Gokurakuyu

Update: 3/31/2024 This place was a zoo today, so many people in the sauna that there was a wait time to use the dry saunas, overfilled and not enough staff to keep up the mess some people make. Water merky and polluted, so was the floor in the locker room filled with hair on the floor. There should be a maximum capacity. I counted 50 people just in the outdoor area not including the saunas, just the chairs and 2 black water pools. This place was much better before the revision, in my opinion. There are many flaws now that didn’t exist before. It’s also like going to a nude Izakaya during happy hour on a weekend, loud and obnoxious college boys who feel they are entitled to the world without any effort and no respect for others. 1. Entry area is Chaotic. They try to pack so much in a little area and the result is the relaxing section becomes useless because it is too loud from the game room with a double race car game and other loud games, right next to the 2 relaxing areas. Who designed this? 1. No more salt bath 2. Outdoor tiles are super slippery and if you are not careful, you could easily slip and fall 3. The drain on outdoor was plugged and there was water pooling (i’m sure this will be fixed but it’s a brand new renovation) 4. 3 dry saunas now (but no salt/wet sauna) 5. No more laying down bath on mens side, instead there are 4 laying down beds which are occupied most of the times) there are a lot of chairs to sit outdoor which is good. 6. Addition of a big area in the lobby for kids and game room is nice for kids, but now it’s much louder and can not relax at the additional relax area that was added also 7. At the relax area cubicle, if someone is upstairs and you are downstairs, when they move, it makes a lot of noise and not comfortable if they misbehave or are moving too much (bad design , not enough insulation, too rough) 8. Restaurant was nice, price higher but that’s expected. Layout could improve, it is geared more towards big groups and kids now 9. Been here two times since renewal, both on weekdays as I try to avoid any Onsen on weekends due to the expected crowds. But unfortunately both times were super crowded with many young men in groups which don’t consider other people. I can understand the need to come with your friends but considering others trying to relax would be a nice addition to the new generation of kids. Maybe after college starts with new season, it will be less crowded during the week. 10. I see many people not take a shower before entering the baths (not sure if it’s a new trend, laziness or some people just don’t care or think they are clean and don’t need to at least rinse. 11. The computerized checkout is ok, i am a traditional and like to pay a person than a computer and get a receipt but I totally understand the world is changing for profitability rather than social interaction. Same goes for the robot serving food at the restaurant. Cool but somewhat makes me feel like a robot too.

Located along the highway, there's ample parking! A rare natural hot spring with black water. The weak alkaline water leaves your skin smooth and silky. It was convenient that the key tag on your shoe locker allowed you to shop and eat within the facility. You pay at the machine when you leave. Cashless payment is also available. There are free lockers in the bath, and it was nice that there were plenty of hair dryers. The menu at the restaurant was extensive, and the food was even better than we expected!

This is one of the must-go places with BLACK water!!! Which is very rare, and they say it's produced from underground wood by slow natural fermentation, kind of like coal. It looks and feels so good. The water is high quality, a little soapy and pleasant. There's free drinking water, massage chairs, massage services, smoking room, sleeping rooms separately for men and women, cheap drinks, a restaurant and a game arcade. Totally worth going there, absolutely.

Very nice onsen. Two baths (one inside and one outside) with black water. A nice sauna and cold water bath. In the steam bath, there is a pot with salt to scrub your body. The bath was clean and the staff friendly. The prices are very fair. We will come back :-)

Littlw onsen in town. It has sauna inside. There is a large place for parking. 860yen on weekdays but 1000yen in weekends.