Travel Kawayu Onsen 川湯温泉

The Kumano Hongu Tourist Association and the Sennin-buro executive committee have opened the bath every year since 1985 by digging up gravel along the river. Water at a temperature of 73 degrees Celsius springs out from the riverbed, and the temperature is adjusted to around 40 C using river water. Some 55,000 people visited the natural hot tub last season. The tub measures about 28 meters by 12 meters, and is roughly 60 centimeters deep. Following a ceremony during which a Shinto ritual was held, committee head Shinichi Shiba, 63, disguised as a mountain hermit, declared the onsen open, and tourists enjoyed the first hot spring of the season. [...] The bath is open between 6:30 a.m. and 10 p.m. Lanterns surrounding the tub are lit to create a dreamy atmosphere between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Saturdays. Changing rooms, which had been closed for two seasons in a row to prevent crowding amid the coronavirus pandemic, are open this season and equipped with sterilization machines. A signature "karuta" playing cards event, in which participants vie for wooden tablets floating in the tub is planned for Jan. 22 for the first time in three years.

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