Tsubame Onsen

If you are FEMALE, please do not use this place alone or even in a group! Come with a guy to LOOKOUT for you. I brought my wife and a lady friend here. While they were relaxing inside i stood outside waiting for them as i was not in the mood for onsen that day. An old Japanese man came up the hill and it looks like he wanted to use the onsen. But upon hearing the ladies chatting inside, he just stood outside pretending to stretch while trying to look into the ladies sides. The entrance to the ladies side is only covered by a flimsy see through blind that could still allow people outside to see in if you stretched your neck abit. I started staring at him and he just smiled and walked into the men’s side. But after a few minutes, i felt suspicious and decided to see what the man was up to. Turns out he was buck naked and peeking over the rocks at the ladies. I then shouted at him, and he quickly came out of the onsen, put on his clothes and hurried away apologising. With all that, it is still a nice little charming free public onsen out in the hills. The water is milky and very mineralised so i guess it is good for the skin. It is separated by a wall of rocks each side for men and women, with a little hut on each side for you to change. There is no toilet or shower facilities.,There is no view except for the forest surrounding the onsen, so you are just getting the experience of a free outdoor onsen on a hill in the middle of nowhere. You can purchase towels at the shop below before climbing up to the onsen or bring your own. For those who can’t read Japanese, take the left lane up, the right lane leads to a hiking trail. It is their culture to be naked when using onsen, but i would suggest ladies to wear a swim suit as there are peeping toms there. Or come with a trusted guy to stand guard for you.

It was my first ever open-air bath. I went there in the fall, and the drive was shrouded in fog. I couldn't tell if the hotel-like buildings were still open, but we passed through them and climbed a path that seemed to be deep in the mountains. Being afraid of heights myself, I was out of breath and worried about bears, which felt like Silent Hill. The whole experience was amazing. It's a strong memory. I saw a few foreigners there, and I really wondered how they got there... I assumed the hot springs would be different every day. There was a lot of mineral deposits scattered in the water, but they weren't that concentrated. Instead, they were a vibrant emerald green, which made me excited about the water's ingredients. The water itself was like a pale version of bone mineral water, but the emerald green color was a concern. The smell was faintly sulfurous, with no thickening. It had almost no taste. But the outdoor experience and the journey alone were enough to make me shiver.

It was great, very great. For the past 30 years, I've been told by people around me that this hot spring is really great, so I finally went. The leaves hadn't turned red yet. The location was a bit scary, as you might expect a bear to pop out of the bushes along the way, and all the hikers going up were wearing bear bells, which made it even scarier. The bath was cloudy but smooth. Apparently, there are bugs in the summer, but by late October there are none and it's comfortable. It's cool outside, so we were able to soak for a long time, and there were fewer bathers, probably because the leaves haven't yet turned red, so it was very pleasant. A perfect hot spring. I was with a foreign guest, but they didn't seem to know what to do, so I managed to explain things to them in my poor English, and we even had a little international exchange. Thank you to the locals who manage this great hot spring!

I took advantage of an autumn holiday to take a little trip out and visit. The water was cloudy and a little hot for this season, so I couldn't stay in the bath for long, but the view of the autumn leaves, clear skies, and sea of clouds was amazing. It was perfect. It's about a 10-minute walk from the day-trip parking lot (free, about 30 cars), but it's quite an uphill climb. Sandals are a challenge.

Spring quality: Sulfur-containing - calcium, sodium, magnesium - bicarbonate, sulfate, and chloride spring Metallic sulfur hot spring! The outdoor bath is excellent, but inaccessible during winter. Studless tires and chains are required in winter. Snow removal is thorough. A member of the Society for Preserving Japan's Hidden Hot Springs. Hot spring area where Karafutokan is located.