Akigawa Valley Seoto-no-yu

There are lovely baths both indoors and outdoors, plus a cold bath just outside the sauna. The onsen is a really nice one, not too far from bustling Tokyo. It left my skin with a bit of a slimy feel, which I really liked, and as a Swede, I thought the sauna was very good too. They clearly say in the posters before entering that tattoos aren’t allowed. A friend with a few smaller tattoos went in anyway, and it seemed to cause no problems. Nobody said anything, though they did get some looks. I wouldn’t recommend trying it. If you decide to anyway, you risk being stopped or thrown out.

The setting is beautiful, and the baths are relaxing, so I thought the trip was worth it even though the spa is a bit of a trek from central Tokyo. There’s an indoor bath, an outdoor bath, and a sauna. The staff were friendly and helpful in English. At the time I visited, it cost 1000 Yen. The bus to and from the spa doesn’t run often, so plan ahead if you’re on a tight schedule.

The bathhouse has a nice restaurant rather than the fast-food-style eateries common in most public bathhouses there, and there’s a gelato bar too. It can get a bit crowded since it’s near a popular campsite and BBQ area. The place has an unusual setting in Akigawa valley, on a small hill above a stream and surrounded by dense pine trees. Tsuru-tsuru Onsen nearby is halfway up Mt Hinode among bamboo groves, so the surroundings are quite different. Unfortunately, the outdoor baths have no shade, and it can get very hot there from late morning through midday. The water was a little too hot for my taste, around 40-42. One small thing I noticed: this was the first public bath I’d visited, apart from fancy onsen hotels, where the showers didn’t use the push-pedal or lever gadget that shuts off every 10 seconds or so. Here, they’re simple on/off faucets like in a regular bathroom.

I used to visit this hot spring often when work took me nearby, and although it had been a while since my last visit, I was reminded how lovely it is. Its alkalinity is quite high at pH 10.01, and I don’t know many hot springs around the Kanto area with that level. I believe that gives it more of a skin-beautifying effect than other hot springs. There’s plenty beyond the baths, too. The food and cafe menus are extensive, and the local market sells fresh vegetables and products as well as goods from the sister cities of Kurihara in Miyagi prefecture and Izu Oshima island.