Loaded with major ions — the essential minerals (Ca, Mg).
Buoyancy
Standard buoyancy
LowHigh
Soft water — natural, classic buoyancy.
BicarbonatesSodiumCalcium
This place began life as a railway station: opened in 1939 as Hinokage Station on the national Hinokage Line, it was damaged by Typhoon No. 14 in 2005 and formally closed to rail traffic in December 2008. Converted into a hot-spring facility as early as January 1995 after construction began in 1994, it still operates out of the historic station building today, with some of the former Takachiho Railway carriages repurposed as quirky lodging since 2010.
Classified as a simple alkaline spring emerging at a mild temperature, the water feeds an outdoor bath, a sauna, and a public foot bath, alongside a small museum devoted to the old railway line and a local-goods shop.
Insider tip — Hinokage Onsen Eki occupies a converted railway station in the remote Gokase River valley of northern Miyazaki, where one of Japan's most scenic former train lines once cut through cedar-forested mountains before closing in 2008. The bicarbonate-rich water nourishes skin smoothness that locals attribute to the soft mineral balance of the Kyushu highland springs. The deep valley setting means the sun sets early behind the ridge lines, creating a dramatic twilight atmosphere unique to mountain onsen culture.
