Hirayama

385. Hirayama, Ueki Onsen, Kumamoto ★★ Stayed overnight for ¥11,000, without meals. Day-use bathing is also available for ¥500, listed from 10:00 to 16:00 and from 18:00 to 22:00, except Mondays. They also stamp the Kyushu 88 Onsen stamp rally booklet. A simple, warm, old-school ryokan, with a very friendly woman at reception. This was the setting for one of the cool stories I wrote about earlier. When I checked into the ryokan in the evening, I asked them to call a taxi early the next morning to take me to another onsen. Then I came downstairs, and the woman ran out from reception and handed me a kind note in Russian saying they would take me there. A little later she came up to me with a pencil and asked me to leave my signature on the wall, where her guests sign. In the morning, before checking out, I of course gave her a matryoshka doll. Her reaction to the word “matryoshka!” was very lively and positive. In the translator, she wrote that she had only seen matryoshka dolls on TV before, and now she was seeing one in person. At the appointed time, a separate man arrived and drove me to the onsen I had wanted to go to, without any extra charge. In the indoor bath, the water was clear, with the right slightly sulfurous onsen smell, and the temperature was 41. It was comfortable to breathe inside. The open-air bath is set in stone, the water is clear, and the temperature is 42. Of course, a place with this kind of warmth is recommended for a visit. 10.01.2025 11.01.2025