Introduction

Shitan yu (下ん湯) is a small simple onsen housed in a thatched roof hut, and tucked inconspicuously in the northern shore of Kinrinko (金鱗湖). Locals can use the onsen for free, while visitors need to pay 200 yen in an honesty box at the entrance.

It is a mixed onsen (混浴), and the water is satisfyingly hot. There is an indoor uchi yu (内湯) and an outdoor rotenburo (露天風呂). While there is a bamboo fence and some shrubs planted around the rotenburo, it is still quite open to curious tourists lurking around a slipway on one side of the onsen.

Experience

It was a cold december morning in Yufuin, and after having braved the cold strolling around the kinrinko (金鱗湖), a dip in an onsen was the perfect way to warm up the body.

Just as my buddy and I were about to enter the onsen, we heard laughters of a woman inside the hut. We hesitated for a moment. But the yearning of our bodies for warm water probably very much boosted our courage, and thus, we had our first mixed onsen experience in Japan!

Upon entering the onsen, we were greeted by a friendly middle-aged couple in the rotenburo (露天風呂). Another middle-aged man was in the process of disrobing, and while doing so, he started to chat with the lady, who was sitting on the rim of the bath and did not bother to cover her body with a towel or anything. Everyone seemed to be very "professional" about it, and there was absolutely no sense of awkwardness. And so, we too, proceeded to perform our onsen rituals with a "professional" mindset.

The lady was very friendly and made an effort to chat with everyone in the onsen. After knowing that we were from Singapore, she related to us about her golf trips to Singapore, and her amazement to the amount of water Merlion spews from its mouth. Her husband also made a few attempts to bid us farewell in English as he was walking out of the door, turning around each time he recalled a phrase.

It is always interesting to be able to interact with local people in a quaint onsen with a friendly atmosphere. I will definitely pop by this place again the next time I visit Yufuin.

Access

Access via the road along the cemetery.