Access | Entrance fee : 800 yens
Bathing time from 08:00 to 20:00
Located in a hotel
Internet : Home page
Phone : 0278-66-1021
Adress : 〒379-1403
群馬県利根郡みなかみ町猿ヶ京121
Maps : Mapfan - Google
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Number of baths | | ♂ | ♀ | ♂♀ | inside | 1 | 1 | - | outside | - | - | 3 | + 1 family bath | there are in fact 3 more outside baths, but very small (barely confortable for one person) |
Spring information | Main spring : 60°C pH=7.1
Bath Temp : 41-44°C
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| | Global rating :  | | 20 km away from Minakami, on the old Mikunikaido road which links Gunma-ken and Niigata-ken, Hotel Kojokaku is one of the attractive onsen found in the area. It is located in Sarugakyo Onsen (literally "Monkey Capital Hot Springs"), just above an artificial lake created when the dam was built in 1958, at the end of a small road, in quiet surroundings. The hotel has an outside area with several mixed baths (konyoku) and segregated inside baths. As it is often the case, the outside baths are the more interesting ones...
| Size :  | | A large variation of outside, mixed baths: the largest is a stone bath accommodation 5-6 persons; there is also an interesting circular bath made from wood (covered by a roof, 3 meters diameter) as well as smaller stone or wooden baths for just one person (some of those baths are really hot, while other are more temperated). All baths are on the same ground, just meters away from each others.
| | View : | | The bathing area is more of less surrounded by trees, although part of the ryokan can be seen. It is located at the edge of a hill, just above the lake, which can be seen from the baths in autumn and winter... but much less in summer, when leaves are hiding the view. At night, this place is really atmostpheric, with small dim lights all around the baths.
| | Modesty : | | Men and women used to change together in the communal changing room, but there is now a small round building (with teh shape of a huge cask) )serving as the women's locker, affording therefore more privacy. Although all outside baths are mixed, the presence of many baths allows shy visitors to isolated a little themselves.
| | Area : | | The Mikunikaido was the old road linking Gunma-ken (and therefore the whole Kanto area) to Niigata-ken, which was the only way to cross the high mountains between the two prefectures before the 22.2-km long Mikuni tunnel was built in 1982. Chojukan in Hoshi Onsen is one of the place were travelers used to overnight during their journey. This area, where silk worms used to be crown up, is now living mostly from its tourist attractions, namely ski and onsen. It changed a lot, including by the construction of dams which created artificial lakes like the one located next to Hotel Kojokaku in Sarugakyo Onsen.
Visit the Secret Japan forum for a guide of Takawagawa Onsen |
This bath, the largest, is just above the lake, which can not be seen well in summer, though | | | | | | | | |
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