Hanesawa Onsen Katoya Ryokan

I came for a day visit. There aren’t any lockers in the changing room. The facilities were clean overall, though the bathroom itself is old, with moss and stains on the wall. The water felt extremely slimy, looked clear, and had a slight hydrogen sulfide smell.

You can bathe from 5 AM until 11 PM, and the water is about 42 degrees Celsius. The tubs are the same size for men and women. Hanezawa Onsen has that characteristic alkaline, slippery feel, which stays on your skin right after bathing. Once dry, my skin felt smooth. I found the drinking spring by the parking entrance. The communal bath is at the far end of the lot, in a riverside building that looks like a community hall. I wasn’t sure where parking was, so I left my car in the open area out front. The inn itself is old and run-down, with a traditional feel. Pets seem to be allowed. My room had a sink but no toilet. Compared with Nakayamadaira in Miyagi, this water has much less of a sulfur smell. Drinking it, I could taste salt and sulfur. It’s low in metasilicic acid and high in bicarbonate and sodium chloride. I’ve now tried Hanezawa alongside Akita’s Kannon-yu and Shintoro-no-yu in Nakayamadaira, Miyagi, and I think all three are about equally slippery. It’s interesting that they feel so similar despite the different amounts of metasilicic acid and bicarbonate. Akakura Sanso in Akita has water of similar quality, though it uses heated cold spring water. It feels slipperier than Ureshino Onsen in Kyushu, but still doesn’t quite match Hanezawa. I later found out you can get coffee for 150-200 yen.

This time I booked just one night on the cheapest plan. Dinner and breakfast were both delicious, and I’d like to stay longer in the new year. I’ve been visiting different hot springs since shingles four months ago left my skin rough and tight, and sometimes painful. I stayed in Nakayamadaira hoping to find hyaluronic acid, and also tried Kawado, Hijiori, and Naruko for sulfides. The water here felt different from those places. It has an oily smell, linked to oil drilling during the Taisho period. Each bath feels like being coated in medicine, and it works for me. An older man I met there said it can help people with the dry, flaky skin caused by atopic dermatitis too.

The public bath across the street is another reason I wish I’d stayed longer. It’s a small hot spring resort with a lot of depth to it. The spring water is the standout for me. It’s said to come from oil drilling, has a distinct oily scent, and feels viscous, almost like diluted lotion. In that category, it nearly beats my favorite, Seoto no Yu in Akiruno City. I picked the least expensive course, but dinner was still carefully made, with no shortcuts, and completely satisfying. The sake was "Hatsumago." Good. The fee seemed fairly reasonable to me. The place has a worn, retro Showa-era look, so it may not suit someone wanting an all-inclusive stay. What did make my visit special was the warm, homely hospitality from the staff, or perhaps the family. I had a lovely stay and wanted to write this to support them.