Shima Onsen December 2022

Shima Onsen 四万温泉 acquired its name from Shima = which means 40,000. It is reputed that the healing effect of its water has the ability to cure 40,000 diseases.

The most famous Shima onsen is Sekinzenkan Kashoutei 積善館, whose fascade has inspired Studio Ghibli's anime Spirited Away. We were lucky to arrive on December 18th, on the cusp of the newly fallen snow early winter 2022.

It was lightly snowing on our way in. But the next morning, blue sky greeted us with spots of snow on the ground.

Water and bath

The water of Shima-onsen is said to be drinkable to cure gastrointestinal diseases. And the record of people bathing on Shima area has originated from late 7th / early 8th centuries. According to this guide, there are three areas of Shima onsen with slightly different water quality and temperature. 

Rich with sodium-calcium chloride sulphate, the water is good for various skin diseases, motor dysfunction, gynecopathy, rheumatism, neurosis, in addition to skin beautifying effect. Drinking the water is said to be good for treating constipation and obesity. 

In one of the oldest ryokan with Yuyado style, there are few bath facilities in Sekizenkan. The oldest, located just next to the entrance of the Sekizenkan and facing the river, is Genroku-no-yu. It has Roman Taisho style, consists of a few rectangular pools that are suitable for privacy. There is two tiny old-style steam room at the side, that fit one person, and you must crawl to get in. 

Entrance of Genroku-no-yu

The Genroku-no-yu has Roman style window facing the river

At the very top of the hotel, open air bath Mori-no-yu. There are also two private-reserved bath Kasikiri near to it, accessible via a short stroll open around. One featuring round pool Seki, the other rectangular pool Zen. You should book when you reserve the hotel and confirm the time slot when you check in. It was very popular when we were there, despite low season, there's only a few slots available.

Other than that, there are two public bath that can be reserved on first-come-first-serve basis, Sansou-no-yu. If you see that it is unoccupied, you can use the bath and simply indicate that it's occupied using the wooden block next to the door.  

Walk to Mori-no-yu

History

The ryokan seemed very old, being built in 1691. It featured individual rooms across three-sections, that ranged from budget friendly to premium section that is accessible with driveway at the top of the hill. 

The ryokan is entirely wooden and well preserved, although some stairs can be very steep. I've observed that the food is delivered through pulley elevator that's been installed in certain pockets of the building. The hallway is carpeted, although people can certainly hear the footsteps of other guests walking through the walkway.

A small library nook, that is beautifully arranged. 

How to get there

Shima Onsen is located at Gunma prefecture. 3.5hrs ride by train from Tokyo, via Nakanojo train station. From there, bus ride for around 40-50 mins until the last stop. The easiest train is twice-daily Kusatsu express train from Ueno station straight to Nakanojo. 

Around town

We were there around second week of December, which seemed to be before the peak season. The street was very quiet, but also given the chilly wind that hit the area during that time, there was only a smattering of tourists, mostly domestic, around.

Food

We ate at a local eatery Asunaro that featured famous celebrities photos, next to the local confectionary shop. It seemed that was the only restaurant operating at that time. The menu mainly served either ramen and special tonkatsu. The portions are huge. We had "mountain-ramen" that featured local vegetables and mushrooms, so suitable for vegetarian. The tonkatsu were served with its special sauce, but what's unique is that they served tokatsu "garlic" and tonkatsu "perilla". Tonkatsu garlic has two slices of pork wrapped with garlic that still retained its strong taste, very delicious for garlic lover. While I love the perilla (shiso leaf) version that imparted ligh shiso flavor with the tonkatsu.

The ryokan we stayed in, served lavish dinner and breakfast served in Japanese lacquer dining boxes and small containers.

Dinner set from 3-tier box arranged out 

It was a delight to experience the fullness of delicious and varied food before and after bathing, making the overall stay very wonderful indeed.

The breakfast bento