Yamagata Sukoyaka Land Santa no Yu

Santa no Yu is a large day-use bathing complex up a narrow mountain road outside Hitachiomiya, in Ibaraki. Two separate buildings, one with Roman-style columns and one built in a Western style, each hold an indoor bath, jet bath, bubble bath, dry sauna and an open-air bath, and swap between men's and women's use on odd and even days. The west building's rotenburo has a waterfall shower fed straight from the spring. The water itself is a plain alkaline spring, described by regulars as smooth and slightly slippery on the skin, and the open-air baths run lukewarm, the kind you can soak in for a long while. Past the giant statue at the entrance, tied to the region's daidarabocchi (だいだらぼっち) giant folklore, there's a big tatami rest hall, paid private rest rooms, a restaurant and a shop selling local vegetables. It's popular enough that cars queue for the parking lot on weekends, despite the narrow mountain road in.