We visited Social Welfare Corporation Taiyo no Ie "Taiyo no yu" in Uchikamado, Beppu, Oita. It was established by Dr. Yutaka Nakamura who is regarded as a founder of disability sports in Japan.

The entrance for Taiyo no yu is located at the opposite side of the main entrance. It was built on October of 1996.

Flowers were decorated at the reception. You can pay the entrance fee here.

The dressing room is quite simple. As there are no lockers, you need to keep your valuables safe by yourself.

Taiyo no yu is not a resort hotel, thus the bath is plain without any decorations. The bathtub is rather deep that lets you get your entire body in the water. Frequent visitors say soaking in this bath can warm up the body thoroughly.

The hot spring water always flows out of the faucet, and the temperature is approx. 43°C|110°F which is hotter than average bath. In hot springs in Beppu, the temperature tends to be high. The people living here might like hot bath.

Matsuo lives nearby and is a frequent visitor. He was born in Beppu and used to travel around the world by a ship for his work. He told us about the foreign countries he visited, yet he has come back to Beppu. That may be because of hot springs...

Taiyo no Ie was established by Dr. Yutaka Namakura on October 5, 1965. At that age, people with disabilities had less chances to work in the social community; however, Dr. Namakura struggled to change that situation and he established Taiyo no Ie to realize the society where people work together regardless of disabilities. Since then, Taiyo no Ie has been one of the representative places of disability sports in Japan. It have produced some paralympics medalists. Actually, people in Beppu are friendly for people with disabilities. The will of Dr. Namakura has rooted here.

MAP

INFORMATION

Name: Social Welfare Corporation Taiyo no Ie "Taiyo no yu"

Address: 1393-2 Uchikamado, Beppu, Oita

Tel: 0977-66-0277

Access (Car): 35 min from the centre of Oita City. 37 min from the Oita airport

Parking Lot: 30

Opening Hours: 12:00 - 22:00

Closing Days: Every first and third Monday

Price: JPY 120