湯川温泉 河童の湯

This hot spring bubbles up near National Route 152, and is located in a narrow, difficult-to-find area, tucked away between winding streets filled with private homes. There's parking in front of the building, with space for more than 10 cars. If it's full, you can also park in the gymnasium parking lot next door. When you enter the building, there's a shoe locker with no door on the right, and a ticket machine on the left. Tickets cost 600 yen for adults, 300 yen for elementary and junior high school students, and free for children under 12. After purchasing your bathing ticket, hand it to the reception desk next door and head towards the middle. There's a tatami-floored resting room directly in front, where you can lie down or relax. There are also valuables lockers with a 100-yen return, so you can store your important belongings there. The navy blue noren curtain is for men, and the red noren curtain is for women. Go through the noren curtain and into the changing room, where you'll find large lockers. There are no doors or locks, so be careful if you're carrying valuables. There are three sinks and two free hair dryers. There's also a home-use scale. When you enter the bathroom, you're hit with a strong chlorine smell. Combined with the light blue tiles of the indoor bath, it makes you feel like you're in a heated swimming pool. The water temperature is around 42°C, and the chlorine smell is quite strong. There are two separate washing areas, for a total of nine. Body soap and rinse-in shampoo are provided. Opening two doors at the back leads to the open-air bath. It's rock-style, with the water temperature at around 42°C. There's less of a chlorine smell, so you can bathe normally. I guess the high chlorine content is due to the high number of customers. The local resident fee is only 100 yen. No wonder people come to bathe. If you don't mind the chlorine smell, this is a good facility.

May 23, 2025 I stopped by on my way back from hiking at Kirigamine. The location is difficult to describe; you enter through a narrow path that's difficult to pass other vehicles in a residential area? village? The building feels like a small town hot spring, and the interior has a Showa-era feel, but it seems well-maintained and clean, which leaves a good impression. All the shelves in the changing room are open, so you'll need to store your valuables in a returnable locker in the lobby? Both the indoor and outdoor baths are not too hot, so you can enjoy long soaks. The outdoor bath has submerged stones for half-body bathing, making it comfortable. The water itself is fully watered, circulated, and disinfected, but the relaxing atmosphere is very soothing. However, there were a lot of locals, so there was a lot of small talk, which made me feel a bit uncomfortable. The smoking area next to the entrance is out of place, which doesn't seem appropriate for today's society. The smell permeated the area around the shoe lockers. I'd like to see some improvements. Three stars.

Awesome! 600 yen for adults, 300 yen for elementary and junior high school students. The ticket machine accepts up to 1000 yen bills and accepts new bills. The 100 yen lockers are not in the changing room, but are located in the rest area. The changing room is a little small, but the customers are all well-mannered, so even when it's crowded it's never uncomfortable and is a very pleasant place to spend time. There are two Salonia hair dryers. There are also two outlets, so if you bring your own hair dryer you can avoid waiting. Rinse-in shampoo and body soap are provided, but I recommend bringing your own shampoo. I think there were about 10 showers in total. The indoor hot spring is around 40-42 degrees Celsius. The outdoor bath is about the same, and the temperature varies depending on the day, but is hot enough for children to bathe in. The spring quality is good, and the water is smooth, leaving rough fingertips silky smooth. There is ice-cold water in the rest area.

I'm alive now. It's been a lot of hardship. I wanted so many different things, but I was constantly deceived in a competitive society. My nose was broken, my hopes were dashed, and I gave up on my dreams. In the end, all that was left was my body, a boiled egg on a salad, a croquette, and a sprinkle of salt. In fact, the background music was the sound of the river. There were many cherry trees. Thick cherry trees. I wonder how many meetings and farewells have taken place beneath them. I looked at the river. It had quite a strong current. There were lots of big stones. I broke a dead branch that the cherry tree had dropped in half, got in my car, and left the schoolyard without wandering home. I'll come here again. It was a nice hot spring.

◎Best value for money ◎Older facility, but still clean ◎Great hot springs! △Narrow surrounding roads Amazing value for money! For just 600 yen, you can enjoy a soak in the hot springs, complete with shampoo, conditioner, and body soap. Even though it's cheap, the facility is immaculately cleaned, making it a very pleasant experience. I also used the hot springs after snowboarding, and they were incredibly refreshing. They completely wiped away all my fatigue!! The surrounding roads are narrow, so you'll need to be careful, but along the way you'll see a humorous sign that says, "Slow down, Kappa will wake you up!" Lol Overall, this is a very satisfying day-trip hot spring facility!!