千年温泉

This was a nice (if small) onsen/sento in a quiet neighbourhood. Great rates and amenities and family friendly.

Family friendly sento. Good outside bath. And good lying down massage bath. Sauna also good. Slightly cramped because popular. Better to go earlier in the day.

I went there on Saturday night. The onsen is fair, not great or bad. The layout of the male changing room needs improvement as it’s narrow and stuffy. They should remove the locker wall in the corridor to the sidewall so the entrance can become spacious and they can even place some benches. The changing room was dirty and messy honestly. The resting place on the 2nd floor was also messy and dirty. I didn’t feel hygiene there. The onsen staffs didn’t seem very busy so they may want to clean up more often for better customer experience. I may try again on weekday night. Don’t want to recommend going there on weekends.

I love a good onsen. For 500 yen, you get access to a locker, shower area, multiple indoor baths of different temperatures and benefits, and an outdoor bath which was particularly pleasant at night. I also added access to the sauna room, which had a hook key, a TV, and mats to sit on. I personally would have appreciated one of those old-school sand timers instead of a clock. For newcomers, take off your shoes at the door, and bring the wooden shoe box card inside with you. Insert money into the vending machine next to the front desk. Press the button for the access you want and take your ticket to the desk. Service was a little dry and unhelpful, in my opinion. I was clearly struggling with the machine that kept spitting out my cash, and the staff was just standing there waiting for me to figure it out. I tried to make conversation at the end, too, but it was dry. I'm actually introverted, so on any other day, I would appreciate the lack of social interaction. It just so happened to be my birthday, so the service stuck out. I got dressed and went straight home, so I didn't get to try or review the dressing room area or its amenities. I also brought my own towel, shampoo, soap etc. but lugging it around was very inconvenient, so next time, I'll see how much their shop items are.

Small local hot spring, great for a soak to soothe the body. Adults enter for a reasonable 490yen (bring your own amenities or pay extra). They had an outdoor bath with brown mineral water and electric too which was a unique experience. Lockers and baths are limited however so if you go on a busy day, you may have to wait a bit.