Yunotsu Onsen, Traditional public bath in Oda, Japan
Yunotsu Onsen is a hot spring district in Yunotsu-chō, Ōda, where the bathing area runs from Yunotsu Port up toward the hills. Two public bathhouses, Motoyu Senyaku-yu and Yakushi-yu, stand close together but draw on separate springs; a third, Obama Onsen Saichi-no-yu, lies near Yunotsu Station. The district was designated a national Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings in July 2004, the first onsen town so chosen.
The settlement developed during the Edo period when nearby Iwami Ginzan silver mines brought prosperity to the region and increased demand for the baths as a rest spot for miners and merchants. Appreciation for the water's healing properties made the baths an important part of the regional economy over the centuries.
The name Yunotsu is written with characters meaning "hot water port", recalling the days when silver from Iwami Ginzan was shipped from Yunotsu harbour. Two public bathhouses, Motoyu Senyakuyu and Yakushiyu, stand close together but draw on separate springs. The 1974 Shochiku film Otoko wa Tsurai yo: Torajiro Koiyatsure was shot in these streets.
The hot spring street runs from Yunotsu Port up toward the hills, about 15 minutes on foot from Yunotsu Station on the San'in Main Line; the Oda city bus takes about 8 minutes. Bathers enter the communal baths without swimwear, as at any Japanese sento. The two spring sources sit close together but differ in water, and Motoyu Sengyokuyu added a cooler tub when it was renovated in 2020.
Yunotsu's hot spring district was the first onsen area in Japan to be designated an Important Preservation District for Groups of Traditional Buildings, in July 2004. The baths themselves are fed by two separate springs a few metres apart: Motoyu Sengyokuyu uses the old source, while Yakushiyu taps a spring that appeared after the 1872 Hamada earthquake, earning it the name Jinsenyu, the earthquake spring.
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