We visited “Ongagawa Onsen” in Onga-chō, Onga-gun, Fukuoka.

The owner Mitsuhiko welcomed us with a smile at the reception.

There are lockers (which costs JPY 10 to use) in the dressing room. You can keep your valuables safe using a locker.

Look at the water colour. It’s deep orange, so deep! A lot of visitors might be surprised with it when they come to Ongagawa Onsen at the first time. Although we have seen many coloured hot springs, this is really deep. This colour is caused by the iron minerals contained in the water which also contains bicarbonate.

The temperature of Ongagawa Onsen is 16.6°C|61.88°F, and thus it is classified to kósen (cool spring). The water is heated up to moderate bath temperature by mixing with hot steam. A frequent bather said bathing at Ongagawa Onsen could ease lower back pain and wrist pain which he had suffered for a long time, and his chiropractor started regularly coming here after seeing his recovery. However, please be noted that, as this bath contains a lot of minerals that have a strong medicinal effect, taking a long soak can make you feel sick. If you want to take a long soak, make sure to ask the owner Mitsuhiko in advance.

Isami is 77 years old, he came all the way to Ongagawa Onsen because he heard the good reputation of this spring. The reputation has spread word-of-mouth.

Ongagawa Onsen has an open-air bath as well. When you see this picture, you might think the hot spring source is different from the one used for the indoor bath; however, the water from the same spring is used. For this bath, Mitsuhiko uses an original device, for which he spent five years to develop, to filter out iron ions from the water, that’s why the colour is completely different. As the medicinal effect of the original hot spring is too strong, it is not suitable for some bathers. Mitsuhiko constructed this bath for those bathers.

Mitsuhiko’s ancestor directed the construction of the Horikawa canal which was started by Ngamasa Kuroda. While Mitshiko was researching the ancestor, he found there should be a hot spring source here and he actually drilled the ground. Since then, Ongagawa Onsen has been serving for the locals. By the way, there is a small shrine nearby, you can find a Pokémon there.

MAP

INFORMATION

Name: Ongagawa Onsen

Address: 61-1 Asagi, Onga-chō, Onga-gun, Fukuoka

Tel: 093-293-6869

Access (Car): 56 min from the centre of Fukuoka City. 57 min from the Fukuoka airport

Parking Lot: 30

Opening Hours: 13:00 - 21:00 (last entry at 20:30)

Closing Days: Every Fourth Monday, Tuesday

Price: JPY 700