Hikari Sansō

264. 光山荘, Sumatakyo Onsen Visited for higaeri at 500. It's supposed to be open in winter from 14:00 to 17:00, but it's actually completely random and depends on whether the old lady owner is feeling well, is around, and is in the mood. Used to be part of the Yuragi tegata, but now cash only. However, the old lady still has the stamp, and if you can ask her nicely, she might stamp your tegata after cash payment (without taking the sticker from the tegata accordingly). Countryside atmosphere. At the ryokan entrance there's a box of mandarin oranges where you can leave 300 yen for the old lady and take a bag with you. When we first arrived, the old lady didn't come out right away. She looks about 100 years old, straight out of an anime — both in appearance and voice. She speaks with great difficulty and looks very elderly. She initially wasn't planning to let anyone into the onsen today, but Slava managed to gently persuade her. She told us to come back in 10, then corrected herself to 30 minutes. We rushed to another onsen and came back in 30 minutes. For a while nobody was around, and nobody came out despite our "sumimasen" calls. Then we noticed the old lady had come out of the building across the road (the onsen is over there) and approached the ryokan reception. We paid there and barely managed to communicate that we were paying for higaeri but still asking for the tegata stamp. The old lady mentioned that two people were already in the bath (we initially thought she was talking about us) — it seems she went to open the bath for us and called some regular elderly locals to come too since it was open anyway. Before heading to the baths she warned us: careful, it's slippery! When we entered the onsen building, two old men were coming out right on cue. They gave us a silent nod of respect and warned us: careful, it's slippery! When we entered the onsen itself, there was a separate large sign in Japanese: "Careful, slippery!" Inside there's one bath with clear water with a small amount of white flakes, soapy effect. Temperature 44. A bit stuffy inside. Considering the social quest involved — this was a very interesting visit. The bath is good too, especially for those who like it hot, but — careful, it's slippery!