AZUMA FARM Koiwai, a Private Forest Sauna Crafted for the Art of Bathing
Inside Koiwai Farm’s new resort in Iwate Prefecture, cedar tubs, wood-fired heat and forest air create a rare expression of ‘yudō’ luxury.
Screenwriter Kundō Koyama advocates for the recognition of yudō, the ‘way of the bath’, alongside sadō, the way of tea, and kadō, the way of flowers, as a fundamental element of traditional Japanese culture. He immerses himself across Japan in different types of baths, from hot springs (onsen) to public bathhouses (sentō), as well as domestic bathtubs. In each issue of Pen, he records these journeys in his ‘Bath Chronicle’.
AZUMA FARM Koiwai (Shizukuishi Town, Iwate Prefecture)
Kundō Koyama bathing in AZUMA FARM Koiwai.
AZUMA FARM Koiwai has opened as the second project through which Adrian Zecha, the founder of Aman, redefines the fusion of luxury and nature through traditional Japanese culture. The architecture is by Shiro Miura, who also designed the first project, Azumi. He is perhaps the architect who loves Japanese bathing culture more than anyone else, and the name of the protagonist in the film Yudō was also inspired by him.
If Azumi, in the Setouchi region, is about the sea, this place is about the mountains. And yet, it cannot be described simply as a ryokan or a hotel. Located within the vast grounds of Koiwai Farm, it is defined as a farm resort, where guests spend their time as if invited into the private home of a farm owner.
The bath attached to the room, extending from the living area, is certainly pleasant. But what is truly wonderful is the bath in Forest Springs, the property’s three private sauna buildings. Inside a mountain-hut-like space made from cedar more than a century old, two bathtubs and a wood-burning stove are arranged.
The bathtubs were crafted by wood artisan Shuji Nakagawa, winner of the Yudō Craft Award. One is an elegant yet boldly rustic cedar tub carved from solid wood and filled with hot water. The other, assembled without the use of nails, is used as a cold bath. The free-flowing water comes from a well dug on the property. Hot spring drilling is also currently underway, which makes the future even more exciting.
You feel the breeze blowing in from the forest through the fully opened window, listen to the crackle of firewood, and soak in a work by one of Japan’s finest wood artisans. For those who appreciate yudō, there could be no greater happiness. Here, I saw the very height of yudō-style luxury.
AZUMA FARM Koiwai
Address: 68-77 Maruyachi, Shizukuishi Town, Iwate District, Iwate Prefecture
Phone: +81 50-4561-5181
Hours: 9:00–21:00, for Forest Springs, the private sauna building on the property
Rates: ¥55,000 for two hours
azumafarms.com
Located in the pastureland of Koiwai Farm, about a 25-minute drive from Morioka Station. Using 100 carefully selected trees from the farm’s own forest, the architecture was conceived to look as though it had grown directly out of the earth.
Bathing tools made, like the tubs themselves, by Shuji Nakagawa of Nakagawa Mokkougei. They blend into the space so naturally that they seem to have always belonged there.