Ongagawa Onsen

This time, we'll be visiting Onga River Onsen, located in the Kitakyushu region, which is said to have few natural hot springs ♨️. 😣💦 It's one of Kyushu's 88 hot springs (registered in 2021). 💡 The bathing fee is 800 yen plus a 10 yen locker fee. The water here is a neutral sodium chloride spring, rich in iron, manganese, and carbon. The indoor bath is cloudy and brown. ☺️ If you put your bottom on the bottom of the bathtub, it will turn reddish-brown due to iron and other deposits. lol Also, the salt content is said to be about the same as the salt concentration in the human body. 👌 Maybe it's because of the iron, but the water feels like it's sticking to your body. 🎵 The outdoor bath is clear because the iron has been removed. It's hot water ☀ The hot spring water is heated and circulated at around 17°C. 💨 The indoor bath is just warm enough (around 40°C), and the outdoor bath is warm enough for long soaks. 💡 There's also a mist sauna, but it's sometimes in operation and sometimes not. 😓 There are a lot of signs with rules and prohibitions... The recommended bathing method is to first warm up in the indoor bath, and then slowly cool down in the outdoor bath. 💦 I remember feeling warm even long after getting out of the bath. ⤴️ ※Some people come to soothe nerve pain, muscle pain, or wounds. ✨ The washroom (4) only has a shower and bar soap (please bring your own shampoo if you need it). Also, it's a good idea to avoid white towels (they'll turn brown when you leave). 😅 The facility is undeniably old, but it's well-kept and doesn't feel unclean. The store manager is a very chatty, cheerful older man. 👍 On my way out, he introduced me to his wife and son. lol There's parking in front of the store, about four spaces 🚙, and a second parking lot across the street. 🅿️ October 24, 2024 May 10, 2025

I arrived at 12:30 on a weekday. The noren curtain was up, so I thought they might be open, but there was a sign at the entrance saying they open from 1:00 PM. A rural landscape stretches out in front of the bath. After waiting a little while, about three cars arrived. I thought I'd be able to relax alone, but it seems to be popular. About 10 minutes before the bath, the owner came to invite me in. From his website, he seemed like a scary guy, but he was actually very kind. He explained all the details of how to use the bath. There's no shower, so I thought I'd have to wash my body beforehand before getting in. But while I was washing, someone who arrived later just scooped water out of the tub with their hands and got in without washing themselves. It was gross. I had been told that the water indoors was hot and the outdoor bath was a little cooler, so I thought it would be too hot, but for me it was just the right temperature. After soaking for a bit, it hits you hard. So we head to the open-air bath. The open-air bath is warm water. It's so warm that everyone submerges up to their necks. You naturally stretch your legs, so it's only open to 4-5 people, and those at the back have to be hesitant. Even though it's an open-air bath, you can't see the sky. You can't see the scenery either. Apparently, it's clear because the iron has been removed. It would have been better if the open-air bath had iron in it as well. After getting into the indoor bath, drying my body and putting on my clothes, a towel came...

📆September 2025 - Posted with a time lag🙇♀️ Since it's on Kyushu Onsen Road 88, I've been wanting to go there for ages! ️ But it's too far away😅 and I couldn't get in for a while, so it took me five tries to finally get in🙌 The receptionist spoke confidently about the charms of the hot springs🍀 At the bath, four people, including some from Shimonoseki and a local, chatted lively about Kyushu's hot springs🎵 The waters are an indoor bath with a hint of iron, and an open-air bath filtered for those who don't like the red components that stick to the body. After getting out of the bath, we got excited talking about the head of a family, as the husband of a young couple from Shimonoseki had apparently obtained his hot spring sommelier license in Hakata the previous week😆 When you go to a hot spring, the hot springs connect you with the harmony and bond🍀 that makes it so fun~ The sunset🌅 photo is from the Onga River, as I passed by here earlier this week. 🍀Sodium-calcium chloride spring (isotonic, neutral, cold mineral spring) Bath fee: 800 yen

As other reviews mention, the manager is a bit eccentric, and there are warning signs posted all over the place, but I think it's fine as long as you follow the rules. In fact, lately, there are a lot of customers with bad manners at hot spring facilities everywhere. There's a parking lot in front of the shop that looks like it can fit 5 or 6 cars, and if you can't find a spot there, there's a gravel parking lot next door. The changing room is old, with retro lockers that cost 10 yen to use, and one hairdryer in the washroom. The bathhouse has one indoor bath, an open-air bath, and a mist sauna. I've been several times, but I've never seen the mist sauna in operation. The indoor bath has reddish-brown water that you can't see the bottom of. It seems like they're heating up chloride cold spring water. White towels turn brown. The outdoor open-air bath has clear water because the iron has been removed. After bathing, your whole body feels warm and cozy; the heat retention effect is amazing.

I visited around 3pm on a Sunday. (^^) The hot spring was rich in iron, had a strong iron smell, and was a brownish-red color with a moderate chloride content, making it very pleasant. The open-air bath had lukewarm water, where the iron had been removed. The indoor bath also had lukewarm water and a mist sauna. It was a wonderful hot spring. ☺️ I had a chance to chat briefly with the owner at the end, and she told me that many of her customers are from Tokyo. I was also working away from home from Tokyo. (^^) I live in Onga Town in the Kitakyushu area, and this is my favorite hot spring with its high iron content. ♨️ (^^)