Sui Jin Nomori

426. Sui Jin Nomori, Taketa, Oita (Nagayu Onsen) Visited for higaeri for 500. Higaeri hours stated as 10:00 to 17:00 (they recommend confirming in advance). They stamp the 88 Onsen of Kyushu book. At first no one was around, but then an old man came out. Communication was difficult for him, but he let me in for higaeri. There was some kind of instruction sheet on the table, but I didn't bother reading it and just took a photo. When I walked through the building toward the onsen, I met a woman who could speak a bit of English (they had some renovation going on and she was running the show). She asked if I understood how to use their onsen and mentioned the instruction sheet. I casually replied "daijoubu" and she showed me where to go. Inside I found two baths covered with lids. The atmosphere was quite special too. Then I found the instruction photo — it said you need to remove the lids and put them back after use. The water in the baths was cloudy white-green-yellow with a film on the surface. Temperature of one bath was 37.5, the other 39.5. As I was leaving, the woman started telling me in a mix of English and Japanese that theirs is a special place somehow connected to an actor or famous person (perhaps someone stayed here), but the language barrier made it hard to fully understand. After her story, she started asking about me. Then she pulls out a towel from their onsen, says it's a present — a "lucky" towel — then looks at me standing there with it and asks where my family is. I reply they're at home, and she pulls out a second towel and gives me both. I go to my car for a matryoshka doll, come back, and an emotional exchange begins as she unwraps the matryoshka. The foreman doing their renovation joins in. The woman then goes to their merchandise counter and brings me additional Japanese sweets as a bonus gift. Both the place itself is unusual and the reception was very warm. The towel actually turned out to be "lucky" indeed. An absolute recommendation.