Kyomachi Onsen Tsuru-no-Yu

Tsuru-no-Yu is a community bathhouse in the Kyomachi Onsen district of Ebino City, Miyazaki Prefecture, sited beside the Sendai River in a neighborhood called Tsuru. Kyomachi Onsen, on the northern skirts of the Kirishima range near the point where Miyazaki, Kumamoto, and Kagoshima prefectures meet, was first drilled in the late Meiji period and grew into a modest healing-bath town. Tsuru-no-Yu stands apart from the tourist-facing inns around it: the name is said to come from the local place name Tsuru, written with characters meaning water current, and the bathhouse is run by a handful of residents who take turns maintaining it. There is no attendant, only an unmanned entrance with a box for the bathing fee.

The water is a sodium-calcium bicarbonate spring, hypotonic, weakly alkaline, and hot, emerging at 50.2 degrees Celsius with a pH of 7.74 and a total mineral content of roughly 1,166 mg/kg. The posted analysis lists 169.2 mg of sodium, 57.7 mg of calcium, 537.7 mg of bicarbonate, and 173.7 mg of metasilicic acid, a composition rich in bicarbonate and silica that gives the bath a notably soft, smooth feel on the skin. The water is clear and virtually odorless. It pours continuously from a bare pipe set into the wall in true free-flowing fashion, with a second pipe alongside adding cold water to bring the high source temperature down to a bearable level.

Bathing is limited to separate indoor baths for men and women. The tub is a retro half-oval divided into two sections: the side nearest the spout runs around 43 degrees, while the far section settles near 41 degrees, letting bathers choose their heat. There is a single washing tap, no shampoo, body soap, or bar soap provided, and an old-style pit toilet, though stools and basins are available. Admission is 200 yen for adults and 100 yen for elementary school children and younger, and the bathhouse opens from 7:00 to 21:00 every day of the year. Parking is available for seven cars.