On February 1, the hot spring facility "Yamato Onsen" (Nakasado, Hirakawa, TEL 0172-57-2852) near Tsugaru Onoue Station on the Konan Line started a "hand bathing service".

The service, planned by Takuteru Kudo, the third generation, is that you can rent a special bath towel, face towel, shampoo and conditioner to enjoy bathing with your hands. "I think that tourists often stop by because the country's designated scenic spot, Soribien, is close to us, so I thought it would be easy for the local people to visit," says Mr. Kudo.

Yamato Onsen was founded in 1938 and was a public bath when it first opened. In 1977 (Showa 52), a hot spring was dug 800 meters underground, and it started as a hot spring. There are large communal baths with the remnants of the public bath era, pot-shaped hair dryers that have been operating for over 50 years, and automatic shoulder tapping machines. The resting facility attached to the facility is not currently in use, but it is said that there were times when people who took a break, such as delivery, and bathers who visited from outside the prefecture were taking a break.

Mr. Kudo worked at a nursing home in Hirakawa until 2018. As a result of my grandmother's poor physical condition, I decided to continue the hot spring as the third generation. “We were unable to manage with only aging parents, so we decided to quit the job and continue, listening to the voices of local residents who said they want us to survive.”

The store logo was updated in December last year. Launched homepage and equipped Wi-Fi in the building. He says he is trying new things little by little, such as sending information using SNS. "I had been announcing the bathing service by hand on the website before preparation, but there were times when tourists from Sendai stopped by and rushed to respond," he smiles.

Mr. Kudo says, "There are many ideas that make use of the Showa nostalgic atmosphere, and if you can work on them one by one," he said.

Business hours are from 7:00 to 22:00. The bathing fee is 400 yen for the general public, 160 yen for elementary and middle school students, and 60 yen for children under 6 years old. An empty-handed bathing service costs 650 yen.