Hakata Onsen "Ganso Motoyu"
The owners Takahiro and Emi Abe, in front of the building
We visited Hakata Onsen “Ganso Motoyu” in Yokote, Minami-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka. As indicated in the name, this is the birthplace of Hakata Onsen which dates from 1958. The previous owner drilled the ground to construct a well to obtain normal ground water, but unexpectedly a hot spring was discovered. That's the beginning.
This is the entrance, it is nicely aged and reminds us of old grandparents’ house.
Ganso Motoyu is operated by Takahiro and Emi, and generally Emi welcomes you at the reception. On this day, she friendly chatted with frequent bathers.
The dressing room is small and there are no lockers (only open compartments), so we recommend you to leave your belongings in your car.
This is the bathroom. The stone bathtub is a hand-made by the owner’s family. It is so small (maybe three people is the maximum) that bathers should be considerate to others not to hog the bath. Also, the bath temperature should be mentioned in the article about Ganso Motoyu. It is really hot. The hot spring supplies the water of 49°C|102.2°F, and it is used in this bath as is. Not recycled. Not adjusted. You might not be able to soak in this bath more than 3 minutes. When we got out of the bath, we saw a red line on our body which indicated the water level of the bath.
A large amount of hot spring water is always supplied. It is salty but not sticky. We didn’t feel a chill after bathing thanks to the sodium minerals and hot water.
Sometimes the water gushes out of the faucet like shown in this picture. We asked the owner and they answered there is a switch in the reception and they regularly turn on it. They also said there is no particular reason for this operation.
Yasunari has been enjoying going around “Kyushu 88 Onsens,” and visited Ganso Motoyu with his wife on this day. This was the first time for him to come to this onsen. He said the water is amazingly hot but it’s good.
They are the owners Takahito and Emi (husband and wife). They smiled and said the average number of daily visitors is less than 10, but they work somewhat voluntarily to preserve this bathhouse for the locals. Although the bath is small, the frequent bathers have built a really good relationship, they often celebrate together each one’s birthday or events. Ganso Motoyu is a tiny but lovely hot spring.
MAP
INFORMATION
Name: Hakata Onsen “Ganso Motoyu”
Address: 3-6-18 Yokote, Minami-ku, Fukuoka, Fukuoka
Tel: 092-591-6713
Access (Car): 19 min from the centre of Fukuoka City. 20 min from the Fukuoka airport
Parking Lot: 15
Opening Hours: 13:00 - 18:00
Closing Days: Thursday
Price:
13:00 to 15:00: JPY 600
15:00 to 17:00: JPY 500
17:00 to 18:00: JPY 400
