Sankukai Onsen

I visited Sankukai Onsen, a secluded hot spring located in the northern tip of Osaka in the town of Nose, surrounded by nature. The owner of an acupuncture and moxibustion clinic nearby dug the hot spring and started it in 1992 as a place for therapeutic and rehabilitation baths for his patients. The onsen was opened to the public free of charge for those who could not take a bath due to the Great Hanshin Earthquake that occurred three years later. After that, the facilities were upgraded and the baths became available to the general public as well. Although it is located in a remote area, more than 5 km from the nearest station and nearly an hour’s walk from the nearest bus stop if you go there by public transportation, this hot spring attracts not only regular visitors for treatment but also many spa enthusiasts from distant places. …

Is there parking available? Should I bring my own body soap and shampoo? Here is a summary of things to keep in mind when taking a bath at Sankukai Onsen…

Sankukai Onsen is located about 3 km west of Noma’s “Great Zelkova Tree,” the symbol of Nose Town, on the banks of a stream that runs along Prefectural Route 106. It is not a conspicuous facility that catches the eye when driving down the road, so a car navigation system or Google Maps is a must to get to this hot spring. In the meantime, there are parking signs on the road…

The sign is small, and if you are not careful, you might easily pass by it. Also, the road to the parking lot is quite narrow and difficult to enter, so be careful when driving, especially when making a left turn.

From the parking lot, walk south along the river for about 200 meters to reach the destination, Sankukai Onsen. I arrived at Sankukai Onsen at around 7:45 on Sunday morning. It was still before the opening hours, but an old man came out from inside a prefab building…

He gladly accepted me. The bathing fee is 1000 yen per adult (tax included, cash only). I handed the old man a 1,000 yen bill and proceeded to the back.

The building where the hot spring baths are located is a small, old hut, just as it is rumored to be, with the entrances to the men’s baths on the front side and the women’s baths on the back side. When opening the door and entering the house, you will find a changing area, but it seems to be full of space for two adults to change clothes. However, the lockers with locks, which I was most worried about, were provided for eight people. With these lockers, we could concentrate on the hot springs without worrying about keeping track of our valuables…

As you might expect, I can’t leave a picture of the bathroom with people in it, so I will only use text from here on. When you enter the bathroom, there is one cold-water and one hot-water shower on the left, two bathtubs for three to four persons in the front, and a small stainless steel bathtub for a water bath at the right front. The two bathtubs in the front have different temperatures: the right side is a lukewarm 32-36°C hot spring, and the left side is a warmer 40-43℃ hot spring. There is a slight smell of sulfur in the baths, giving them a natural hot spring feel.

According to my prior research, “no soap or other amenities are provided,” but I found body soap and conditioning shampoo in the restroom next to the bathroom. They did not seem to belong to the regulars who came before me, so I think they are probably available for any user to use….

What are the qualities and benefits of the hot springs at Sankukai Onsen? It’s up to you whether you believe it or not, but there are other benefits besides the nationally rare 100% free-flowing hot-spring water…

Now, if you are going to go to the trouble of taking a bath in a hot spring, you must be very concerned about the quality and efficacy of the spring water, right? Unfortunately, the exact quality of the springs at Sankukai Onsen is unknown. Usually, hot spring facilities post data that has been checked by a government agency, but there is no such information here. According to the information on the Internet, the spring is a sodium carbonate-sulfur spring, which is said to be effective for cold sores, joint pains, skin diseases, neuralgia, etc….

However, this hot spring is actually famous among hot spring enthusiasts as a rare “100% free-flowing hot spring” not only in Osaka but also in the whole country. The term “100% onsen kakegashi” generally means…

Even a layman like myself can see that the hot spring at Sankukai Onsen is “100% natural hot spring water from the source”. The bathtub is simply constructed so that hot spring water is supplied directly from an ordinary faucet, and the overflowing hot water flows out through a drain, leaving no room for high-tech devices such as circulation and filtration systems.

Furthermore, the cold water that flows into the stainless steel bathtub for the water bath is also 100% onsen water, not tap water. This is because the source of the hot spring water is said to have a water temperature of about 18°C. In other words, the water used for the water bath is the source of the hot spring itself, and at the Sankukai Onsen, this cold spring water is heated and used as a hot spring. I have been to a few hot springs in my life, but I don’t think I have ever experienced such a 100% hot spring.One last thing to add: the cold spring water is drinkable (there were stainless steel cups in the bathtub for drinking), and you can take it home if the amount is within the limits of common sense (extra charge applies). The sulfur smell, which is a concern, seems to disappear after a day, so after that, you can drink it like natural mineral water. If you take this hot spring water home with you, you can even make hot spring coffee at home…. Why don’t you take a drive to Sankukai Onsen, a hidden hot spring that is full of hidden gems for those who know about it?