Hinatayama Onsen Segodon-yu
The oldest naturally rising spring of Hinatayama Onsen, the spa district along the Amori River in Hayato, Kirishima, about 15 minutes by car from Kagoshima Airport. Saigō Takamori is said to have favoured it between hunts, and locals call it 'Segodon's bath'. It is unstaffed — you drop your fee in the box at the entrance — and the price is frozen in the Shōwa era: ¥250 for adults, ¥100 for children. Inside is a simple indoor bathroom with two tubs, hot and moderate, filled free-flowing with clear, slippery bicarbonate water; there is a drinking fountain of the spring too. No open-air bath or restaurant, but it opens 06:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30) and a room-only lodge next door costs ¥1,800 including the bath — a boon for travellers. Closed the fourth Monday. About 5 minutes on foot from JR Hinatayama Station; 10 parking spaces. For anyone wanting an unadorned everyday Kagoshima bath before or after Kirishima Shrine or the airport.
