Gensen Kakenagashi Hot Spring Theme Park Ryudo

If you love Onsen, this place is truly heaven—there are 18 private baths.This was my third stay, and I still haven’t managed to try them all.The detached cottage “Aoi” has its own open-air bath, which is absolutely wonderful. I always end up completely satisfied just using the bath in the Room.The spring quality is a simple Onsen (slightly alkaline, hypotonic, high-temperature) with a pH of 8.3.It feels gentle on the skin and is easy to enjoy in a different way from more distinctive springs like sulfur Onsen. It’s comfortable for longer soaks, and being able to enjoy it many times during your stay is part of the appeal.Many of the open-air baths have a rustic, DIY-like feel.Numerous private baths are scattered across the vast grounds, and I can only imagine how much work it must be to maintain and manage so many.Because this Accommodation is surrounded by nature, things like insects and fallen leaves are somewhat unavoidable.In July there were quite a few insects, and when I visited last September I also had trouble with biting gnats.Even so, this Accommodation has more than enough charm to make up for it.The source spring has an abundant flow rate, and the source temperature is very high at 76.1°C.To bring it down to a comfortable temperature, adding water may sometimes be necessary.As an Onsen lover, I’d ideally like to enjoy pure free-flowing water without dilution—but with such a high-temperature source spring, I understand that temperature control can be challenging.Many of the staff are from overseas, but everyone speaks Japanese well and I’ve never felt inconvenienced. They are always polite and attentive.And despite being such a secluded hot-spring retreat, it’s great that the meals are genuinely delicious as well.This time we ordered sukiyaki as an extra dish; it was excellent and very satisfying.In winter this area apparently gets extremely heavy snowfall.Next time I’d love to visit in winter and enjoy an outdoor bath while admiring snowy scenery.

There are many cats on the property, and some of them will let you pet them, which is incredibly soothing. On the other hand, if you’re not comfortable around cats, it might be a bit tough. At night, when I went to the “Star” bath, a kitty had snuck in and was curled up in a changing basket (lol).Many of the staff are from overseas, but everyone’s attentiveness was truly outstanding—from guiding us to our Room to serving meals—so I never felt uneasy during my stay.Most importantly, the Onsen was fantastic: we were able to reserve several large baths for private use, and it was a lot of fun.If there’s one thing to note, since it’s surrounded by nature, you may see some insects. I was also worried about mobile reception, but Rakuten Mobile and au worked without any issues.I’d love to visit again when the weather is cooler.