Kurahashi Katsura

First visit on December 6, 2025. I'd known about the hot spring here for quite some time, but I'd never had the chance to go, and finally finally got around to it. On the way there, the views of the Seto Inland Sea and the houses clinging to the slopes were truly enjoyable. 😄 So, we arrived at the hot spring. Surprisingly, it was quite a magnificent building. There were already many cars there, and my expectations were high. (^^) Now, let's head inside! The first thing that caught my eye were the various souvenirs and seafood products. 🐟🐡 Locally produced seafood products, fruits, and vegetables were also on sale, a selection that rivaled even a roadside station. 👍 Now, let's head to the hot spring... Admission fee: ¥720 for adults?! So cheap!! 😱 Most hot springs cost over ¥1,000, but this one is incredibly cheap!! A very reasonable price. After paying and handing your bathing ticket to the front desk, you'll be given a locker key. This will be your shoe locker number and your locker number in the changing room. On this day, the men's bath was on the first floor and the women's on the third floor, but I wonder if they switch places depending on the day? When I entered the changing room, there were a few elderly people, probably locals, but there were also a few young guys in their 20s. Where were they from?? Anyway, I quickly got naked and headed to the hot springs!! 🤣 Wow! There's so much to see!! 😲 In addition to the regular indoor baths, there's also a waterfall bath, a reclining bath, an open-air bath, and even a sauna!! 😲 I wasn't sure which one to go in first, but it was cold, so I decided to go to the sauna! For some reason, the entrance to the sauna was so small that I had to bend down to get in. It was probably full with about 7-8 people inside. It was so small I thought, "This is a sauna!" But it was a decent sauna, and after about 10 minutes I was drenched in sweat. 💦 (There's no clock inside the sauna, just an hourglass provided.) Wow! I can't take it anymore! I headed to the bench outside. As I stepped outside, I was right in front of a mountain, and I rested on the bench, soaking up the negative ions... The winter air and negative ions felt so good on my flushed body, I went from sauna to bench three times! 🤣 After enjoying the sauna, I headed to the open-air bath. The water was so cloudy I couldn't see my feet at all. I had to go down the stairs with the handrail to get in, but even so, I almost tripped and fell. 💦I'm just a little clumsy, right? 🤣 But the open-air bath itself was neither too hot nor too lukewarm—just the right temperature. Even small children enjoyed it. 😄 The open-air bath seemed a little small. I wish it was a little bigger. Now, on to the indoor bath... Yup! Like the open-air bath, the indoor bath had just the right temperature. It was spacious and not cramped at all. Next, I headed to the reclining bath... This bath must be incredibly comfortable because several elderly people were monopolizing it and wouldn't give up their seat. 💦 Finally, a spot opened up, and I pressed the button!! 🤗 Whoaaaaaaa! What the heck is this?! No wonder the elderly people won't give up theirs! I thought. It felt like I was getting a hot water massage, and it felt amazing! 👍 Finally, I went to the waterfall bath. I pressed the button...huh? It didn't come out...I thought it was broken? Then, all of a sudden, it came out with a gushing rush! I was surprised! 🤣 Apparently, it takes a while for the water to come out after pressing the button. But it had plenty of force. I could hit it directly on my neck and shoulders and relieve my stiffness. Finally, I went to the shower area. There was only body soap and a rinse-in-shampoo, which is rare these days, but there were enough showers considering the size of the area. However, while this number of washing areas is fine in winter, in summer, it is expected that beachgoers will also be arriving, so there may be a wait in line... Although it was such a nice facility, there was one thing that bothered me. And that was the lockers in the changing room. The doors were flimsy and felt a little unreliable. I wish they were a little sturdier for security reasons... Other than that, I was surprised at how reasonably priced this facility was! I highly recommend it! I highly recommend you visit Katsurahama Onsen on Kurahashi Island. 😄

On Tuesday, February 3, 2026, I visited Katsurahama Onsenkan in Kurahashi Onsen at 11:00 AM. It was quite a nice hot spring. Upon researching its history, I discovered that it opened around 1998. It's a town landmark, located right in front of the beautiful white sand and green pine beaches of Katsurahama Beach on Kurahashi Island. While its survival was at risk at one point due to reduced revenue caused by natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic, it was revived in 2020 through crowdfunding and other efforts, and continues to operate to this day. The bathing areas are the "Stone Bath" on the first floor and the "Sea Bath" on the third floor, which alternate weekly for men and women. The second floor is a dining area, and this time I used the "Sea Bath" on the third floor. Open from 10:00 AM to 9:00 PM (closing time 8:00 PM), and the price for adults is 720 yen (cash, credit card, and code payment accepted). There are no shoe lockers or shelves, but changing lockers are free. You purchase a bathing ticket from the ticket machine, present it to the reception, and receive your locker key. Amenities include body soap, rinse-in shampoo, and hair dryers (the soap is an original brand, three Tescom KHD-9330 hair dryers), two Ohm Electric scales, a Suiden factory fan, and two TSR massage machines. The "Sea Bath" on the third floor includes one indoor main bathtub, a jetted reclining bath for three and two people, two shoulder massage baths (double-cascading waterfall baths), one lower back massage bath, one standing waterfall bath (low-temperature), a spacious dry sauna (three-tiered stone sauna for 12 people, five minutes, with two hourglasses), a cold water bath, and one outdoor open-air bath. Both indoors and outdoors, there are plenty of wooden decks and benches for sunbathing, allowing for comfortable relaxation and outdoor air bathing. Personally, I found it convenient to wash off the sweat in the waterfall bath (or is it cold water?) located right next to the sauna. It's a shame that the view from the open-air bath is not possible due to the strict privacy screen. The hot spring water is supplied from two slightly different sources, one indoors and one outdoors, and the source supplied to the open-air bath seems to be richer and more effective. According to the 2023 hot spring analysis report, Source ① Main Bath: The water is a hypotonic, weakly alkaline cold mineral spring (22.1°C, pH 7.5, 5.34g, 0.66nCi) sodium chloride spring (also known as a salt spring). The metasilicate/metaborate content exceeds the standard value, and the water appears colorless, transparent, salty, and odorless, with a slightly viscous "hot water." Source ② Open-air Bath: The water is an isotonic, neutral, low-temperature spring (26.3°C, pH 7.2, 8.91g, 4.04nCi) weakly radioactive sodium chloride spring (also known as a radioactive salt spring). Brown travertine precipitates caused by calcium carbonate can be seen on the edge of the bath, and the metasilicate/metaboric acid content exceeds the standard. The water is slightly cloudy, brown, with a salty taste and a slight hydrogen sulfide smell, and is thick. It becomes a little sticky as it dries, but not so sticky that it bothers you. In the end, it leaves your skin feeling firm yet moisturized, making it a "hot and beautiful skin bath." This time, I had a negitoro bowl of rice topped with tuna and tuna in the restaurant on the second floor. As expected, it was very fresh and delicious. Overall, I think it's a great hot spring where you can stay for a longer period of time.

The first floor is for men and the third floor is for women. You purchase a ticket from the ticket machine on the first (or third) floor and collect your key at the respective reception desk. The ticket machine seems to accept various credit cards, as well as PayPay, d-payment, auPay, and RPay. The keys seem to be the same for the shoe lockers at the entrance and the lockers in the changing rooms. As for the important baths, there are 10 washing areas. Body soap and rinse-in shampoo are provided. I'm kind of glad that the showers and faucets in the washing areas don't automatically shut off. There are quite a few steps inside the facility, so you need to be careful. I think most of the customers are locals, but I didn't notice any bad manners on the day I went. *There seems to be a "family bath" on the first floor, but it said reservations are required.

This hot spring facility offers a variety of baths, including a sauna, open-air bath, shoulder-tapping bath, and jet bath. The large public baths on the first and third floors seem to be alternately for men and women. There is a restaurant on the second floor. Baths such as the shoulder-tapping bath have a red button that can be confused with an emergency call button, but pressing it actually turns on the switch. In the large public bath, only the open-air bath uses natural hot spring water, while the other baths are diluted. You will be given a locker key in exchange for a ticket purchased from the ticket machine. The key is returned to the location where it was given to you when you leave.

There weren't many people there, so I was able to take my time soaking. There was a full range of baths available, including an indoor bath, sauna, open-air bath, jet bubble bath, and waterfall bath. The admission fee was also cheap. There is a shop and ticket machines on the first floor, and cashless payment is also accepted.