The Mysterious Hot Spring You Break Before Entering
When they said “strongest in Kansai,” they weren’t lying.
A regular I met in the bath told me, “This onsen is the reason I decided to move here from Kobe.”
Powerful enough to inspire a change of address, Hanayama Onsen Yakushi no Yu is a free-flowing hot spring often called the strongest in Kansai. Its highly concentrated carbonated spring water rises naturally from around 500 meters underground, pushed up by the pressure of natural carbon dioxide gas.
Rich in iron, the water is clear when it first emerges, then turns reddish brown as it comes into contact with oxygen. The thick brown mineral deposits clinging to the tubs and handrails are calcium carbonate, and in the first bath of the morning, crystallized minerals form a thin film across the surface. It looks almost like a layer of drift ice. Cracking through that delicate layer before sinking into the bath is a privilege reserved for overnight guests.
Yakushi no Yu is said to have opened in the early Heian period, though shifts in the earth’s crust stopped the spring from flowing for decades. In 1965, drilling brought the carbonated spring back to the surface, allowing it to rise naturally, giving the bath its present-day form. Every day, the water is drained and the baths are cleaned, but during weekly maintenance, staff reportedly have to break off the mineral deposits on the bath walls with a hammer. Being too rich, it turns out, can be its own kind of problem.
The recommended bathing method is to alternate five times between five minutes in the large bath, heated to 41.5°C, and two minutes in the 26°C cool bath, then finish with the 40°C open-air bath and a little time cooling off outside. Ah, bliss.
Hanayama Onsen – Yakushi no Yu
Rich in sodium, calcium, magnesium, and iron, this hot spring is also referred to as “beauty serum you can bathe in.” The overnight plan includes the chance to experience the first bath of the morning, along with generous meals made with seasonal ingredients. Even the meals are said to use some water from their spring.
574 Narukami, Wakayama City, Wakayama
TEL：073-471-3277
Making Ume Farming Cool for a New Generation
Rebranding Ume Farming
Umehikari is an umeboshi (pickled Japanese plum) producer making old-fashioned pickled ume with no other ingredients but salt and shiso. At the helm is young entrepreneur Shōshiro Yamamoto, who was born into an ume-farming family with a 122-year history. Yamamoto-san says he “had absolutely no intention of becoming an ume farmer,” but he launched the Ume Boys brand after seeing the challenges facing growers in his hometown of Minabe, Japan’s top ume-producing region.
“Even in a major production region like this,” explains Yamamoto-san, “the farms are aging, successors are in short supply, and there’s a real sense of stagnation. Young people don’t think of becoming an ume farmer because the income is low and it’s hard to feel a sense of purpose. I decided to start the company because I wanted to change that.”
He began by making the kind of old-fashioned, tart and salty umeboshi he had known since childhood. Made by pickling fully ripened Nanko ume with only salt and shiso, they bring out the fruit’s rich natural aroma. He then used the sales revenue to start growing ume himself. In just three years, he expanded his site to 15 hectares, while also supporting new farmers and helping bring 13 people into the industry.
Ume Boys’ challenge — making ume farming more attractive, and turning it into a profession the next generation actively seeks and chooses — has only just begun.
Made with only naturally fallen, fully ripened Nanko ume, sun-dried salt, and red shiso. Break through the delicate skin to behold the soft, almost melting fruit within. A natural companion to Japanese home cooking. Alongside classic umeboshi, Ume Boys also makes a wide range of ume products, including ume vinegar and ume paste.
505-1 Oshine, Minabe, Hidaka District, Wakayama
TEL：0739-74-8020
