I didn't discover Takegawara onsen until my second year in Beppu-shi. Unlike many modern Las Vegas style onsen (Suginoi Palace comes to mind), Takegawara onsen is housed in a huge old wooden building which transports one mind and soul to a more elegant time. According to the blurb at Oita's Main Spa Locations, it is built in the Karahafu style and very popular with tourists.
The main room is a lovely spot to relax after the bath, to brush out one's hair in the breeze while sitting in the semi-dark, scented wood hall. There is an old-fashioned massage chair (only 5 yen!) which mechanically pounds your shoulders with fist-sized rubber balls.
The women's bath is to the right. The room is large and light, essentially two storeys. The changing area overlooks the bath; which one descends stairs to. The water is iron-based and there is a ladle for drinking it from the spring before it empties into the bath (which I do since I'm typically iron-deficient).
The water is very, very hot. Over time, I became acclimated to it. Which brings me to my favorite memory of Takegawara onsen. I was relaxing in the bath when a Japanese woman (a tourist to Beppu-shi) and her very young daughter got into the bath. It was so hot, that the child immediately jumped out and began whining. The mother, kept trying to coax her daughter into the bath. Finally, in exasperation she said (in Japanese, of course), "Look! It's not that hot. The gaijin is in it." I tried not to let my expression reveal that I understood what she'd said, but continued to smile sweetly. Under the smile, though, I was thinking, "I may be a foreigner to Japan, but I live in Beppu-shi. You're the tourist here." Strange how very territorial I became. Takegawara onsen had become my private palace.
Some excellent books on Japanese hot springs.
* A Guide to Japanese Hot Springs. Anne Hotta with Yoko Ishiguro. Describes 163 hot spring areas. Includes an appendix with addresses and telephone numbers. A second appendix lists the various types of waters and their health benefits. Also includes a few color photos and an etiquette guide.
* Japan's Hidden Hot Springs. Robert Neff. A guide to off-the-beaten track, old-fashioned hot springs. Includes addresses, phone numbers, and transportation directions (which often include walking). Has an appendix listing onsens that still allow mixed-sex bathing.
* Pleasures of the Japanese Bath. Text Peter Grilli. Photographs Dana Levy. Basically a coffee-table book detailing the history of onsen and sento. Includes photographs of modern, historical, and outdoor baths, and paintings and postcards. Also has a chapter on Japanese-style baths for the home. Nice introduction to foreigners (especially Puritanical Americans) who don't get the whole public bathing concept.
Posted by M Sinclair Stevens
November 12, 2002
Comments
I heard that the bath-resort setting of Spirited Away isn't that familiar to some of today's Japanese folk. Would you agree? is visiting the baths still popular?
Comment by: Anita Rowland. Posted November 12, 2002 02:12 PM.
Interesting that you mention "Spirited Away" because the bathhouse portrayed, Abura-ya, reminded me a great deal of Takegawara onsen, although the latter was not as large or elaborate.
Bathhouses have declined in popularity over the last 30 years. Some have tried to attract the younger generation by providing all sorts of high-tech gizmos (massage chairs, electric baths) or fantasy-type baths. These days going to the baths has an old-fashioned ring to it. Follow some of my Beppu/Oita links in the sidebar if want to see some examples of contemporary bath culture.
Kiyo, Eri, Ken Loo...can you (or anyone else in Japan) respond to Anita's question. Is visiting the baths still a popular Japanese pasttime?
Comment by: M. Posted November 12, 2002 06:20 PM.
I'd say that going to an onsen is still very popular. The public baths are less popular but still pretty busy. The difference being that an onsen is a bath with natural spring water. What we called a hot spring back home. They are usually the focal point of a destination. People go somewhere because of the onsen.
The public bath is a local place where people can go to soak with friends on any given night. Lots of people who don't have tubs at home make use of these. One example would be the many university students in Kyoto who live in old apartments or dorms with a toilet but no bath tub.
What you saw in Spirited Away would probably not be normal even back in the day. Local bath houses in Kyoto are small and plentiful. That one had to be big because it was maybe one of a kind. It catered to the gods remember.
Comment by: Kevin. Posted November 12, 2002 09:55 PM.
Seems like Kevin knows much more about the public baths than I. I bet most of the Japanese like to go to onsens. The number of public bathhouses have been decreasing -- I hear it's about 7000 now. It used to be more than 20000.
Comment by: Kiyo. Posted November 13, 2002 07:28 AM.
Hope it's not too late to reply. Well, I'd say nowadays going to onsens is popular even magazine always features on places to go and stay, or one day trip onsen, etc. My wife and I are big fans of onsen. Public bath? Whenever I go, I see mostly elderly.
Comment by: Ken Loo. Posted November 13, 2002 10:53 AM.
It's never too late to reply. Feel free to jump into any discussion--even if it's not on the page of current entries.
Comment by: M. Posted November 13, 2002 05:20 PM.
If you were visiting Kyushu and had limited time, would you choose the hot sand bath at Beppu or Ibusuki? Which is more natural, or the better experience? Many thanks.
Comment by: Shane. Posted February 10, 2005 03:38 PM.
Sorry, Shane, but I can't make a comparison because I've never been to Ibusuki. And it has be more than 15 years since I've lived in Beppu. One advantage of Beppu is that it is the hot-springs capital of Japan. If you go there, you will have a chance to try all sorts of baths from the very modern to the open-air baths in the mountains.
Comment by: M Sinclair Stevens. Posted February 13, 2005 09:58 AM.
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The joy of getting into hot water.