Yajigayu Onsen

Yajigayu Onsen sits among the rice paddies about 1.5 kilometers north of JR Ibusuki Station, at 1068 Jitcho in Ibusuki City, Kagoshima Prefecture. It is both a public bathhouse and a self-catering therapeutic inn, founded in 1892 (Meiji 25) and used by local residents for more than 130 years. The late-Edo-period gazetteer Sangoku Meisho Zue is said to record that the spring takes its name from a man called Yaji who dug it out, though other explanations of the name also exist. As lodgings the place is known as Yajigayu Ryokan, and locals also call it Takenoyu.

The water is a sodium chloride spring (hypotonic, neutral, high-temperature) issuing at roughly 50 degrees Celsius. It carries dissolved iron, so the bath takes on a faint tint depending on the season and has a metallic scent and a mild salty taste. The property owns two of its own wells: the shallow Yajigayu source flows straight into the tub with no water or heat added, while the deeper, hotter Daikokuyu source can be tempered with cold water at the spout.

The baths occupy two separate wooden buildings, Yajigayu and Daikokuyu, each with two indoor tubs for men and two for women. There is no open-air bath and no sauna. The Yajigayu side has no washing area at all, only the bathing pool itself, and the plank-floored reception desk and wooden rest room preserve a distinctly Showa-era atmosphere. Admission is 400 yen for adults, 100 yen for elementary school children and 50 yen for infants. Open 8:00 to 21:00, closed every Thursday, with parking for about 20 cars. Simple self-catering rooms at the rear allow overnight stays.