Japan Series Two: Kurokawa Onsen, Kumamoto. A Guide to Japan’s Ultimate Hot Springs Resort Town.
Wednesday, March 7th, 2012
This series is a collection of postings from our trips to Japan from 2010 – 2011. Bare with me – these are long postings with the intention of making it easier for your future reference. Enjoy.
Jeni and I had just spent four days in the southernmost part of Japan, known as Kagoshima, which is known for its active volcano Sakurajima, a few hot spring spots, the distilled potato spirit known as shochu, delicious Berkshire pork (kurobuta) and Black cow beef (kuroushi). The city, the people and the food were all very memorable, but it was the simple things such as relaxing in a natural, hot sand bath and an outdoor spa that we really treasured. As a child growing up in Southern California during the 1980s, deprived of a standard pool, an above-ground-pool, a kiddie pool and even a Slip & Slide, there was always one thing that I begged my parents to take me and my sister to: Raging Waters in San Dimas. Never mind the millions of gallons of chlorine-filled and urine-tainted water, this was the ultimate aquatic paradise with lengthy slides, high altitude drop-out slides and giant lagoons with inner tubes – like Disneyland H2O.
Our parents never saw the point of it when they could simply hose us down with the garden hose for nothing, so we never got to go there. But compared to our time in Kagoshima, our next destination in Japan actually places the spas and bath houses of Kagoshima in the category of “foreplay”. And for me, this is what I considered to be the grown-ups version of a more relaxed Raging Waters minus the arm floaties, crazy slides and nasty water. This is Kurokawa Onsen – Japan’s ultimate hot springs resort town.
About Kurokawa Onsen
Extracted from the Kurokawa Spa Association site:
“Kurokawa Spa Resort is a part of Minami-oguni Town, located just about in the center of Kyushu, at the base of Kuju mountains. The spa resort is built along the upper stream valley of the Chikugo River, the longest river in Kyushu, at 700 meter elevation. Because of the landform, large hotels were never built there. Most hotels have ten to twenty-five guest rooms. This is one of the unique characteristics of Kurokawa Spa Resort. There are about 230 households in the town. Currently there are twenty-five association member hotels. Well coordinated efforts by the town to maintain a pleasant, traditional atmosphere have kept Kurokawa free of the massive concrete hotels, neon advertisements and loud colors that are encountered in many of Japan’s other resort towns. ”
Because this is a resort town, it is recommended that you stay in a traditional Japanese inn (or bed & breakfast) known as a ryokan to get the full experience. As stated by the Kurokawa Spa Association, there are 25-30 ryokan in the town, each with anywhere from 15-30 rooms available (singles, doubles, family rooms). The whole town of Kurokawa Onsen (Black River Hot Springs, literally in Japanese) is built upon the Mt. Aso volcanic area with plenty of geothermal heat to “power” the entire region. Each of the ryokan has its own public/private bath (onsen) and an outdoor, open-air bath (rotenburo) with gorgeous views of mountains, rivers and waterfalls – you know, nature stuff Bob Ross would’ve painted. There are a few standard concrete block hotels but I wouldn’t bother as they seem to be geared more towards businessmen. Do you really want to stay in a Holiday Inn-like place when you’ve got amazing, boutique hotels all around you?
There are some ryokan that are more traditional, while some seem to be more modern depending on when it was constructed/renovated. The rooms range anywhere from $150-400 a night. This may sound steep but this includes breakfast and dinner. And as you’ll see in a moment, we’re not talking about Holiday Inn’s complimentary breakfast of dry English muffins and ice-cold hard-boiled eggs. This is bed & breakfast hospitality on another level. Everyone that comes to visit is here for two things: “spa-hopping” and relaxing in a Japanese inn.
Kurokawa Onsen isn’t the only spa resort town in Kyushu. There’s also the nearby Beppu (Oita prefecture) which we’ve checked out as well, but Kurokawa really, is in a league of its own.
Getting to Kurokawa Onsen
From Kagoshima, we took the JR speed train to Kumamoto which took about 1 hour and 15 minutes. At Kumamoto, we took a local train to the Aso Station (as in the active volcano, Mt. Aso) and boarded a bus that would take us to our final destination – Kurokawa Onsen. The red box area on the map is the town of Kurokawa Onsen. Those goofy looking mountains at the bottom of the map represent the Mt. Aso volcano region and the Aso Station is just north of it. The bus ride from Aso station to Kurokawa Onsen is anywhere from 45-60 minutes. The drive up can be a little dizzying due to the curvy, mountainous roads but the beautiful surrounding scenery seems to make everything better. I was a little concerned about Mr. Old Bus Driver because he seemed to be falling asleep at the wheel…
But… we made it alive. On the way up here, I realized that this place we had traveled thousands of miles to was in fact a holy city – we were embarking on our own little pilgrimage for spiritual enlightenment. We were seeking a safe-haven from our otherwise hectic and stressful lives back in the U.S. The Japanese “salary man” or “office lady” typically works 6 days a week, clocking 65+ hours on average and at some point he or she will need to release the stress. And place likes Kurokawa Onsen are a place for both men and women to release themselves. This is the entrance into the spa resort town of Kurokawa Onsen.
We hopped off the bus and there we were met by a driver from the ryokan we were staying at. Most ryokan will offer a pick-up and drop-off at the bus stop. From there, it is only a 5-10 minute drive into town. We were quite impressed with the charm and character of Kurokawa Onsen. They’ve really kept this a serene, non-commercial resort town with no more than 20-30 businesses – no Starbucks, bail bonds or nail salons. The town is so small that you can walk through all of it in under 20 minutes and be one with nature!
As you can see, the streets are small and wide enough for one car. The only things going through the tiny streets really are shuttles from the ryokan and packs of Japanese visitors. There are no street names, only signs that point you to the 25+ ryokans you can indulge in. Kurokawa Onsen was made for “spa-hopping”.
This map actually makes the town look larger than it really is (click to enlarge). The two red boxes are the ryokan we chose: Kurokawaso and Yumutoso. Because our trip to Japan was planned so late during the winter break, we really lucked out with these two ryokan as most of the others were either booked or way out of our league. I only have these two ryokan to compare. The way we booked these was with an English speaking representative from the Kurokawa Onsen Association (KOA). The photos online, although beautiful, can be misleading, so I would highly recommend calling/emailing the KOA and let them know what you’re looking for.
Kurokawaso had a traditional Japanese feel with a futon (mattress only) and tatami floors (straw). Yumutoso on the other hand looked very traditional on the outside but was a bit more Western with three levels. The rooms were very large with a separate dining/living area and Western beds. Comfort wise, I preferred Yumutoso. It was quite painful sleeping on Kurokawaso’s futon – like I was couch surfing in college again.
Both photos: Yumutoso
Left to Right: Kurokawaso‘s traditional style room. You sleep on the floor with a futon. Yumutoso‘s Western-style beds. Winner: Yumutoso.
Both photos: Yumutoso. Loved the bathing/spa facilities more than Kurokawaso‘s.
Both photos: Yumutoso. One of three private/family bath facilities. Kurokawaso did not have a private bathing facility.
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