西之湯温泉

Although there are many comments saying that it's not possible to bathe here, it's perfectly fine. The hot spring water bubbles up from the coast, and locals adjust the temperature in the evening. (The tourist brochure recommends visiting after 5pm.) In fact, when I visited in the morning, it was so hot I couldn't get in... The iron-scented chloride spring has floating hot spring minerals. The bath is located inside a partitioned hut, and while women are generally given priority, it seems the rule is not to enter if there are other guests. If there are cars parked on the paved area along the road, it's a sign that there are other guests. Please wait a little while.

Similar to Nemachi, the hot spring is surrounded by a breakwater. It's directly connected to the source, but it's too hot, so you have to add cold water to adjust the temperature. The location is superb, but unfortunately, it lacks cleanliness due to sea worms roaming around everywhere and a film forming over the water.

This hot spring is located right next to the sea. It is free to enter and exit as you wish, but the water cools down at night because the source is turned off. A caretaker comes around 7am and cleans the bath before adding the source water. The water is not straight from the source, but contains disinfectant.

It's not very popular among islanders because it's sticky due to the seawater mixed in. Only certain islanders have the habit of taking the first bath at 4:30pm every day. If you go at the same time as the islanders, they might get upset, so it's best to avoid it if you're not from the island.

It's incredibly hot. When you add cold water and soak up to your waist in the bath, the waves crash against the rocks, creating a rumbling sound like an earthquake. Unlike Yumuki, this place has a strong smell of rust. That's nice too.