The complex "Koti Private Sauna Cottage" in Toma-cho, Hokkaido, will introduce the first hemp sauna in Japan in July 2023.
"Koti Private Sauna Cottage" is a facility that has a sauna, cottage, camping space, and RV park, and opened in July last year. Currently, Finnish-style barrel-shaped saunas, cave-like saunas made of earth and sand, and light tiger sauna cars are popular.
The new "Hemp Sauna" uses hempcrete, a mixture of hemp stems and lime, as a wall material. Hempcrete is a natural material that has excellent heat insulation and fire resistance and is not damaged by pests. It is expected to have a comfortable sauna space with good heating efficiency.
Construction of the "Hemp Sauna" is scheduled to begin in mid-May. Crowdfunding is used to raise funds for construction. In 2020, Toma Town was actively developing saunas, such as providing the nation's first sauna bath for hometown tax payments through a public-private partnership using 5 million yen worth of hometown tax payments donated by IT entrepreneur Maezawa.
