Kitsu-onsen Hot Spring (木津温泉)
Kitsu-onsen Hot Spring is a spa situated at Kitsu, Amino-cho, Kyotango City, Kyoto Prefecture; the area was once called "Tango Province." The spa name reads "Kitsu," not "Kizu."
Access
It is a one minute walk from Kitsu-onsen Station on Miyazu Line which is operated by Kitakinki Tango Railway Corporation. On April 1, 2007, 'Shirasagi no yu Hot Spring' (a footbath facility) was completed on the platform of the station. Hot water sourced from the hot spring flows in the footbath facility, and is available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The footbath is free, but those who are not passengers must purchase a platform ticket.
The Kitsu-onsen Hot Spring can be reached by getting off the Kyoto Longitudinal Expressway at Miyazu Amanohashidate Interchange, and then driving about thirty-seven kilometers (first, on the National Route 178, and second, on the National Route 312, and third, on the Kyoto Prefectural Route 17, and finally, on the National Route 178).
Hot-spring water quality
Alkaline simple hot spring
The source of the hot spring - The temperature is 42 degrees Celsius and the flow rate is 1400 liters per minute. The effect - The hot spring is good for neuralgia, muscular pain, arthritis, dermatosis, traumatopathy, rheumatism, a women's disease, gastroenteropathy, et cetera.
*Effects of the hot spring are not guaranteed.
Hot spring resort area
Having only several "ryokan" (Japanese-style hotels) and tourist homes between Kitsu-onsen Station and the National Route 178, Kitsu-onsen Hot Spring is too small in size to be called a hot-spring resort, but has a calm atmosphere that is characteristic of Tango region. Many tourists visit here not only for the hot spring but for crab dishes during the wintertime.
History
Kitsu-onsen Hot Spring is the oldest spa in Kyoto Prefecture, and is also called 'Shirasagi Onsen Hot Spring.'
An old tale from the area says that Gyoki, the Buddhist priest in the Nara period, found the hot spring when he saw a white heron use the spring water to heal its injury. About 1250 years ago, the Tenpyo Famine broke out, with the resulting plague leaving a significant impact on people living in Tango Kitsu. And it was Gyoki who visited here during these events. Gyoki is said to have exerted the power of the Buddhist dharma and to have advised people to soak in the hot spring. Thanks to his advice, people here in Kitsu are said to have narrowly escaped the plague which seemed to have been a kind of a dermatosis; ever since, Kitsu-onsen Hot Spring has publicized itself as being good for dermatosis among other ailments.