Not all onsen are found in the mountains next to forested rivers. Nor are all of them housed in stylishly rustic old buildings. Many of them are located in undistinguished suburbs, in equally undistinguished buildings. But once inside, the onsen magic usually works its spell.
One such onsen is Yurara in Takaoka, a suburb of Matsuyama. The building itself looks a good deal like a warehouse from the outside, but inside, it’s like a large and spacious clinic, with pastel décor and staff in pink clinicians’ blouses. Entry for adults is a reasonable 600 yen. Yurara has chosen the ‘kappa’ as its mascot, a mythical green goblin that inhabits rivers and lakes, and this character can be seen all over the place.
The clinical theme continues in the baths too. There are a wide selection of baths, saunas and showers, each of which is labeled with a kappa-adorned sign explaining in Japanese what health benefits can be expected to accrue from use of the facility. For example, there’s a full body shower with nozzles at the top and sides which apparently stimulates the skin and eliminates 'aging' elements. All it did was stimulate my irritation when only a piddle came out of each nozzle in turn.
Fortunately the other features are more satisfactory. The big bath and jacuzzi is very agreeable. Inexplicably there are two large heavy logs floating in the main bath. This quickly brought out the beaver in me and I was tempted to herd them up and down the baths and build a dam with them, but good manners prohibit one from playing in the onsen so I resisted, but with difficulty. There are lots of kinds of baths with different temperatures. The water itself has no noticeably special qualities but my skin felt soft and slippery afterwards.
A mildewed door leads to a tiny pink painted rotenburo or outdoor bath area which is nonetheless very pleasant. I went on a rainy day and the dimly lit, grotto-like roofed bath gave good protection against the rain. Besides this large bath are two worn wooden barrels with grain exaggerated through long contact with water. They’re very comforting to lounge in. In the next barrel to mine, a grandfather was soaking with his grandson in intergenerational bliss.
Massage and gentle chiropractic are available on the second floor. Nearby, there’s also a family onsen where you can hire a private family bath.
