get?

Today I want to introduce you to “Sauna & Capsule Minami Tachikawa,” located about a 4-minute walk from the south exit of Tachikawa Station.

With great access — under a 5-minute walk from Tachikawa Station, a major suburban terminal station, and unlimited gym access included in the sauna fee, once you hear that, there’s really no choice but to go!

So, as someone who loves hot springs and saunas, I (Joe) actually went and checked it out myself — let me tell you what “Sauna & Capsule Minami Tachikawa” is really like, along with how crowded it tends to get.

Basic Information for Sauna & Capsule Minami Tachikawa

“Sauna & Capsule Minami Tachikawa,” located about a 4-minute walk from the south exit of Tachikawa Station in Tokyo, opened on December 16, 2020. It’s the closest sauna and capsule hotel to Tachikawa Station that offers separate men’s and women’s saunas along with a shared gym, and it’s open 24 hours a day.

On top of that, there’s a women-only stone spa (ganban’yoku), which makes it easy and approachable for solo female travelers or couples to stop by.

The floor layout is as follows: the 3rd floor has the reception, men’s and women’s saunas, bathing areas, and the women-only stone spa; the 4th floor has men’s and women’s changing rooms and the gym; and the 6th floor has men’s and women’s changing rooms along with the capsule hotel guest rooms. There’s also a manga corner and a relaxation lounge on the 3rd floor.

Close to the station, with a sauna, a gym, manga, and capsules all in one place — you could easily spend a whole day at this facility!

Location of Sauna & Capsule Minami Tachikawa

Name	Sauna & Capsule Minami Tachikawa
Address	3-4-10 Shibasaki-cho, Tachikawa-shi, Tokyo 190-0023, Japan
Phone	042-548-0101
Hours	Open 24 hours Check-in: 5:00 PM Check-out: 10:00 AM
Official Website	None

How to Get to Sauna & Capsule Minami Tachikawa

Let me show you how to get to Sauna & Capsule Minami Tachikawa.

The nearest station is Tachikawa Station, the largest suburban terminal station in the Tama area.

This time, I’ll walk you through the route most people probably use — starting from the station’s south exit.

Once you arrive at Tachikawa Station, head toward the south exit!

Follow the signs for the south exit and continue straight ahead. The south exit is on the side connected to the Grandio department store.

Once you’re out at the south exit, head down the stairs on the deck that connects to street level. There’s also an elevator on the left if you prefer.

After going down the stairs from the deck, cross the signaled crosswalk straight ahead and turn left.

Continue straight along the sidewalk for a while. The Grandio building will be on your left.

You’ll see the Adores Tachikawa store on your right — turn right at that corner. By this point, there are noticeably fewer people around.

Walk about 30 meters down the narrow back alley, and you’ll see a sign on your left reading “Men’s & Women’s Sauna & Capsule” — that’s Sauna & Capsule Minami Tachikawa. If you don’t get lost, it won’t even take 5 minutes.

A Look Inside Sauna & Capsule Minami Tachikawa

Next, let’s take a look inside Sauna & Capsule Minami Tachikawa!

There are two entrances, and it’s not entirely clear which one is the main entrance, but this one is actually the back entrance.

The men’s and women’s bathhouse curtains give you that classic hot-spring feeling. At the time of my visit, they were running a 1st-anniversary opening campaign. (Note: this campaign ended sometime after March 2022.)

There’s an elevator inside the building, so head straight up to the 3rd floor reception!

Front Desk & Locker Room at Sauna & Capsule Minami Tachikawa

Get off the elevator and go in through the front entrance, and right in front of you are the shoe lockers and valuables lockers, with the front desk on your right.

Take your shoe locker key and check in at the front desk. This time I chose the “Sauna + Gym” option, and since payment is made upfront, I paid with PayPay.

I exchanged my shoe key for a locker key and was told to change into the provided loungewear in the 4th-floor changing room, then head down to the 3rd floor to use the baths and sauna.

Following the instructions, I headed up to the 4th floor. There’s a sign there for free Wi-Fi.

Once up on the 4th floor, the gym is straight ahead at the end of the hall, with changing rooms and restrooms on either side just before it.

The ceiling has its light bulb wiring fully exposed.

Let’s go ahead and change into the loungewear in the changing room. It has a rather plain, no-frills feel, but since the place had just opened, it was extremely clean.

The lockers are a bright, clean-looking tall white style — the kind of standard commercial lockers you’d see anywhere — along with a few chairs. Up front, there’s a tall mirror positioned on each side.

The other side looks about the same. The lockers on the right are stacked two-high, so if you happen to get a lower-numbered one, there’s a chance your belongings might not fit…

The locker key is just a standard wristband type where you tuck the key inside.

The locker is narrower and taller than I expected, with two hangers inside. It’s the kind where a large backpack or bag just won’t fit!

A set of loungewear and a bath towel are already placed on top, so I go ahead and get changed right away.

The loungewear is made by Ms.ferrio and features a dog logo — purple on top, brown on the bottom.

There was also a beige-topped variation available, but for some reason purple seemed to be the minority option. Maybe it’s meant for women?!

The Gym at Sauna & Capsule Minami Tachikawa

Normally, this is where you’d head straight into the sauna to relax, but once you’re at “Sauna & Capsule Minami Tachikawa,” you punish your body in the gym first (lol)

As far as the eye can see, the equipment is just as extensive as you’d find at a proper gym. Dumbbells range from 1kg all the way up to 30kg.

Having a bench press at a sauna and capsule facility really gets you fired up for a workout.

There’s also a free-weight area further in the back, where you can even do barbell squats.

Of course, it’s totally fine for gym beginners too — there are plenty of strength machines targeting different muscle groups, plus treadmills further back.

There’s also a blood pressure monitor and a Tanita body composition analyzer that measures via both hands.

It looks like it can measure your entire body composition in just ten-odd seconds — I honestly want one for my own home.

The Baths at Sauna & Capsule Minami Tachikawa

As you walk in, there are 7 washing stations on the right. On the left, there’s a bathtub at around 41°C toward the front, a cold plunge bath at around 15°C further back, and the dry sauna beyond that. There are no hooks for bath towels or sauna hats.

There are two “totonoi” relaxation chairs up front.

I’d avoid the washing station on the far left, since it tends to get splashed by the cold bath and hit with waves of heat whenever the sauna room door opens and closes.

Near the entrance, there’s a cart with toothbrushes, razors, nylon body towels, and a scalp brush.

There’s a window behind the roughly 41°C bathtub, so in winter you can cool your upper body while soaking for a long, relaxing bath.

The cold plunge is a small space, smaller than a single tatami mat, but at just over 50cm deep, it’s just the right depth for an adult to fully soak in.

Water automatically refills as it spills out while you’re soaking. Just be careful, since the floor around the cold bath can get slippery.

The Sauna at Sauna & Capsule Minami Tachikawa

The sauna room is a bone-dry sauna running around 98–100°C, putting it in the high-heat category. Considering the number of washing stations and the size of the bathing area, the sauna room itself is on the spacious side.

It has three tiered benches, with a small LCD TV in the middle. You can see a single chair placed up front.

Keeping an eye on the 12-minute timer, I fully enjoyed a scorching-hot 12 minutes in the sauna!

Changing Room & Powder Room at Sauna & Capsule Minami Tachikawa

The lockers in the changing room don’t lock, so avoid bringing anything you’d be upset to lose. As it happens, my bath towel actually got stolen…
(Next time, I’ll scrunch it up to make it look already used, lol.)

Extra bath towels cost money, but I begged the staff a little and managed to get another one anyway.

There’s also LUCIDO hair tonic, hair liquid, aftershave lotion, skin conditioner, and Mendol.

There’s no chilled water fountain, but there is a water server, so you can help yourself to water whenever you like.

Relaxation Area & Lounge at Sauna & Capsule Minami Tachikawa

After doing three rounds of sauna, cold plunge, and rest, once I was done bathing I relaxed in the rest area and manga corner in the center of the 3rd floor. There’s also a women-only relaxation space.

I found blankets tucked in the back right. Since the supply seemed limited, I grabbed one early.

I found a vending machine selling Oronamin C + Pocari Sweat (a sauna-goer favorite) — great news for sauna lovers. Honestly, I wish more places sold it.

Unfortunately, there’s no Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, or Tokyo Revengers here, but you’ll still find plenty of major, well-known manga titles.

Dining Area at Sauna & Capsule Minami Tachikawa

There isn’t a separate dining area — just some simple tables and sofas. A menu is placed on each table, so you can order right there.

When it comes to post-sauna meals, katsu curry and tonkatsu were tempting, but I found myself craving ramen from Tachikawa’s fiercely competitive ramen scene, so I held off here. (lol)

How Crowded Does Sauna & Capsule Minami Tachikawa Get?

With a sauna, gym, and capsules all packed into one well-equipped facility, the thing you naturally start wondering about is how crowded it gets.

So what days and times tend to be the busiest at Sauna & Capsule Minami Tachikawa?

Sauna & Capsule Minami Tachikawa tends to get busier on weekends and holidays than on weekdays (excluding Friday nights), with the afternoon-to-evening hours being the busiest — and on Saturdays, it tends to stay crowded late into the night.

I arrived on a Sunday evening, and there were only a handful of people in the gym — at certain times it practically felt like I had the place to myself. Wait, is this actually a hidden gem?

In the bathing area, the sauna has around 7–8 people at its busiest, but it gradually empties out as the night goes on — by around 9 PM, there are only 2–3 people left, making it practically empty.

If you want to enjoy the sauna comfortably, I’d recommend going on a weekday during the day, or in the morning if you’re visiting on a weekend or holiday!

Pricing at Sauna & Capsule Minami Tachikawa

A sauna and capsule hotel fully equipped with the latest gym equipment. What you really want to know is the pricing, right?

The pricing is simple, split into two options: sauna-only use, and sauna & capsule use, and at the grand opening, you could use the sauna and gym for just ¥1,500! An incredible bargain.

Here’s the current pricing.

Type	Adult Price
General Sauna (up to 18 hours) Sauna & Gym use (same for men and women)	¥2,200
Weekday Short Course (60 min)	¥1,320
Late-Night Sauna (up to 10 hours)	¥3,300
Capsule Use, 6 hours	¥3,300
Capsule Use, 8 hours	¥4,400
Stone Spa (women only)	+¥600

Women can use the stone spa for an extra ¥600, but honestly, compared to the stone spas you’d find at dedicated spa facilities, it falls a bit short.

The relaxation lounge isn’t as elaborate as what you’d get at a full spa, so I’d recommend the short course or the capsule option. It’s also an easy stop if you’re already out shopping at Isetan.

If you’re planning to use the gym too, the general sauna option is the better deal!!

My Honest Impressions After Using It

My honest take after actually using the place: being able to stay until midnight for the grand-opening price of ¥1,500 was an incredible deal!

Especially for people who like to hit the sauna after a workout at the gym, it’s cheap enough that you might not even need a monthly gym membership.

Up until February 27, 2022, it was even just ¥1,000 for the 1st-anniversary opening campaign, so there’s a good chance they’ll suddenly run another promotion in the future. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.

If I had to mention a downside, the sauna room has a slightly sweaty smell… Some of the sauna mats also looked a bit moldy, and whether or not they’ve simply gone a long time without being replaced, the smell becomes noticeable during the busy evening hours.

It’s not great from a hygiene standpoint either, so I’d love for them to replace the sauna mats on a regular basis, even if it means a slight price increase.

A sauna running at a full 100°C is rare even among the many sauna facilities out there, and it really boosts blood circulation, so I’d love to make this a regular stop.