"Hidden Village with Rich Nature and Culture" - Welcome to Hitoyoshi ~Onsen~
Onsen Discovery editorial here, how are you? ♪
After the exploration of Amakusa, our next destination is:
Hitoyoshi city, the southernmost of Kumamoto prefecture.
Not many people know it is actually one of the traditional hot spring areas in Japan.
It might not look as gorgeous as recent modern hotspring resorts,
but in fact, you can find many nice classic-style hot springs and hotels around here.
Well, let’s Discover the attractions of the hot springs in Hitoyoshi.
Ryokan Yoshino
The gate is very classic looking!
This hotel was open first as a Japanese restaurant in 1909, favored by politicians and celebrities from both inside and outside the country.
Reference: http://www.yosino.jp/history.html
Each room has unique characteristics.
We can see this place really was a restaurant before!
<Guest room> Reference: http://www.yosino.jp/
Wonder if people used to enjoy holding a party in here…
Cranes illustrated on the paper screen. They must have seen lots of histories of this hotel.
The garden looks so pretty.
We heard Ryotaro Shiba, a famous Japanese author, stayed at this hotel once.
Hmm, it would be nice to sit back, relax, and watch the beautiful Japanese garden feeling the atmosphere of old days of Japan...
The restaurant soon became a hotel (around 1926).
It took almost 5 years to excavate a hot spring source and finally build this place.
You will rarely find a hot spring that has a 90 year history among many in Japan!
Let’s go see inside.
Once we go under a noren curtain...
Very cozy, cool looking hot spring.
This hot spring water is 100% natural, Sodium chloride carbonated spring - mildly alkaline.
Well, if you are not sure what that means…
Put simply, it works for Stimulating digestion, Neuralgia, and Skin disease.
And good news for ladies!
This natural soft hot spring water also has great effect on moisturizing the skin!
For tourists who are planning a day trip,
in Hitoyoshi there are some hot spring spots charged only about 300 yen~ per person.
Why not make some time and visit Hitoyoshi hot springs?
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Tokinomori Sekitei
Address: 1970-5 Yaguro-machi, Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto, Japan
Phone: +81-966-22-3637
Open: 8:00 AM –10:00 PM
Closed: Mondays (if a national holiday falls on Monday, it is closed the next day.)
Fees: Adults 300 yen, Child (under 13 years old) 100 yen, Private bath 2,000 yen
http://www.sekiteinoyakata.com/onsen
Hotel Hananosho
Address: 3316 Higashiaidashimo-machi, Hitoyoshi, Kumamoto, Japan
Phone: +81-966-22-1126
Open: 6:00 AM- 1:00 PM
Fees: Adult 500 yen, Child (6-12 years old) 200 yen, Private bath 1,500 yen
http://www.hananoshou.com/%E6%B9%AF%E3%81%AE%E8%94%B5-%E5%A4%A9%E7%84%B6%E6%B8%A9%E6%B3%89/
After enjoying hot springs, don’t you get hungry?
Check out these dishes for dinner!
Sashimi in the above photo is made of fish called Ayu.
It is well known that Ayu can survive only in the clear, clean river.
Ayu is usually served as grilled with salt as shown in the photo below.
You can eat Ayu as Sashimi, only when Ayu is really fresh, in other words, the place where Ayu can be fished is right nearby.
Reference: http://www.tabirai.net/sightseeing/column/0000129.aspx
According to the landlady of the hotel, there is a sake brewery in Hitoyoshi,
and their sake goes really well with Ayu.
We will Discover that Sake brewery next time.
Don’t miss it!
Get more info on "Ryokan Yoshino" here:
Ryokan Yoshino
Address: 180 Kamiaoi-machi, Hitoyoshi, Fumamoto, Japan
Phone：+81-966-22-2244
