Yugawachi Onsen Kajikaso

Kajikaso stands alone in a wooded valley at Takemoto in Izumi City, northwestern Kagoshima. The spring was discovered in 1754 and served for roughly 120 years as a private bathing retreat of the Shimazu lords of the Satsuma domain before being opened to the public in the Meiji era. It is now recognized as part of a Japan Heritage story about the samurai districts of Satsuma.

The water is an alkaline simple spring with a pH of about 9.6 and a source temperature of roughly 39C at the upper bath and 38C at the lower bath, close to body temperature. What makes Kajikaso exceptional is that the spring rises directly through the pebbled floor of the tubs themselves, a rare arrangement known as ashimoto-yusshutsu. Fine bubbles cling to the skin as the water emerges. Nothing is added or removed: no dilution, no reheating, no recirculation and no chlorination. The water is clear, takes on a green cast in certain light, and feels distinctly silky.

There are two bathhouses, the Upper Bath and the Lower Bath, both indoor only, with men and women alternating between them on odd and even days. A typhoon in August 2024 buried the Lower Bath in debris and flooded the lodging wing; after extensive repairs the facility reopened on 1 July 2025 as a day-use bathhouse. Admission is 450 yen for adults, 150 yen for ages 6 to 11 and 50 yen for under 6. Closed Wednesdays and Thursdays.