Ibusuki Tennen Sunamushi Onsen (and Sand-Bath Center Saraku)

Ibusuki Tennen Sunamushi Onsen (and Sand-Bath Center Saraku) Review

Ibusuki Tennen Sunamushi Onsen (and Sand-Bath Center Saraku) is a laid-back seaside resort on the southern tip of the Satsuma Peninsula that may provide your one chance to try a therapeutic hot-sand bath. Exit Ibusuki Station and follow the signs to the "natural hot sand bathing spot", a 15-20 minute walk or five-minute cab ride to the beach. You buy your ticket and rent a yukata, or cotton robe—the small towel is yours to keep—on the second floor of the main "Saraku" Sand Bath Hall, and then go down into the locker rooms (separate sexes) to remove your clothes and change into the robe before heading to the beach. Stand in line and wait for an assistant to call you over. They'll scoop a place for you and show how to wrap your head and neck in the towel. They will then bury you in hot, mildly sulfur-smelling sand with their shovels. It'll get squirmy, but stay in the Zen zone for at least 10 minutes. Fifteen will give you a full charge—if you can take it! Aside from giving you a powerful dose of joint-penetrating heat, the stimulating, sweaty experience is also guaranteed to cleanse your pores and soften your skin. It's a highly scenic one-hour trip south of Kagoshima on the Ibusuki Nanohana local train line.