[Access] Approximately 120 minutes by car from Hari Interchange on the Meihan National Highway
[Webpage] Tenkawa Yakuto Center – Mizuha-no-Yu (Japanese)
There are several hot spring spots in Tenkawa Village that I was curious about — Dorogawa Onsen at the entrance to the Omine Okugake Trail, Tennokawa Onsen, and this place: Tenkawa Yakuto Center – Mizuha-no-Yu. When I looked into it, I found out that Mizuha-no-Yu isn’t a traditional hot spring. Instead, it features open-air herbal baths made with medicinal plants like angelica root (Tōki). That sounded intriguing, so I decided to go check it out.
It was a rainy day. I left the charming guesthouse Ōtaniya (Japanese), where I was staying, and drove about 15 minutes along Prefectural Route 53, also known as the Suzukake-no-Michi, which runs along the Tennokawa River. The road was much narrower and more winding than I had expected, but I eventually made it. At Mizuha-no-Yu, a beautiful noren (traditional Japanese curtain) was hanging at the entrance—just like the one at Tennokawa Onsen I visited before. Little touches like that really lift your mood. I think they make a big difference.
The indoor bath area had two small tubs, likely filled with plain hot water rather than mineral spring water. Next to it was an herbal sauna scented with rosemary. I’m not too fond of strongly scented saunas, so I made a quick exit and headed straight to the outdoor herbal bath.
The outdoor herbal bath was filled with greenish-brown water and surrounded by a rich, complex aroma of medicinal herbs—unlike anything I had ever experienced before. The bath contained a blend of ten different herbs: Angelica root, Amur cork tree bark, Peucedanum, Atractylodes, Peony root, Dried citrus peel, Ginger, Safflower, Schizonepeta, and Chili pepper.
Since I visited early in the day, there was no one else around. I had the whole bath to myself and could fully relax, listening to the sound of the nearby river deep in the mountains. It was a truly refreshing experience.
Mizuha-no-Yu also has a BBQ area right by the beautiful Tennokawa River. For me, hiking and hot springs are a perfect combo—but now I’m starting to think that adding a BBQ might make it even better. I’d love to try that next time.