Showa era vintage copper plate price ♨️Kagoshima Hot Spring
After taking the ferry from Sakurajima back to the city, the weather suddenly changed. The originally clear sky suddenly turned into a heavy rain. It was like holding an umbrella without any umbrella at all, and my whole body was still soaked. There were still several hours before the hotel was open for check-in, so I had to hide in the aquarium nearby to kill time. Looking at the leisurely swimming fish, my heart grew colder and more helpless.
The rain didn't stop, but got heavier. I stood at the exit of the aquarium, feeling like a traveler marooned in the rain. Suddenly, an idea struck me, and I picked up my phone to search, “Is there a place to take a bath nearby?”
Upon checking, I found that most of the high-end hot springs in the area are hidden in the mountains, with inconvenient transportation, and most of them require advance reservations for admission. Just when I was about to give up, I unexpectedly discovered a low-key little dot on the map: "Kagoshima Onsen (かごっま温泉)". There aren’t many comments in Japanese, but the location is not far away. The most special thing is that I saw someone comment: “Old ladies often come in and out carrying small baskets.”
So I started walking in the rain from the Kagoshima Main Port ferry and the aquarium. In summer, it took about 8 minutes to cross two bridges and walk into a seemingly inconspicuous alley. When I turned a corner, I saw the old red "ゆ" hot spring house. When you push open the door, you're greeted by the scent of wood and nostalgic enka songs from the Showa era. The entire space seems like a corner forgotten by time. The auntie at the counter charged me 460 yen in a thick dialect and pointed in the direction of the women's bath.
It was more spacious than I had imagined, with a wooden oven, a medicinal bath, a salt bath, a cold water pool, and even an open cypress steam room. What’s even more interesting is that three old ladies joined their bathing ceremony one after another. Each person carried a familiar small basket filled with various bathing products. Their bathing rhythm is also very special: they scrub their bodies first, then rinse off, and then briefly enter the hot spring, soaking for a few minutes before getting up to scrub their bodies again. Even though my hair is short, I still need to wash it two or three times.
I soaked quietly in the hot soup, looking at these little daily sceneries, the sound of rain pattering outside the window, the steam filled with wood fragrance and singing, and I suddenly felt that this unexpected hot spring bath was warmer and more moving than any tourist attraction.
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Additional transportation options:
Take the tram from downtown Kagoshima and get off at Suiakanguchi Station. Then walk about 8 minutes to Kagoshima Hot Spring. Located near the Kagoshima Aquarium and the ferry terminal, it is a perfect place to go for a rainy day hot spring retreat