Miegusuku Onsen Shimanchu-no-Yu

On the second floor of Loisir Hotel Naha, overlooking Naha Port in the Nishi district of Naha City, Okinawa, wells up one of the few natural hot springs on Okinawa's main island. The spring takes its name from the nearby historic site of Miegusuku, a stone fortress built in 1546 during the Ryukyu Kingdom era. Jutting out into the sea, Miegusuku guarded Naha Port and served as a place of prayer for safe voyages, and it survives today as a notable historic landmark.

The water is an iodine-bearing sodium chloride spring. It is drawn from roughly 800 meters underground and consists of fossil seawater about eight million years old, warmed by geothermal heat, a formation unique to non-volcanic Okinawa. The source temperature is 40.9 degrees Celsius, and the facility heats the water to a comfortable 42 to 43 degrees. Unlike volcanic springs it has no sulfurous smell, but it is rich in salt from the fossil seawater and tastes salty. After bathing, the salt clinging to the skin slows the evaporation of perspiration, providing strong warming and moisturizing effects.

The bath features an indoor pool and an open-air bath, along with full-body showers, vanity counters, and lockers. Hotel guests may use it from 6:00 to 24:00 (last entry 23:00), while day-trip visitors are welcome from 9:00 to 18:00 for 2,500 yen per adult and 1,250 yen per child aged 5 to 12.