Akishigeyu

Akishigeyu is a small, family-run day-use bathhouse standing alone amid rice paddies and taro fields in the Ura district of Ebino City, Miyazaki Prefecture, in the basin at the northern foot of the Kirishima mountains. The owner, a lover of the outdoors, drilled the land for a geological survey and struck excellent hot spring water. At first he used it as a bath for his own home, but at the urging of friends he extended the building and opened it to the public in 1998. The name combines two characters each from the given names of the owner couple, Akimitsu and Shigeko. The place has never advertised, yet devoted bathers travel from across Kyushu to soak here.

The water is an alkaline simple spring of the moor type, colored by organic matter derived from ancient plant material. The source emerges at 45.1 degrees Celsius with a pH of 8.5, a flow of 107.7 liters per minute, and a total dissolved solids content of 618 mg per kilogram. It appears a pale golden or lemonade yellow, carries a faintly peaty aroma with a trace of hydrogen sulfide, and tastes mildly sweet with a hint of bitterness. Water is piped from the private source at a depth of 1,000 meters to the tubs without ever touching the air, and nothing is added, heated, recirculated, or chlorinated. Fine bubbles stream from the spout and cling to the skin, producing the slippery, silky feel the spring is known for. The water is also said to be suitable for drinking.

Baths are separated by gender, with one indoor bath each plus three open-air tubs for men and two for women. The indoor bath is divided by a partition into a normal-depth tub and a shallow one used as a reclining bath. Outside, barrel and bucket tubs filled with source water sit beside a cold tub of spring water at around 28 degrees, allowing alternating hot and cold bathing. Inside the building is a free rest hall of roughly 160 square meters, fitted with massive timber pillars and single-slab tables. There is no restaurant and no vending machine, but visitors may bring their own food and drink. Admission is 500 yen for adults and 300 yen for children. Hours are 10:00 to 16:00 with last entry at 15:00, closed on Wednesdays, and free parking is available for 40 cars.