Visited 21.04.2015 (Tue)
Natural cosmetic. One of the oldest hot spring town in Japan, Tamatsukuri Onsen 玉造温泉 existed more than 1300 years ago. As the weakly alkaline and colourless hot spring waters is said to have therapeutic and beautifying effects to the skin, it is also referred to as a natural cosmetic and is a hot spring spot especially popular among women. Tamayugawa 玉湯川 flows through the hot spring town with numerous hotels and ryokan assembled on both sides of the river. After our check in to Kai Izumo 界 出雲, our accommodation for the night, we headed out to explore the hot spring town further. In general, Tamatsukuri Onsen is a tranquil town tucked away from the hustle and bustle of city life and is relatively easy to navigate around. There are shrines, footbaths, public bathhouse, eateries, souvenir shops scattered along the entire stretch of hot spring street for visitors to discover; part of the rejuvenating procedure to indulge in this humble hot spring town.
Personally, Tamatsukuri Onsen is still one of my favourite hot spring area that I have visited to date. I felt that there is a good balance of traditional elements being faithfully maintained and new components being carefully incorporated to revitalise the entire hot spring street and not to the point of making it too commercialised (as of yet). Here, you will unconsciously slow down your momentum to synchronise yourself to the calming lifestyle here, a luxury that is hard to come by and precious for city dwellers.
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Highlights:
(1) Tamatsukuriyu Jinja 玉作湯神社
A shrine which worships the deity of onsen and deity of comma shaped jewel. What makes this shrine uniquely different from the ones I have visited before is the object of worship is a mystical "wishing stone" (negai-ishi 願い石). From the office, you can purchase a kanai-ishi set 叶い石セット for 600 yen which contains a gemstone, cloth sachet and slip of paper for you to write down your wishes. First, place the gemstone against the big wishing stone and make a wish at the same time. After that, put the gemstone back into the sachet which now serves as an amulet. Lastly, write your wish onto the slip of paper and drop it into a box which is located just outside the office to complete the ritual!
(2) Yuyakushi Hiroba 湯薬師広場
What make the hot spring waters of Tamatsukuri Onsen so highly acclaimed is its moisturising, skin repair and beautifying effects and these attributes make it on par with cosmetics. At this spot, you will find a concrete bowl, containing hot spring waters, with a large comma shaped polished stone placed in the center. From the adjacent cupboard, I bought a 80 ml spray bottle at 200 yen (just simply put the money in the box), filled it up with natural occurring cosmetic waters from the bowl and used it as a face hydrating mist spray! Truly an excellent souvenir to bring home with.
(3) Tamayugawa 玉湯川
Natural cosmetic. One of the oldest hot spring town in Japan, Tamatsukuri Onsen 玉造温泉 existed more than 1300 years ago. As the weakly alkaline and colourless hot spring waters is said to have therapeutic and beautifying effects to the skin, it is also referred to as a natural cosmetic and is a hot spring spot especially popular among women. Tamayugawa 玉湯川 flows through the hot spring town with numerous hotels and ryokan assembled on both sides of the river. After our check in to Kai Izumo 界 出雲, our accommodation for the night, we headed out to explore the hot spring town further. In general, Tamatsukuri Onsen is a tranquil town tucked away from the hustle and bustle of city life and is relatively easy to navigate around. There are shrines, footbaths, public bathhouse, eateries, souvenir shops scattered along the entire stretch of hot spring street for visitors to discover; part of the rejuvenating procedure to indulge in this humble hot spring town.
Personally, Tamatsukuri Onsen is still one of my favourite hot spring area that I have visited to date. I felt that there is a good balance of traditional elements being faithfully maintained and new components being carefully incorporated to revitalise the entire hot spring street and not to the point of making it too commercialised (as of yet). Here, you will unconsciously slow down your momentum to synchronise yourself to the calming lifestyle here, a luxury that is hard to come by and precious for city dwellers.
======
Highlights:
A shrine which worships the deity of onsen and deity of comma shaped jewel. What makes this shrine uniquely different from the ones I have visited before is the object of worship is a mystical "wishing stone" (negai-ishi 願い石). From the office, you can purchase a kanai-ishi set 叶い石セット for 600 yen which contains a gemstone, cloth sachet and slip of paper for you to write down your wishes. First, place the gemstone against the big wishing stone and make a wish at the same time. After that, put the gemstone back into the sachet which now serves as an amulet. Lastly, write your wish onto the slip of paper and drop it into a box which is located just outside the office to complete the ritual!
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| Flight of stairs to overcome before arriving at the shrine. |
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| Office to purchase kanai-ishi set and drop your wish slip. |
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| Bestow upon the wishing stone! |
What make the hot spring waters of Tamatsukuri Onsen so highly acclaimed is its moisturising, skin repair and beautifying effects and these attributes make it on par with cosmetics. At this spot, you will find a concrete bowl, containing hot spring waters, with a large comma shaped polished stone placed in the center. From the adjacent cupboard, I bought a 80 ml spray bottle at 200 yen (just simply put the money in the box), filled it up with natural occurring cosmetic waters from the bowl and used it as a face hydrating mist spray! Truly an excellent souvenir to bring home with.
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| DIY your very own face hydrating mist spray with hot spring waters. |
Tamayugawa runs across this hot spring town and flows into Shinji-ko (Lake Shinji 宍道湖). One particular point I like about Tamatsukuri Onsen is the effort taken by the locals to beautify the surroundings of this natural waterway. Boardwalk and pavements are constructed on the river banks for pedestrians to walk alongside the river; there are also two footbath spots along the river to stop by to soothe the legs. Intricate bronze statues depicting local legends and adjacent lanterns describing these stories are scattered throughout the hot spring town. Try to identify as many comma shaped symbols as possible while strolling around the area, and you will be surprised to find some hidden in the least unexpected places. After a full up dinner course, we headed out again to the dimly lighted street and immersed ourselves into the tranquility and serenity that the charming little town had to offer.
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| One of the two footbaths sighted alongside Tamayugawa. |
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| Pedestrian walkways constructed on both sides of the river. |
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| Numerous bronze statues depicting local legends. |
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| How many comma shaped pictures/items can you spot in the town? |
Opening hrs: 1000 - 2200 hrs (last entry at 2120 hrs)
Bathing fee = 500 yen (adult), 250 yen (child)
This is a public bathhouse where locals come here to enjoy their routine hot spring water therapy. Equipped with both indoor, outdoor pools and sauna, the large indoor pool is designed to be comma shaped, which is analogous to Tamatsukuri Onsen. We did not visit the public bathhouse since we could do so in our hotel. Instead, we dropped by its farmers’ market where fresh agricultural produce and local souvenirs can be purchased. And of course, we could not resist not savouring a delectable cherry flavored soft serve cone just before heading back to Kai Izumo.
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Tamatsukuri Onsen 玉造温泉
島根県松江市玉湯町
https://www.kankou-matsue.jp/onsen/tamatsukuri-onsen.html
http://tamayado.com/
How to get there?
(1) By local bus.
Board Ichibata Bus Tamatsukuri line 一畑バス玉造線 from either Matsue JR Station 松江駅 or Tamatsukuri Onsen JR Station 玉造温泉駅 heading for Tamatsukuri Onsen.
From Matsue JR Station, it takes about 30 minutes by bus.
From the bus stop nearest to Tamatsukuri Onsen JR Station, it takes about 7 minutes by bus.
Bus schedule: https://www.ichibata.co.jp/bus/rosen/tamayu.html
(2) By taxi.
Journey takes about 5 minutes from Tamatsukuri Onsen JR Station. Taxi fare = 850 yen
(3) By foot. It takes about 35 minutes from Tamatsukuri Onsen JR Station.
Tamatsukuri Onsen 玉造温泉
島根県松江市玉湯町
https://www.kankou-matsue.jp/onsen/tamatsukuri-onsen.html
http://tamayado.com/
How to get there?
(1) By local bus.
Board Ichibata Bus Tamatsukuri line 一畑バス玉造線 from either Matsue JR Station 松江駅 or Tamatsukuri Onsen JR Station 玉造温泉駅 heading for Tamatsukuri Onsen.
From Matsue JR Station, it takes about 30 minutes by bus.
From the bus stop nearest to Tamatsukuri Onsen JR Station, it takes about 7 minutes by bus.
Bus schedule: https://www.ichibata.co.jp/bus/rosen/tamayu.html
(2) By taxi.
Journey takes about 5 minutes from Tamatsukuri Onsen JR Station. Taxi fare = 850 yen
(3) By foot. It takes about 35 minutes from Tamatsukuri Onsen JR Station.
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