The lakeside 'totonoi' space at Isokenkäisten Klubi. A sauna cabin stands in the foreground. The profound silence, undisturbed by even a ripple, is the primary reason to visit this place.
LOUNGE /
TRAVEL
November 20, 2025
Every action is mindfulness. Journey to Finland, a land of profound balance.
Isokenkäisten Klubi: The Story of the "Big Shoes Club"
About a 1 hour and 45-minute flight from Helsinki lies Ruka-Kuusamo, Europe's last remaining pristine wilderness. Known as one of Finland's premier ski resorts, this area boasts the world's cleanest air.
On the eastern edge of Kuusamo, nestled in nature, is Isokenkäisten Klubi. The two sisters who run the second-generation business explained the origin of the name "Big Shoes Club."
"Our parents started the business here in the early 1990s. Our first guests were very important people, such as Finnish politicians, ministers, and top corporate executives. In Finland, such important individuals are referred to as 'people who wear big shoes.' That's how we got our name."
Gathered around the wood-fired kitchen in the indoor "kota," lunch begins with local specialties. We enjoyed local foods such as vendace, wild mushroom soup, and for dessert, keyhät-lihalit (French toast). "We have a brand called 'Wild Food Kuusamo Lapland.' We source many ingredients from nature: mushrooms, reindeer meat, fish, various berries, and herbs."
Smoke Sauna: The "Ultimate Totonoi"
The smoke sauna at Isokenkäisten Klubi has received a "Certified Authentic Finnish Sauna Experience" from the Finnish Sauna Society, making it one of the best saunas in Finland. Smoke saunas are the oldest type of sauna and take six hours to heat. This is because a large amount of stones are heated by a wood fire using birch logs.
"Once the fire is lit, smoke fills the air during heating. By the time it's ready, all the firewood has burned out. Then, we open the windows of the sauna cabin to let the smoke escape outside."
With over 1000 kilograms of stones, the heat is retained for a long time. The immense heating power is evident when you experience it. The steam pressure can be increased significantly. This is not possible in other saunas.
Furthermore, the aroma filling the room is almost intoxicating. "The air is softer when heated by wood," Finns often say, and the experience of being enveloped in the scent of birch feels like being wrapped in happiness. Then, water is poured onto the hot stones above the sauna stove again. With a "hissing" sound, intense steam rises, warming the entire room. The fresh aroma of vihta then blankets the space.
"When the vihta is fresh, it can also be used like soap. In the past, people used vihta to wash their bodies."
Isokenkäisten Klubi
Accommodation Rates (per room for 2 people)
Summer Season
2-person room: €98–€117
Lakeside Aurora Hut: from €279
Winter Season
2-person room: €130–€144
Lakeside Aurora Hut: €313–€364
*All prices include breakfast.
*Dinner add-on: +€69/person
Sauna Fees
Smoke Sauna (limited days, advance booking required)
+€74/person
Isokenkäisten Klubi (Japanese website)
House of Northern Senses: Experiencing Local Life
The village of Virkkula. At an altitude of 330 meters, it is the highest village in Finland. In 1954, 100 people lived here, but now only 16 remain. The unique manor house by the lake, House of Northern Senses, tells the story of this village to this day.
"It was originally built as a school," says a staff member. After the school closed, Finnair, Finland's national airline, purchased the building in 1974. It was used as a guesthouse for about 50 years. The current owners then took over, and it was reborn as a boutique hotel in May 2022.
The interior retains the design from the Finnair era; some glasses and tableware even bear the Finnair logo. Business class tableware is still in use. The building also features works by renowned Finnish designer Alvar Aalto.
The shared living room. Relaxing by the fireplace strongly evokes the feeling of being in Scandinavia. The glasses and pitcher are from Iittala, a familiar brand from Finnair.
This hotel has three saunas: two by the lake and one in the basement of the building.
"The lake has a clean sandy bottom, where you can stand, relax, and watch the beautiful birds. The water is pure enough to be drinking water."
The first lakeside sauna is a traditional wood-fired wooden sauna, typical of the summer houses Finns own by the lake. The second is a smoke sauna, a traditional type but stylishly arranged. The third is a modern spa-style sauna in the building's basement, complete with a relaxation room, fireplace, and swimming pool. It's a stylish space where tradition and modernity intersect. If you want to enjoy a premium Scandinavian experience, this boutique hotel is the perfect choice.
Handmade Dinner Featuring Local Ingredients
For dinner, we enjoyed a handmade meal featuring local ingredients in the dining hall. The surprise of the evening was crayfish, a summer delicacy.
With a flavor that's both light and rich, like a combination of shrimp and crab. Using the special knife, the shells can be removed cleanly.
"These are the Rolls-Royce of crayfish. Unfortunately, they no longer exist in southern Finland. They were caught in a small river yesterday and prepared yesterday. They are truly a local delicacy."
There's a tradition for eating crayfish. Place it on toast with butter and dill, then eat it. Followed by a shot of snaps (distilled spirit) and singing a Swedish song. "Helan går, sjung hopp faderallan lallan lej"—meaning "Everything goes, everything moves forward."
Meeting local people, hearing their stories, and strolling through Virkkula village. This is what it means to experience local life. You don't need to join expensive tours.
House of Northern Senses
Season Classification
Christmas & New Year Season: December 17 – January 7
Winter Holiday Season: January 8 – March 31
Summer Season: April 1 – December 16
Accommodation Rates (per room for 2 people, Cozy Double Room)
With breakfast (per person per night)
Christmas & New Year: ¥52,017
Winter Holiday: ¥48,202
Summer Holiday: ¥32,077
With breakfast + 3-course dinner (per person per night)
Christmas & New Year: ¥65,714
Winter Holiday: ¥61,033
Summer Holiday: ¥45,775
Sauna Fees (same price year-round)
Spa-style modern sauna
Includes relaxation lounge, fireplace, and indoor pool area
Individual use: ¥5,375/person (2 hours, amenities included)
Private rental: ¥53,751 (3 hours, up to 10 people)
Traditional wood-fired lakeside sauna
Year-round swimming in the lake possible
Individual use: ¥5,375/person (2 hours, amenities included)
Private rental: ¥53,751 (3 hours, up to 10 people)
Authentic Finnish smoke sauna by the lake
Year-round swimming in the lake possible
Private rental: ¥144,954 (3 hours, amenities included)
Group use (8+ people): ¥18,119/person (3 hours, amenities included)
*Prices valid until March 31, 2026
House of Northern Senses (Japanese language option available)
Wild Out: Birdhouse Building Workshop
"We are committed to 'regenerative tourism,'" Tessa explained. Wild Out offers carefully designed outdoor adventures that allow guests to experience Northern Europe and local nature while respecting it. "Our goal is for guests to leave this place in a better state than when they arrived."
Tessa has lived in Ruka for seven years. Her partner, Tomas, is a professional chef with 15 years of experience. They started this business four years ago. With small groups of up to eight people, they aim to create unforgettable memories while making a positive impact on nature and the local community.
Why Are Birdhouses Necessary in Finland?
In a country like Finland, with forests everywhere, why are birdhouses needed? "The problem is that the forests are too young," says Tessa. "If the trees are not old enough, woodpeckers do not nest. As a natural behavior, woodpeckers create nests to impress females, then leave them for other birds to use. When this woodpecker nesting is lacking, it affects other species like the Willow Tit, Pied Flycatcher, and Coal Tit."
As a result of Finland's thriving forestry industry, all trees tend to be of the same age. Typically, trees are harvested when they are 50 to 60 years old. "While the volume of forest is immense all around, there isn't enough old-growth forest. To have a strong natural environment and a robust ecosystem, diversity is essential."
Therefore, building birdhouses is like a first-aid measure to help these birds.
The birdhouses are made using traditional hand tools, deliberately avoiding power tools. This approach also fits the "totonoi" journey.
Birdhouses Made from Recycled Wood
The wood used is recycled timber provided by locals. "It makes no sense to cut down forests and take trees away from birds to build these." They use old wood, recycled timber. Using hand tools purchased from local second-hand shops, they craft birdhouses for small birds.
Once the birdhouse is complete, they take it to the forest to hang it. "Make sure the entrance hole faces east," Tessa advises. "This prevents the inside of the birdhouse from getting excessively hot during the day."
The important thing is that participants are not merely used as labor for building birdhouses.
"We give them a small tag, ask them to write their name on it, and also a number. When we hang the birdhouse, we record the coordinates and log it on a map on our website. This way, you can check who (which birds) is there and what's happening at any time."
The birdhouse completed through the collaborative effort of our four-person reporting team. Whether it has residents will be reported on this site.
https://wildout.fi/birdhouse-map/?markerid=385
The next participants will check the birdhouses, clean them, and perform maintenance. The installed birdhouses are used for many years, not just once. It's wonderful that you can check on their status online from home. So far, the feedback is only about whether birds have moved in, but Tessa mentioned that they plan to install cameras in each birdhouse in the future to stream their activities.
Wild Out
Pohjolan Pirtti: Touching Rural Life
Pohjolan Pirtti, a farm in the village of Vuotunki. "My family has lived here for over 300 years. We are the 11th generation," Tanja told us. We experienced making Finnish sweet pastries called pulla. Spreading cinnamon and sugar on the dough, rolling and twisting it into a beautiful knot. While the bread is baking, we took a tour of the sauna.
The Ancestors' Souls Dwelling in the Sauna Stones
Tanja is a traditional sauna healer. "Finnish sauna culture has a tradition of about 10,000 years, developing after the Ice Age. It was registered as a UNESCO World Heritage site two years ago," says Tanja. Before Christianity was brought by Sweden, prior to the 12th-13th centuries, Finns had their own religion.
"We worshipped spirits of nature and our ancestors. Respect for forests and trees comes from that."
And the sauna stones held special significance.
"In the past, when building a sauna, we actually named some of the stones after our ancestors. This was because we worshipped the spirits of our ancestors," says Tanja. When going to the sauna, you could call upon your grandmothers and grandfathers and honor their memories through löyly. "When building a new sauna, we would name the stones in the stove after deceased family members, allowing us to honor, respect, and connect with them while in the sauna."
Löyly is not just steam. "Löyly is one of the oldest words in our language; its root means 'soul,' and löyly means 'life steam.' You cannot enter a sauna without life steam. That's how important löyly has been to my ancestors for hundreds, even thousands, of years."
Pouring water on the hot stones above the sauna stove was an act of conversing with ancestors. Grandmothers and grandfathers, whose names were given to the stones, would rise with the löyly.
A Sauna with Healing Power
There's an old trick if someone is unwell and needs a very powerful löyly for healing. "Go to a place with a strong river current, where the water flows very fast, and take stones from that river. Then you can infuse the power of the earth and water into the löyly."
And you need to find a tree struck by lightning. "In Scandinavia, there is the thunder god Thor, and it was believed that Thor was angry when lightning struck. Heating the sauna with wood from a tree touched by Thor yields a very powerful löyly." Heating the sauna with wood struck by lightning can cure almost anything, because Thor is present in the sauna.
"The Finnish national epic, the Kalevala, contains many poems related to the sauna. There are even spells praying to the gods to come to the sauna and grant health and peace." For centuries, before modern medicine became available, the sauna was a place where healers treated and prevented illnesses.
The Sauna: A Place for Life's Milestones
"When my husband's ancestors came here 300 years ago, the first thing they built was a sauna," says Tanja. There is a tradition among Finns to build a sauna first when moving to a new place.
"When you come to an untouched new place, the trees, everything, has a spirit. Nature spirits are around you. The first building constructed attracts the most powerful spirits of the area to that building. Healers needed that power when treating people in the sauna."
For thousands of years, Finnish women gave birth in saunas. When someone died, their body was washed in the sauna before burial. On holidays, if the next day was a sacred day, a sauna ritual was performed in the evening to purify the body and soul in preparation for the holy day.
Now, upon returning from the sauna, the pulla was baked. The aroma of freshly baked goods fills the air. With freshly baked homemade bread, a warm cup of coffee or tea offers a moment of respite. The family history spanning over 300 years, the sauna culture lasting 10,000 years – all of it lives on here.
Pohjolan Pirtti (Japanese website)