Yunoki Jisyo Onsen

Yunoki Jisyo is a small, worn bathhouse on a back road in rural Yamaguchi, the kind of place you could drive past without noticing. Inside there is just one indoor bath on each side (separate men's and women's, no mixed bathing), narrow enough that four or five people fill it. The water is iron-rich and strongly carbonated, kept deliberately lukewarm so tiny bubbles cling to your skin and you can stay in as long as you like; a bit of the same water is drinkable too, fizzy and mineral-tasting. Regulars linger and chat in the quiet countryside setting, and one told a visitor she started coming on her doctor's advice for aches and old injuries. The entrance also sells homemade bento, pickles and apple pie.