Hotel Terreno

A lot of local people seem to like this place.

Good.

I stopped by Hotel Telerno Kesen for a day-use bath at Rururan Onsen on Thursday, 2025-10-02, at 13:00. The hotel's notice says it began as Kesen Ryokan at a boat landing in 1887. After the Kushiro-Shiranuka Line opened, it moved near the station as Hotel Kesen, then moved again to its current site in 1994 because of land readjustment. It opened there as Hotel Telerno Kesen and began drawing its moor spring at the same time. These days it's known as a hotel where you can see red-crowned cranes, alongside neighboring Tsurui Village and Akan Town. The bath is open 10:30-21:30, with last entry at 21:00. Admission is 600 yen for adults, cash only. There are no shoe lockers or changing-room lockers, but valuables can go in a 100-yen locker that returns the coin. Body soap and a hair dryer are provided. The soap brand wasn't clear; the dryer is a Panasonic Nanoe model. Inside the bath area there are six combination taps, one plus five, an indoor bath, a bubble bath, and a waterfall-style shower. Outside there's a small open-air bath and one wooden bench for sitting in the fresh air. The bath water was slightly cloudy and foamy, spilling over the edge. Basins had been placed to catch that overflow and the water from the waterfall shower, though I'm not sure why. The outdoor bath is small but feels open and relaxing. One minor drawback: after drying off in the outdoor-air area, you have to go through a bath and get wet again to return. It would be better if that could be improved. The spring was drilled twice, first in 1887 and again in 1994. It seems the second well is now the main source. The 2008 analysis for Rururan Onsen No. 2 Well lists a flow of 260 liters, a temperature of 49.2°C, pH 8.5, dissolved solids of 1,284 mg, and classifies it as a low-concentration, alkaline, high-temperature sodium chloride spring, or mildly saline spring. Metasilicic and metaboric acids exceed the standard values. The analysis describes it as slightly brown, clear, tasteless, and odorless. In practice, though, the water is a dark black-brown moor spring with a faint petroleum smell. It feels smooth and leaves little stickiness on the skin, making it a skin-friendly bath. The humic content isn't listed, so I can't say what it is. The spring is a bit like those in Betsukai Town, and I get the impression this type of moor spring is common across the Konsen Plain. The restaurant inside was temporarily closed. I rested for a while in the tatami room where you can lie down. If you're lucky, you can watch red-crowned cranes. About four flew in today, possibly resident birds.

This was my second overnight stay, after using the day-use baths several times. I chose the game meat plan this time, and the venison was much more tender than I expected, with little gamey smell. It was delicious, and I ate my fill. The restaurant is reopening, which is good news. The baths were all pretty hot. The indoor one was too much for me, so I stayed in the open-air bath. Local bathers left their gear out to save places, which was really bad manners. It's a lovely inn, so that's a shame. I wish day-use bathing ended a little earlier, so I could go without feeling awkward. Cleaning runs from 9:30 PM to 10:00 PM. If I go in at 10, I end up going to bed late, but if I go earlier, the locals are there and I can't relax. That's disappointing.