界ポロト ◯湯（まるのゆ）

A public bath that's completely worthless for its price. All it has is an unmanned ticket gate, a bathtub, and a washing area. As a bit of an artist, I'd say that this crappy bathtub, which is probably the result of a self-indulgent scheme by a sloppy contemporary artist, is worth it for 500 yen at most, but for 1500 yen It should come with things like bath wear, towels, bath towels, and a rest area, and those of decent quality, but there's nothing there. Just cheap-looking shampoo, conditioner, and body soap. The shower doesn't have a knob, making it difficult to use. The water is just simple hot spring water. As for its use, Upopoy requires paid parking, but this place has a free parking lot next door. If you're visiting Upopoy, park here and you'll save 500 yen. This is a really low-grade public bath. Don't go there under any circumstances. In short, the management who charge 1500 yen are shameless.

I've heard a lot about it in the area. It was originally an old day-trip hot spring called Shiraoi Onsen that was enjoyed by local residents. Hoshino Resorts bought it and opened the luxury inn Kai Poroto. Apparently, they're issuing residents' cards for 400 yen at Poroto Mintara to encourage local residents to continue using the facility. As it's a luxury inn, the admission fee is 1,500 yen. It's a day-trip bathing facility for local residents and the wealthy. As a result, it has a good clientele, and while some people say the facilities aren't enough, I think the 1,500 yen fee is fine since it's only open to a more relaxed clientele. It's a bit too much for an ordinary person like me, so I'm deducting one star and giving it a 4. Sorry. (Shampoo, conditioner, body soap, facial cleanser provided, hot and cold water dispensers, face towel vending machine)

I learned that this luxury inn has a day-use only bathhouse called Maru no Yu, so I stopped by one day. The area marked as a parking lot wasn't very well maintained, and I mistakenly entered the wrong spot. I had to go back in, but it was a bit narrow. The parking lot at Kai Poroto is much nicer, and I felt a stark contrast. The day-use bathhouse is unmanned. You insert money and a machine responds. There's only one indoor bath, and it's not very spacious. It was a very artistic bathhouse. It's labeled as a simple hot spring, but the water was a bit dark, like a moor spring. The hair dryers are Dyson, and only small towels are available from a vending machine for 200 yen; you must bring your own bath towel. It was Sunday afternoon, but there were no other customers.

The spring quality is excellent👍 This bath is indoors only, with no windows, and is quite atmospheric. The hot spring water is diluted with water, heated, circulated, filtered, and disinfected, so it should be quite diluted, but it still has a slightly lukewarm feel. They provide proper soaps, but no ear picks... The bathing fee of 1,500 yen is still a bit pricey😅 The fact that it's only 400 yen for local residents makes it feel even more expensive. I don't understand why there's a price difference of about four times between inside and outside the town😅

Visited at the end of November 2024. I was hesitant to take a dip because the reviews were so bad, but the spring quality was absolutely amazing. I wasn't staying at Poroto Kai, so it was just 1,500 yen to check out the spring quality. I came from the Kanto region. Staying overnight would have cost over 30,000 yen, and I don't often come this far, so I was glad I could take a dip even for 1,500 yen. It's a thick moor spring with a pH of nearly 8. It contains over 200mg of metasilicic acid. I envy the locals who can take a dip for 400 yen.