Setouchi City - 瀬戸内市

[Temporary Closure]
Osafune Service Area

Japanese Name: おさふね サービスエリアPrefecture: OkayamaCity: SetouchiAddress: 701-4271 岡山県瀬戸内市長船町長船1133Access: 30min from JR West Kagato Station / JR西日本 香登駅Category: Hot Spring FacilityWebpage: https://www.osafune-sa.com/onsen.htmlPrice: ¥630Holiday: Check WebpageHours: Check Webpage
Review: Temporary closure due to machine breakdown.
(Will it open again? Not too sure. I hope it can get a remodel because the spring was really good.)
Located adjacent to the Sanyō Shinkansen line and about a 20-minute walk from the closest station on the Akō line, the Osafune Service Area is an old school (pre-expressway?) style pit stop for trucks and cars along a major east-west highway between Himeji and Okayama. There are 24-hour restrooms, vending machines, a restaurant, and a gift store. But what makes this place unique is the banquet rooms on the second floor and the simple but unique bath. The baths here have seen better days, as the entire structure. You're also not getting the full spectrum of baths. There are just a few showers, some weak jets, and the main bath here. What you do get is 9.9pH spring water heated and served up. That water is worth the admission price. Squeaky to soft on the skin with a slight sulfur smell. Take some of the cool well water flowing into the bath from the corner into your hands and get a good sniff to enjoy it. This is a top-notch spring, sadly in a less than ideal facility. As this facility is right next to the shinkansen line, it would hope that you could see the trains from the bath, but that's impossible. At least, you can hear them speed by. In front of the entrance to the baths also has a window looking out over the tracks. Also, train people should check out the old pre-war train cars on display.
They do a weird thing with the lockers here. You need to give them your keys to get a locker key, but the lockers are the 100 yen return type, so you lock your stuff and leave; you need to reuse the ¥100 coin that was in the locker when you got there. Explaining this might make it more confusing. But, when you get there, I'm sure you'll figure it out. Just make sure to bring the key back down to the reception area when you are done.
Visit Date: April 2022
*Hot Spring Data*Spring Type: Cold mineral spring - 冷鉱泉Well Temperature: 21.5°CTemperature Type: Cold spring - 冷鉱泉pH: 9.9pH Type: Alkaline - アルカリ性Osmotic Pressure: Low - 低張性Well Name: Osafune Onsen - 長船温泉