Minakami Onsen-kyo Hotokeiwa-onsen Suzumorinoyu

Travel journal of day trip bathing to hot spring

Characters

Nishi-san: He is an orthodox hot springs lover and particular about quality of springs. He loves the hot springs flowing from the source, the hot water with a presence, and the rustic atmosphere.

Kita-san: He doesn't care much about quality of hot springs. He loves the open-air bath, and prefers hot springs that have visible features such as good views.

Today, Nishi-san and Kita-san are coming to Minakami Onsen-kyo near the border of Niigata prefecture, north of Gunma prefecture. They are heading to "Hotokeiwa-onsen Suzumorinoyu" in Minakami Onsen-kyo. Away from Minakami Town area, they are walking on a quiet country road for a while.

Because I often hear "Minakami" in the weather news, so I thought it big city, but it wasn't. Why weather news pick it up?

Ah, the weather news, for sure ... Did it flourish in the past ...

In winter, even if Kanto is sunny, but only Minakami is often snow, you know.

In short, it has a part of climate of the Sea of Japan. It's close to Niigata, so may be quite cold in winter.

They arrived saying such a thing.

Entrance

Oh, here.

Have we already arrived? It is close, isn't it?

It was just the right distance for a walk. In this season.

If you walk around in winter, you may be in distress.

After passing through the entrance, an open-air corridor leads you to the building with the bath.

♨ The monthly average temperature in Minakami is -1.3 ℃ (29.7 ℉) in January and -1.0 ℃ (30.2 ℉) in February. A lot of snow falls, and the deepest snow is 117 cm (3.8 ft) in January and 150 cm (4.9 ft) in February.

Exterior

Oh, it looks like a wooden hut, but the inside is beautiful.

Is this here new yet?

Well, I think it's pretty new.

The two go to the bathing room at once. First, the indoor bath, there is a large heated bathtub in the foreground and a small non-heated bathtub in the back.

Indoor bathtub (heated)

Wow, it's so beautiful!

Oh, yeah! The green outside is nice.

The windows are big and it's spacious.

Indoor bathtub (non-heated)

The hot water is so good, too. It feels fresh.

Next is an open-air bath. Going down the concrete stairs, there is an open-air bath facing the river.

Open-air bath

Oh! The bathtub is close to the forest!

Wow, it feels like in nature.

Falling leaves are floating. I like this kind of thing, you know.

Certainly, my heart will be washed ... because it's like having a forest bath, too.

Water temperature is lower. I really like it.

Open-air bath

It is only the babbling of the river that breaking the silence of the forest. The sunlight is leaking through the gaps between the branches and leaves of the trees. And it is shining brightly, reflecting off the water.

Well, the open-air bath lover can't resist this bath.

You can say that again. The best part of an open-air bath is sense in nature, so here is great!

The scenery is nice, too.

Right. No matter what, it's good that there are no fences or blindfolds. Come to think of it, many facilities have no view from the bathtubs. You know, even if the scenery is good.

Yeah, exactly.

You don't need a blindfold here. That was a good job making an open-air bath here, wasn't it.

While listening to the river, the hot water was so comfortable. So they had been in it for a long time. Nishi-san and Kita-san, this time was also a very satisfying onsen trip.

(September 2016)

♨ Suzumorinoyu has opened in 2001.

Impression & rating

The hot water Flowing from the Source is fresh and calm. It's nice to have a non-heated source bathtub.

3.0 pt

Impression & rating

The open-air bath has no blindfold, so you can enjoy plenty of views of the forest and river directly.

3.5 pt

→ How to rate

The Onsen facility

Address: 1009-2, Anogawa, Minakami Town, Tone District, Gunma Pref.
Phone: domestic: 0278-72-4696
international: +81-278-72-4696
Website: Suzumorinoyu
Bathing hours: 11:00 - 20:00 (Last entry at 19:00)
Varies by season
Close days: Wednesdays (If it's a national holiday, the next day)
Only last Wednesday in August. There is a temporary closure.
Charge: (Use within 2 hours)
Adults: ¥ 900 / Elementary school students: ¥ 500 / Infants (3 years and over): ¥ 400 / Under 3 years: free
Baths: Gender-separated indoor bath (with mist sauna), Gender-separated open-air bath

The hot spring data
(According to hot spring analysis report etc.)

(Field examination date: Oct. 22, 2007

Spring quality: Simple hot spring
(Hypotonic Weak alkaline Hot spring)
Gushing place: 1009-1, Aza-Juni, Anogawa, Minakami Town, Tone District, Gunma Pref.
Temperature: 35.0 ℃ (95 ℉)
[air temperature 15.5 ℃ (59.9 ℉)]
Water volume: 580 L / min (Pumping)
pH value: 8.2
Total ingredients: 0.77 g / kg
Perception: Colorless and transparent

Today's Ekiben

Joshu D51 Bento

(Purchased at Takasaki Sta.)

The SL runs from Takasaki to Minakami. In that connection(?), "Takaben" (the Bento maker in Takasaki) sells "Joshu D51 Bento". The first thing that draws attention is the jet-black container with the front part of the SL (D51) designed. And the most characteristic is that the rice is black! It is dyed black by bamboo charcoal after an SL coal. The taste is not novel, but authentic and good.

« menu »
Rice colored with bamboo charcoal, Simmered maitake mushroom, Roasted Haruna pork, Grilled chicken, Boiled shrimp, Simmered shiitake mushroom, Simmered bamboo shoot, Kamaboko, Crunchy Japanese salt plum, Sweet chestnut, Boiled quail egg

(¥ 1,000) ( Takaben)

The descriptions on this page contain personal opinions and are not necessarily objective facts.
The information may have changed at present. In particular, the charge and price etc. has often not updated from the time of travel, so check the latest information on the official website.

TRAIN ONSEN Travel Journals to Hot Springs in Japan