Day Four was the last full day of my trip, so my group made sure to make the most of it. The day started with breakfast at the hotel before gathering in a taxi van to head over to Yasuragi, a Modern Japanese Spa. Upon arrival we were greeted by our guide and given a traditional Japanese cotton robe called a yukata, which must be worn around the property (click here to learn more about the spa and its background). We put on our yukata and set off on our tour of the property. We were shown different guestrooms, dining areas, public spaces and meeting rooms.

After the tour, we were taken to the spa area where we picked out our matching black bathing suits and sandals in our sizes. Once we had everything we needed, we went into a room where we were taught about Japanese washing techniques so we could participate in the tradition before heading into the bath house. After that we went into our respective locker rooms to change and wash ourselves, and after that we set out in the bath house to explore the different treatment offerings.

I started out in the large bath pool to get used to it and float around before I explored the other pools and saunas. I found a little cove no one else was in, so I floated on my back and relaxed by myself a little bit. Once I felt more relaxed, I set off to try the salt sauna. The salt was outside, and you were supposed to take some in there with you to rub over your body. They also had salt pumping throughout with the heat. It was so hot and salty in there, it was hard to breathe; I could only stay in for a couple minutes at a time. Next, I went to the outside hot springs to close my eyes and relax in the hot water. I spent a good amount of time out there in the different hot springs; one had amazing views of nature. While there I also tried out the regular sauna, the salt springs and the cold plunge — I really had to get myself in the mindset for that one!

After I was done in the water, I went to the relaxation area to grab some fruit water and an apple for snacking. Lastly, I spent 45 minutes or so on an automatic rocking chair and ended up falling asleep. I was so relaxed. Once we changed, we had lunch in the property’s restaurant before heading back to Old Town to do some shopping.

Later that night, we went to Hobo Hotel for dinner at Tak. We ordered a bunch of different appetizers to share, including some sushi platters, chips and dip, and some rice, as well as our own meals for dinner. The food was amazing, one of the best meals I had there!

When we finished with dinner, we headed over to Stockholm Under the Stars, a rooftop bar with a DJ and great vibes. We had drinks there while taking in amazing views before heading across the street to end the night at a karaoke bar — the best way to end the night, in my opinion! We didn’t stay out too late because some of us had an early journey to the airport in the morning, including me.

The journey back home was long but worth it for the amazing trip. I hope to go back to Stockholm in the near future. Thanks for following along on my journey!

— Mary Melnick, social media and editorial coordinator