Monday, March 6, 2017

百観音温泉 - Hyaku Kannon Hotspring


東京近辺で人気の温泉、特に泉質が良いと聞いて、久喜市の百観音温泉に行ってみた。ここへは車で訪れる人が殆どかと思うが、東鷲宮駅から歩いて3-4分の距離だ。豪華な保養施設というのではなく、銭湯よりちょっと奮発するくらいの800円/4時間という料金でお湯をよりどころにして実を取るという雰囲気の温泉だ。周囲には見るべきものも特にない環境でもある。露天風呂は5種類あって、ぬるい温度の炭酸泉や高温の立ち湯、寝転び湯など、思いのままにのんびりできる。広さはそこそこあるが、平日でも来客は絶えないので週末の混み具合だと芋洗い状態になるかも知れない。マッサージもあるし、食堂もあるので、施設としては合格だと言えよう。

Hyakukannon is one of the most preferred hot springs in Tokyo area in a survey, particularly renowned for its water quality, so we went to Kuki city. It is about 1 hour train ride from Shinjuku although most visitors would drive their car. The spot is only a few minutes walk from Higashi-Washinomiya Station (next from Kuki) in JR Utsunomiya Line, and although it is not a gorgeous facility, one can value it highly for its 800 Yen admission (just a slight raise than ordinary "sentoh" bath houses). They simply depend on the hot water offering 5 different outdoor options such as mild-temperature tonic water, high-temperature standing bath, lay-down hot water, etc. So you can really slow down to relax as you wish. The facility is moderately spacious but we saw good number of visitors even on Monday, and if it doubles in the week-end, this may be rather packed. They have a restaurant and massage service, so you can enjoyably spend a few hours here.

This photo from their website


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