Yasuragi - A Japanese style spa hotel in Stockholm

Two weeks before my internship period in Stockholm ended I decided to take some time for myself and booked a night at Yasuragi, a Japanese style spa hotel. I decided to stay there from Friday to Saturday as a gift for myself from all the hard work, ending my internship, getting the vocational degree and getting a new job as well.

Yasuragi is located in Saltsjö-Boo, about 13 km from Stockholm city center. You can get there easily by taking a ferry from Slussen or by bus - the bus line is 417 to Orminge Centrum, where you swap to 444 or 445 that will take you close by. I went there by bus and took the ferry back the next day.

My relaxing weekend didn't start very chilled as I missed my first bus, and they only go once in an hour. So I had to wait for another hour or so, which wasn't bad, but it meant that I had already missed one of the programmed meditations Yasuragi offered. I sat on my living room floor and thought about meditating by myself, but ended up scrolling through TikTok.

And that is another thing great about Yasuragi - you are not allowed to use your phone anywhere else than in your room. I didn't carry my phone with me at any times. I left it at my room and just enjoyed some social media free time. Though I have to admit that in the evening I did put the book aside and ended up watching videos from Youtube. I still have to work on that...

At Yasuragi everyone wears the same oufit called a Yukata, a japanese cotton robe. You only wear your underwear under it, and you are also given a small pouch to put your stuff in. There was also a tip that you can use the massive sleeves to store stuff, and I mostly did this as I didn't carry anything else than the room key card with me.

We were also given slippers and a swim suit for the spa. Everyone wore a similar, black, single color swim suit so the spa experience was most relaxing without any bright colors.

During my stay I participated in two activities they offered. On the first evening I took part of a Calligraphy class and practiced my Japanese Hiragana and Katakana with a teacher and few other visitors. Then it was time for dinner: a six-course-meal with a sake drink package. As I was enjoying this experience alone, I had a book with me and read it through the excellent dinner.

The best part of the dinner was most definitely the dessert. I am usually more into salty food, meaning I would rather have a starter and a main and skip the dessert, but this time - oh wow. The dessert was so simple yet so delicious: A Doriyaki (a Japanese pancake style patties with filling in the middle) filled with red beans and cream of matcha. Maybe it was the fact that I have been craving everything matcha recently, which just made it taste so good, but I hope I get to taste as good doriyakis later.

I visited the spa in the evening after dinner quickly and then headed to my room to chill. The next morning after breakfast I had booked myself a bambu stick massage which was so relaxing. After the massage I got to chill for a moment in a calm space with some matcha tea (Yay! Matcha found me again!) and was given a lip balm to take home.

I had booked a longer stay, which meant that lunch was also part of my package and after that I got to enjoy the Japanese baths even longer. Before heading to lunch I took part of another activity: A 45 minute Journey to Sounds, where I lay on the floor with pillows and blankets and listened to a soundscape the person playing the Tibetan sound bowls created for us. I nearly fell asleep, but just nearly. The storytelling was also done in Swedish, so I didn't quite understand everything, but for me it didn't matter that much. I am also quite sure if you would've told beforehand that you don't speak Swedish, they would've swapped to English. I just didn't say anything since I can usually understand Swedish though I don't speak it.

After lunch I headed to my room, packed my stuff and checked out BUT instead of heading home I went to spend three more hours in the spa. There are so many different saunas and beautiful spots to make you feel rejuvenated. For me the best part was the Japanese ablution room in the beginning of your spa experience, where you sit on a wooden stool and wash yourself. The beautiful out-door hot springs were also excellent and I probably spent most of my time there.

The last thing to do before heading home with the ferry was popping into the souvenir store in Yasuragi. I bought a little frog for luck for me and my future roommate in Finland. You are supposed to throw the little frog into your handbag to bring you good luck wherever you go.

I highly recommend Yasuragi for anyone in need of a good relaxing time by yourself of with some friends or family. Treat yourself!