Sano Natural Hot Spring Noborigumo

This was just what I needed. Beautifully kept and peaceful property. Not tattoo friendly. Went on Thursday around 11. Very quiet. Onsens as an inexperienced gaijin with very poor Japanese skills can be woefully intimidating. This place was still intimidating, but staff did their best to guide me through process. Bring a minimum of ¥200 for the two lockers you’ll need: first for your shoes and second for your clothes in the changing rooms prior to the baths. I brought my own towels but if you forget, they’ll have some you can buy. The baths were plenty hot and looked clean and well kept. I liked the interior bath and the external ones they had as well. The restaurant is very nice, and the cold udon especially a great way to cool down. Maybe bring some socks for your change up of clothes post bath, as your shoes will be still held hostage at the front locker and you’ll be padding around the property barefoot. Considering this is less than 20 min by bus from where I’m staying, I’ll be back. This is a nice property and a great intro to Japanese hot spring culture. Thank you.

5/2019 Golden Week Friday, not an awful lot of customers. Warning - you need at least two 100 yen coins for locking your stuff. Really nice baths. I think there were four pools, at least in the ladies’. One indoors, three outside. One where you can walk around in a big circle, perfect for exercising. The one surrounded by stones and trees was very relaxing (as long as you don’t mind the leaves and tiny insects floating in the water!). Worth 1000 yen I thought. The meal was also great, so satisfying! Tasty and a good amount. Can’t wait to go back. 1/2021 They accept credit/other cashless methods now, but you still need your 100 yen coins for the lockers.

So I went around 6pm on a Sunday evening, I thought it would be very crowded but in fact it was quite empty, which I appreciated. Also current fee to get in is 1200¥ and the food was quite good. Also they offer an English menu too. I loved all the different levels of hot springs, there were two inside and three outside for the women. Also you need to pay extra to go into the dry sauna, which I didn't know. They offer massages and body cleaning but they didn't speak a lot of English so couldn't communicate with them to schedule one for me.

This was my first time visiting an onsen, but it was lovely! The building itself, on the inside and outside, is lovely and well appointed. The staff are friendly and professional. The hot baths themselves are not brand new, but that is part of the charm. The pools made of rocks, surrounded by trees, filled with sunshine and birdsong, are so relaxing. And the sauna was clean and just the right size. I had a massage here, too, and left feeling like a newborn baby! Well worth the visit!

This is a very nice onsen and place to dine. Hair cutting service, massage service, and a tatami matt room are available. The water has no chemical odor. Outside there are several choices for soaking. Inside there is one choice for soaking. I enjoyed this spa very much.