Shimofuro Onsen Maruhon Ryokan

Maruhon Ryokan is a long-established inn in the Shimofuro Onsen hot spring town, facing the Tsugaru Strait on the northern tip of Honshu in the Shimokita Peninsula of Aomori Prefecture. Founded in 1887 (Meiji 20), it carries more than 130 years of history. The Shimofuro hot spring town has been known as a therapeutic bathing resort since the Muromachi period and is also celebrated as a place of literary heritage, where the novelist Mitsuharu Inoue opened a writing school in his later years.

The bath draws on the Oyu source, an acidic, sulfur-bearing sodium sulfate-chloride spring (hydrogen sulfide type) with a source temperature of 64.0C and a pH of 2.4. Containing roughly 3,298 mg of dissolved minerals, the cloudy white water carries a strong sulfur scent and is served in a free-flowing (kakenagashi) style, with cold water occasionally added to adjust the temperature because the source yield is unstable. It is said to be effective for neuralgia, muscle pain, and joint pain.

The bathing area consists of separate indoor baths for men and women, with a square tub that holds three or four people filled with the dense sulfur water. Day-trip bathing is available from 13:00 to 20:00 for 500 yen per adult (irregular closing days), and overnight stays featuring Shimofuro's famed monkfish (anko) cuisine in winter are popular. It has long been cherished as a quiet therapeutic inn overlooking the Tsugaru Strait.