Tsuboyu (World Heritage Onsen)
Price: 750 yen
Hours: 6:00~21:30
Time: Private use for 30 minutes.
※For 1 or 2 people. Great for couples.
※No soap or Shampoo allowed.
Kusuri Medicine Bath
Price: 380 yen
Hours: 6:00~22:00
※No soap or shampoo allowed.
Public Bath
Price: 250 yen
Hours: 6:00~22:00
※Bring your own soap or shampoo.
Yunomine Onsen is regarded as one of the oldest onsen in Japan and its history is deeply entwined with that of the Kumano Pilgrimage. For at least 1000 years pilgrims have practiced their water ablutions at this onsen, a tradition that continues today.
Tsuboyu is the only onsen to be located inside a UNESCO world heritage area. It is situated in the Kumano river which is part of the Kumano Sankei Michi (熊の参詣道) world heritage area in Wakayama and is a truly remarkable experience.
You cannot help but be impressed by the ancient feel of this bath. When immersed in the extremely hot water flowing directly from deep in the earth you get a sense of being taken back in time. The atmosphere is wonderful as the single-stone carved bathtub reaches high over your head and the base of the bath consists of hundreds of small river pebbles. The river rushes right around the shack, less than 30 cms from the bath, so you can close your eyes and feel the power of it surrounding you.
Tsuboyu is the gem of the onsen's three public baths and is perfectly sized for couples. The experience is so popular that it needs to be booked ahead and can only be used for 30 minute intervals. The water is very hot, so we found 30 minutes to be quite adequate. The water in Tsuboyu is said to change colour up to 7 times throughout the day and apparently has very highly valued medicinal properties.
The private bath Tsuboyu is complemented by the public and Kusuri medicine baths. If you wish to bathe in every bath as we did, it is advisable to note that you cannot wait in the public or medicinal bath for the private bath, even if you have an hour to spare, so it is best to use one of the 2 public baths first, then make a booking for Tsuboyu and wait in line for your turn. If you are lucky you will be in within a short while, but it does become quite crowded in summer.
Next to the Tsuboyu is a large onsen pool (Yuzutsu) with pungent water bubbling away at 93°C especially designed for cooking. It is common to see bags of eggs and vegetables such as corn or eggplant floating in the pool, and people sitting by the river eating. You can buy overpriced eggs and vegetables at the local shop, but it would be best to take along your own if you want to give onsen cooking a go, although the local business clique might frown upon this.
As for the town and surrounding area, it is small and atmospheric, with many options at a variety of prices for those who wish to stay in the area. The rich history of the region is still evident and whilst there are tourists, it is not overrun with buses or tour groups.
Access is via private car or bus, however the buses are not regular.
The JR Kisei line from either Nagoya or Osaka will take you to the Kii peninsula and the Kumano Sanzan area. Take the train to Shingu station. From here you can get the bus to Yunomine in the Town of Hongu. The bus journey takes about 70 minutes. If you are coming from Kyoto, you can also take the train to Tanabe (2hrs) and from there go by bus over the mountains to Hongu (3 hrs).
For a great site with lots of accomodation options in the area, see the following link. The phone numbers for any of these accomodation options can be used for a rental car GPS system to guide you to the area.
http://www.hongu.jp/english/yunomine/stay_yunomine/index.htm
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