This hot spring resort is surrounded by mountains on three sides and stretches from the port of Yunotsu to the mountain side. It was a prosperous port town in the Warring States Period and Edo Period as a loading port for silver produced from Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine. It was also an inn town on the San’in Road (San’in Kaido).
The hot spring resort town has a quiet atmosphere of an old hot spring town, with narrow, winding streets flanked on both sides by Japanese-style inns in the countryside. There are two public bathhouses in the middle of the town, and it is fun to visit the outside bathhouses with your clogs clanging.
The area has been selected as a national important traditional building preservation district under the name of “Onsunotsu-cho Onsunotsu Traditional Building Preservation District.
It is said to have opened 1,300 years ago, and legend has it that a raccoon dog was discovered bathing there.
The name of the area, Yunotsu, means “port with hot springs.
It has long been known for its high efficacy. The spring is a sodium-sodium salt spring, which is clear when it gushes out, but turns light brown in the bathtub. In addition to bathing, drinking the spring is also effective, and the taste is slightly bitter and astringent.
The Yakushi-yu public bathhouse is certified by the Japan Hot Springs Association as a natural hot spring with the highest rating of “all 5” for all items. It is a 100% genuine free-flowing hot spring that pours into the bathtub without any modification.
JR Sanin Honsen Line, Onsunotsu Station