Kanagawa Bessho Onsen, May 5th, 2013

I'm the type of person who gets really grumpy when I am not clean. If I go a day without showering, I feel slimy and hairy and...just a complete mess of a human. I was in one of these moods on the way back from a short Golden Week vacation to Komagane, Nagano prefecture, aka Middle Of Nowhere, Japan. We had spent the weekend visiting the log cabin (Yes. A log cabin in Japan.) of some family friends. It was high in the mountains, surrounded by endless greenery, crystal clear rivers, and wild animals galore. Though I had taken a bath the night before, the hours before packing up the car and driving back to civilization were spent being smothered by a hairy and drooling German Shepard and hiking in the mountains. To sum it up, I stank...and I wasn't happy about it.

Bessho Onsen is located in the northern Kanagawa ward of Aiko. According to my research, it is NOT an actual onsen despite the name. The building itself looks like a public rec center and to be honest, I was really REALLY skeptical about it. Upon entering the facility, we were greeted by a deer and some other forest friends who fell victim to the taxidermist. To use the bath, one must first purchase a ticket from a lone vending machine near the reception desk. The base ticket costing 700 yen entitles the bearer three hours usage of the facility, including the bath, relaxation room, and admission to the restaurants.

The bath itself is located on the ground floor. The locker room was spacious and warm, and was equipped with rickety blow dryers and simple furnishings. I was SO ready to be clean at this point that the possibility that this place was not truly an onsen did not even cross my mind. The bath was truly lovely with a dark, natural interior lit by a panoramic window looking out to a vast green forest. There were small but powerful streams of water coming down from the ceiling which were meant to massage achy shoulders and backs, a wide bathtub at a comfortable temperature, and even a small outdoor bath. The typical sauna and 'mizuburo' (cold water bath) which you expect at fancier places were also there, though I did not use them. I washed the Nagano grime and my bad attitude away with the lemony shampoo and conditioner provided in relative peace...until a herd of screaming little girls came splashing in. It was good while it lasted.

I left Bessho Onsen unimpressed, but not disappointed. I was clean, and that was all that mattered. I didn't have the same onsen euphoria I usually get, and I don't think that I would ever go out of my way to visit it again. If you happen to be driving by, it is a nice place to refresh. It is NOT an onsen and it is NOT spectacular, but it is nice and I don't regret trying it once.