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This signboard is the sign for Teraono Onsen! — This signboard is the sign for *Teraono Onsen*!

We visited Teranoto Onsen “Yakushiyu” in Teraono Kamida, Oguni-machi, Aso-gun, Kumamoto. This public bathhouse is managed and operated by the locals. As it is located off the beaten track, it would be difficult to find the building.

You may find this signboard by following the route suggested by your car navigation. Although the board says “Cars cannot pass”, this is the sign for Yakushiyu, you can go forward to get to the destination.

You will find a building with a black roof, this is Yakushiyu.

The reception is unstaffed, insert JPY 100 to the box to enter. Please make sure to follow the rule if you want to take a bath here.

There is nothing to separate the dressing room ant bathroom. You can watch your belongings while bathing.

This is the bathroom. The water is clear sulphur spring, and it has a good fragrance. According to a local man, Yakushiyu opened in around 1940, the wood wall used for separating Men’s bath and Women’s bath has been used since then. And, the name Yakushiyu derives from the Yakushinyorai statue placed in the back of this room.

This is the faucet, a rich amount of water flows out. They say the water treats skin rush and skin diseases.

Yasuhiro (left) and Taira (right) have been friends since they were small children. They now live in a village located over the mountain.

You can see a white water streaming outside of Yakushiyu, this is a hot spring source used before. The current hot spring source is maintained by a union of six local families. As Yakushiyu has been loved by the locals for 70 years, we hope this small bathhouse will continue in the future for a long time.