Experience Finnish-Style Frozen Lake Bathing in Hokkaido Town

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:49 JST, February 3, 2025

SHINTOKU, Hokkaido — Finland is a nation famed for its saunas. But do you know about avanto, the Finnish tradition of cutting a hole in the ice on a frozen lake to bathe in the water underneath? And did you know this is also practiced in Japan? “Hokkaido Avanto” began for the season on Jan. 11 at Lake Kuttari in the town of Shintoku, Hokkaido.

Inside the about 2-meter-by-2-meter square hole cut in the 20-centimeter-thick ice on the lake, the water temperature is 0 C. Users first go into a sauna a few steps away and sweat buckets. With steam rising from their bodies, they psyche themselves up and dip into the avanto with cries of “Cold!” and “Ow!”

Company employee Shoichi Maeda of Warabi, Saitama Prefecture, came to the lake with friends to experience avanto.

“It was definitely cold, but I got to enjoy the magnificent view around here, so it was a wonderful experience,” he said.

Hokkaido Avanto will continue until March 9. The fee starts at ¥20,000 per person on weekdays.