Yonémaru Onsen
With the 4th owner Etsuko Yamamura and 3rd owner Emiko, on the bench
We visited "Yonémaru Onsen" located on Yonémaru, Kamo-cho, Aira city. Yonémaru Onsen has over 130 years of history. Injured soldiers came here to heal the wounds in the time of Satsuma Rebellion. They used to run a pharmacy but later changed to an onsen because the hot spring water was excellent.
The owner Etsuko welcomed us at the reception, she is the 4th owner of Yonémaru Onsen.
The house of Yonémaru Onsen was built 120 years ago, it has the traditional Japanese architecture and there is a big tatami room, which reminds us of our grandmothers' house.
This is the dressing room. It is very simple (there are only some compartments), but clean.
The bathroom is rustic, we love this kind of simple bathroom which we cannot see in our urban life. The water contains carbon-dioxide and sodium chloride, the temperature is approx. 30.5°C (86.9°F). As the water is cool, they mix the original cool water and the heated hot water to adjust the temperature.
When the amount of water decreases or the temperature gets down, the owner opens this faucet to add the water. As this is drinkable, we tried it. We felt a subtle umami-like flavour, maybe that is because a lot of substances are dissolved in this water.
His name is Eiji and he is 68 yeas old. He comes to Yonémaru Onsen to heal his skin diseases. He says that the water of Yonémaru Onsen has a strong disinfecting effect, it does not get rotten even if he leave it for a long time.
Yonémaru Onsen is not famous, only the locals know it. However, the water quality is very good and it treats skin diseases and surface wounds. The manager Etsuko used to have skin diseases, but they were cured after she moved here and regularly took a bath in Yonémaru Onsen.
MAP
INFORMATION
Name: Yonémaru Onsen
Address: 3275, Yonémaru, Kamō-cho, Aira, Kagoshima
Tel: 099-552-0248
Access (Car): 37 min from the centre of Kagoshima city. 26 min from the Kagoshima airport
Parking Lot: 30
Opening Hours: 13:00 - 17:00 (Monday to Friday), 09:15 to 17:00 (Saturday, Sunday)
Closing Days: Every 2nd, 12th, and 22th
Price: JPY 390
