Tsukahara no Karafuro

Tsukahara no Karafuro (塚原のから風呂) is a kama-buro, a stone steam bath with roots going back some 1,300 years. The chamber is heated by burning pine needles and branches, then sealed with wet mats and salted straw before bathers enter. There is no onsen water here; the heat is entirely from the fired stone. Two chambers are available, one hotter than the other. Because the bath is mixed-gender (konyoku), long-sleeve and long-pants cotton clothing is required to enter. The facility closed in 2007 and was brought back in 2008 by the Tsukahara Karafuro Preservation Society, who continue to fire it by hand every week.