Journal | 2026
Say forest bathing — shinrin-yoku — and most people picture a walk among the trees. But when you sleep in the forest, the forest bathing carries on all night. Mori no Auberge Mitsu is an inn of only three rooms, standing inside a forest where Japanese oak grows in stands.
Open the window, and you are in the forest
All three rooms at Mitsu face the forest. Beyond the large window there is Japanese oak. Finish checking in, sit down by the window, and the forest bathing has already begun.
Walking is not the only way to do it. Look out at the trees. Listen to the sounds of the wood. Breathe deeply. Simply being inside the forest is what loosens the body and the mind.
Bathing in the forest, from the bath
Every room has a goemon-style soaking tub in Shigaraki ceramic ware, looking out at the forest of Atsuma. Kumazasa, chamomile, mint: you blend the seasonal herbs yourself and float them in the water. That blend is Mitsu's own kind of forest bathing. The water is heated; it is not a natural hot spring.
Sit in the water and watch the forest through the window. The scent of the trees around you, warmth working its way in. There is more about it on the forest bath page.
The forest is richest in the morning
The best of a forest bathing stay comes in the morning. You wake to birds, look out at the forest with the early light coming into it, and get into the water once more. The air the forest has cleared overnight belongs first to the people who slept in it.
Breakfast is Atsuma rice cooked in a clay pot and a rolled omelette of free-range eggs. A table in the forest morning is a gentle way to begin a day. For how the hours run from 15:00 to the next morning, see a day at Mitsu.
Four seasons, four forests
Spring is the soft green of new leaves. Summer is deep green and the cool of the shade. Autumn colours the trees, and winter brings the stillness of a forest under snow. Mitsu is open all year, and some guests come back in another season to see the forest wearing a different face.
New Chitose Airport is about 30 minutes away by car. This may be the closest forest bathing you can sleep in to the airport. Places to walk nearby are on the around page.
Frequently asked questions
Q. Is there anywhere in Hokkaido to stay for forest bathing?
Yes. Mori no Auberge Mitsu, in Atsuma, Hokkaido, is an inn of only three rooms standing inside a forest where Japanese oak grows in stands. Look at the forest from your window, listen to the sounds of the wood, and soak in a goemon-style bath with forest herbs floating in it. The forest bathing carries on for as long as you stay.
Q. Which season is best for forest bathing?
Each of the four has something of its own. Spring is the forest coming into leaf, summer is deep green and shade, autumn is the colour of the leaves, and winter is the stillness of a forest under snow. Mitsu is open all year, so some guests return in another season to see the forest change.
Q. Can you still enjoy forest bathing on a rainy day?
Yes. Watch the rain in the forest through the large window of your room, listen to it falling on the roof, or sit in the goemon-style bath with forest herbs and the scent of the trees around you. Being able to feel the forest from indoors is what an inn standing inside one is for.