Surigahama Onsen, Yajigayu Onsen, Nigetsuda Onsen, and other hot springs are collectively called Ibusuki Onsen, which is said to have more than 500 hot spring sources and boasts the greatest abundance of hot spring water in Southern Kyushu.
One of the most popular hot springs among young and old alike is the natural Sunamushi hot spring in Surigahama Onsen, which is rare in Japan.
Suna-mushi is a bathing method in which the body is completely buried in heated sand to warm the entire body and promote blood circulation and the elimination of waste. There are records that it has been practiced since the Edo period (1603-1867).
The hot spring resort of Surigahama Onsen faces the seashore from the station, and accommodation facilities line the southern side of the resort. Sand bathing can be done at accommodations along the coast or on the beach.
The hot sand heated by hot spring water is located on a 1km-long sandy beach, and visitors lie down in a yukata (Japanese bathrobe) and are buried by attendants who use shovels to pour heated sand over their entire body except for their heads.
Lying down comfortably improves blood circulation throughout the body and is especially popular among young women, who believe it is effective for shaping up.
The hot spring water is sodium chloride spring, and medically speaking, natural sand bathing has been found to be highly effective according to research results.
Sunamushi Kaikan Sunaraku is a public facility where visitors can enjoy natural sunamushi by burying themselves up to the neck in the white beach of Surikehama, and also has a bathhouse and rest rooms.
Visitors can enjoy sand bathing even if it rains, and after sand bathing, they can take a bath in a hot spring and sauna and relax in the rest room.
The 27th lord of the Satsuma domain, Narioki Shimazu, built a villa here, and the public bathhouse, known as Tono-sama-yu, is located in the area where the bathhouse and a part of the garden used at that time still remain.
The bathtub in the bathhouse bears the symbol of the Satsuma clan with a cross in a circle, which tells the origin of the name. Adjacent to the bathhouse is Yugongen Shrine, which enshrines the god of hot spring water.
5 minutes by bus from Ibusuki Station on JR Ibusuki-makurazaki Line