Tamagawa Onsen

You can get there by bus or rental car, and it's the most acidic hot spring. The inn itself is a little old, but the food and bath were good. I'd like to relax here again.

In September, I took the Shinkansen from Tokyo to Tazawako Station and rented a car from there to Tamagawa Onsen. Because it is a hot spring, it is too hot in the summer and in the winter (from around the latter half of November), you can only get to Tamagawa Onsen by public transportation, so I decided to go in September. Since I have stayed at Shin Tamagawa Onsen before, I made a reservation at my favorite Tamagawa Onsen this time. The room was a self-catering Japanese-style room about 6 tatami mats in size, so there was no particular inconvenience. Tamagawa Onsen has a strong acidic spring quality and you can sample it. You can dilute it and drink it, but it is sour like Pocari Lemon. Because it is acidic, even a small cut can cause severe pain, so be careful not to bathe after shaving. I have atopic dermatitis, so it was quite painful to soak in it. However, I heard that it is good for skin diseases, so I tried my best to endure about 3 minutes in the water, and then my body got used to it, so I endured another 2 minutes and soaked for a total of about 5 minutes. Afterwards, we moved to the steam bath, took a short break, and then soaked in again, repeating this cycle twice. Beginners may find it quite exhausting, so it's best to take care not to get too hot, and bathe at your own pace. There is also a rock bath a short walk from the accommodations in Tamagawa Onsen. This is a real rock bath that uses geothermal energy. There you can feel the energy of nature, with beitou stones, rocks spewing steam, and a river with hot sulfurous springs, so we recommend trying the hot spring and rock bath combination.

I heard from the front desk that it is best to lay a mat for outdoor hot stone bathing, so I bought a folding mat for 1,700 yen at the shop. For short-term guests like me, I think it is better to use a compact folding mat that is easy to carry, rather than a large mat. Some people use mats and pillows sold at 100 yen stores like Daiso. By the way, it seems that a picnic sheet can melt due to the heat of the hot stone. I was glad to bring an S-hook. Everyone was hanging their luggage on a hook attached to the tent pole. If you put your luggage directly on the hot stone, it will get warm from the heat, so an S-hook is an essential item at the tent site to avoid this. Also, horseflies gather around the tent, so it is useful to have a fly swatter. A couple who were taking a hot stone bath next to me repelled some horseflies with a fly swatter, which was a big help. Most items are available at the shop. However, they are a bit expensive. I recommend bringing anything you can bring from home. I bought the clothes I would wear to the hot stone bath from Uniqlo, and the bath towel and accessories from a 100 yen shop, so the only expenses other than the accommodation fee were a mat and water from the vending machine. By the way, Coca-Cola was 150 yen and water was 180 yen in the vending machine. The staff greeted me cheerfully every time they passed by me. They have created an atmosphere to help those recuperating feel cheerful.

I visited 3 times for overnight stays and day trips, but I took a day trip bath for the first time in 8 years. I couldn't even take a minute in the 100% hot spring bath due to scratches on my body, heat rash, and insect bites. I climbed through other baths in a short time. The central part of the body feels less stimulating with age. The large burial mound was boiling with the same tremendous force as before. The spring quality is acid-containing carbon dioxide/ferrous-chloride hot spring, and an entrance fee to the bath facility is JPY 800. Tamagawa is known to everyone who loves hot springs. The hot spring with the strongest acidity in Japan is unrivaled by others.

I went there for a day trip, but the parking lot was on the way down the hill to the inn, and I had to walk up a pretty steep slope from there to the hot spring, so it was pretty tough for someone with a sore back who went to the hot spring. The parking lot at the hot spring is for guests only. The parking fee and the hot spring fee were 600 yen, and the slope was steep. It was a very good hot spring and I would like to go again, but I'm not sure about my physical strength. However, I think the baths have been better maintained than before.