Kagoshima’s Yakushi Onsen revamped with enhanced sauna, coffee stand
Fukumaru and his son
On April 26, Yakushi Onsen (Yakushi, Kagoshima City), a natural hot spring facility with free-flowing hot-spring water, reopened after renovation.
The facility, which opened in 1919, has been operating on the first floor of the reinforced concrete building since 1974. Due to the aging of the building, the third and fourth-generation Fukumaru and his son decided to renovate the facility, hoping to provide a new type of hot spring center that can serve as a “third place.”
Naohiro Fukumaru, the fourth-generation owner, had numerous meetings with the renovators from the design stage to complete the modern, café-style structure with a glass-walled entrance and Bandai, the attendant’s stand. It also has BANDAI CAFÉ at the stand, serving coffee, iced tea, coffee milk, and other beverages. The café and the small community space behind the Bandai are also available to non-bathing visitors.
The bathtubs remain the same size as before, while the sauna and water bath have been expanded. The changing rooms are more spacious, providing a space where visitors can relax. The second floor is still under renovation and will turn into a community space to hold events, which is scheduled to open at the end of June.
Naohiro says, “We want to be a place that is close to the locals, a place that is rooted in the community where people can drop by on a whim even if they do not use the hot spring.”
Opening hours: 6:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m. Admission is 420 yen for adults (junior high school students and older), 150 yen for elementary school students, and 80 yen for children under. The hot spring is closed several times a year for maintenance. There are 15 parking spaces.