Ibusuki Onsen

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Ibusuki Onsen is a group of hot springs in Ibusuki, Kagoshima, Japan. It is famous for sunamushi, a sand-bath where hot sand is used to gently warm the body. People say the sand bath has health benefits.

About the springs
- There are around 500 spring sources, and roughly 120,000 tonnes of hot water flow out every day.
- The water is mainly sodium chloride (salt), and its mineral mix can vary by area and depth.
- Water usually comes out hot, at about 50–60°C, with some springs much hotter.
- The hot water is thought to move from inland springs toward the coast, while underground layers keep seawater from flowing back into the springs.

Getting there
- From Kagoshima-Chūō Station, it’s about an hour by train, or about 1 hour 35 minutes by direct bus.

Sunamushi history and how it works
- Sunamushi has been known for centuries. It was described in old writings by a Portuguese trader over 450 years ago.
- Visitors wear a yukata, lie in a shallow trench, and are covered with hot sand. The sand is gently heated to about 50–55°C, and staff help with the shoveling. A towel around the head helps keep sand off the face.
- The traditional sand bath is about 22 cm deep on the body and is a popular way to relax and warm up.

Local attractions
- Satsuma Denshokan Museum in Ibusuki tells the history of Kagoshima (the Satsuma region), with a focus on Meiji-era ceramics.
- Flower Park Kagoshima in Ibusuki is Japan’s largest flower park, with around 400,000 plants and 2,400 species, many subtropical.
- Kaimon Sanroku Koryoen near Ibusuki grows and sells about 100 kinds of herbs, including around 10,000 camphor trees used for essential oil. It opened in 1941 as Japan’s first herb plantation.

Events
- Since 1982, Ibusuki hosts an annual marathon on the second Sunday of January, attracting more than 10,000 runners each year (now called the Ibusuki Nanohana Marathon).