Yunomine Onsen Yunominesou

Yunomine Onsen rises in Shimoyukawa, Hongu, Tanabe City, Wakayama Prefecture, just west of Kumano Hongu Taisha, and counts among the oldest hot spring settlements in Japan, with a history said to reach back some 1,800 years. Yunominesou stands on high ground a short way apart from the center of that village, a quiet mountainside setting removed from the bustle of the narrow valley where the World Heritage Tsuboyu and the public bathhouse sit side by side. The inn has twenty-six rooms and serves as a base for walkers on the Kumano Kodo.

The water is classified as a sulfur-bearing sodium chloride and bicarbonate spring, piped in from the Yunomine source. The official site states plainly that the baths are free-flowing with no recirculation, and every tub, from the separate men's and women's indoor baths and open-air baths to the private family bath, is filled with hot spring water. The water carries a faint yellowish-brown tint and a mild egg-like scent from its sulfur content. No published figures for this particular facility's source temperature, pH, or discharge rate could be confirmed.

Bathing consists of separate men's and women's main baths and open-air baths, plus family baths that can be reserved for private use. Day-use bathing runs from 12:00 to 15:00 and costs 1,000 yen for adults and 500 yen for children aged three through elementary school, with under-threes free; the private baths are included in the entry fee. Parking for thirty cars is free. Check-in is at 15:00 and check-out at 10:00. The telephone number is 0735-42-1111.