Suzumori no Yu

Suzumori no Yu is a day-use bathing facility in Anogawa, Minakami, Gunma, about 10 minutes by car from the Minakami Interchange, just beyond the Kan-etsu Expressway overpass on Route 270. Its water is known as Hotokeiwa Onsen, named after Hotokeiwa, a huge rock shaped like a seated Buddha that can be seen from the facility on clear days. The spring is said to rise from a stratum about 20 million years old, and the operator, Suzumori Shoji, has run food businesses in Minakami for many years.

The water is a calcium sulfate spring. A 2018 analysis recorded a weakly alkaline pH of 8.2 and about 1.4 g/kg of dissolved solids, and the water is colorless and clear. The indoor baths are made of hinoki cypress, with one heated tub and one lukewarm tub kept at the natural temperature of the spring; both are fed by free-flowing source water. The water is very hard, and the facility says it can also be drunk.

There are separate men's and women's indoor baths and an open-air bath overlooking the Ano River. There are no private baths or private rooms. Admission for two hours is 900 yen for adults, 500 yen for elementary school students and 400 yen for children aged 3 and over, tax included. The building also has a restaurant that cooks with the spring water and a rest area with massage chairs.