The Rustic Lodge of Lamps: Aoni Onsen

When I first came to Japan, I got used to the whole public bathing thing pretty quickly. I also gained a greater appreciation for hot spring baths, and I began looking around for new and interesting onsen to visit. I've been to onsen all over the country, from Hokkaido to Kyushu, indoor and outdoor, local public bath and exclusive bath for overnight guests only. During all my research, there was one hot spring I thought I would never have the opportunity to go to. That was Aoni Onsen.

よぐきたねし yogukitaneshi: sounds dirty, but means "welcome" in tsugaru dialect

Aoni Onsen 青荷温泉 is a collection of several cabin-like lodges deep in the mountains of Kuroishi. For a long time, they operated without electrical power, so they burned oil lamps for lighting. This earned them the nickname "Lamp Lodge", or ランプの宿. These days, there is electricity to run telephones and basic lighting/heating/ventilation, but they still hold to tradition by burning oil lamps for lighting at night.

Iconic lamps of ranpu no yado

Even though Aoni Onsen is quite famous, it is one of the most difficult hot springs to access. Back when I didn't have a car, access was pretty much impossible, as there is only one bus that services that location (and it doesn't service Aomori City). Even by car, it's an hour and a half drive from Aomori City. During winter, the single narrow road that runs the 6 km to the onsen from the highway gets shut down because of massive snowfall, so the only way to get in is to ride the hourly shuttle provided by the lodge. They used to use a snowmobile-like tractor to transport people, but they've recently switched to using a 4x4 elevated bus.

Discontinued snow vehicles (not my picture)

The bus they use now.

With access being this difficult, I though I'd never get to experience such an interesting and unique place. Now that I have a car and better Japanese skills, I figured I'd give it a shot and booked a day trip for the day after New Years. You can come anytime during the year and autumn is very popular, but I wanted to go during winter because it's absurdly beautiful.

After driving for an hour and a half through snowy highways, we arrived at the parking lot in front of 虹の湖 nijinoko, or "Rainbow Lake", just before 10 am. There, the bus was waiting for us (and only us), and we hopped on with all of our bathing supplies. The bus climbed the treacherous slopes for 15 minutes before arriving at the lodge and letting us off.

The main entrance

It seems like day trips aren't very popular, so the place was almost empty. The whole day, there were only ever 2 people max with me in the baths, while Kristin didn't see a single bather the entire day. We checked in at the front desk and proceeded to investigate the 4 different bathing spots. As we walked outside, we caught a glimpse of the scenery we came to see.

So beautiful it hurts...

The first was the outdoor bath, or rotenburo 露天風呂 in Japanese. It's one of the few mixed-gender bathing spots left in Japan, although there is a "ladies time" reserved for the shy girls (damn them). There are two changing rooms (closets, more like) right beside the bath and no showers. We quickly changed and ran through the biting cold into the main pool. The water was warm, but not very hot, which is the same for most of the baths here.

Mixed bath! =]  Ladies time... =[

 

There is a proper bath just up the path from the rotenburo. While there still are no showers, there is body soap and buckets to dump water over yourself. The main attraction here is the view of the waterfall that feeds the stream running through the property. I noticed a small outdoor pool as well, so I ran out the door and hopped in. I soon regretted it, as the water was below body temperature, and I retreated back indoors.

Waterfall in the back. Don't be fooled by the pool ... it's cold!

We took a break from soaking by having our pre-ordered lunch. We sat in a large tatami room deemed the おしゃべりホール, or "chatting hall". There were a few other people in there waiting for food as well, but none of them were talking. So much for chatting...

し～～～ん

The food was good, but probably would seem strange for someone not accustomed to country cuisine. My 山菜定食, or "mountain vegetable meal", was chock full of slimy wild mushrooms (which are one of my favorites). Kristin's 川菜定食, or "river vegetable meal", had it's share of slimy mushrooms, but also came with a particularly yummy grilled fish. There were also the usual pickled vegetables, with the daikon radish one being particularly adorable.

3 kinds of slimy mushrooms and one kind of slimy plant. Aomori people sure love slimy food!

The pickled daikon is the shape of a horsey!!

 After lunch, we finished up the final two baths. One, in a building on the other side of the entrance, was the most comparable to a rustic hot spring bath. It had soft wooden boards surrounding a rectangular basin in the middle. The water was noticeably warmer here, which I appreciated. The girls side apparently had an outdoor bath too, but Kristin informed me that I wasn't missing out on much.

The final bath was a small one inside the main building. The water here was the hottest of them all, but the bath was only large enough to fit 3 or 4 people tops. We got our body temperatures high enough to brave the outside cold before packing up our things and calling it a day. We waited for the final bus out of there (at 2:40 pm) with several of the other guests that had stayed overnight, and finally witnessed a bus full of photo-taking guests arrive. I guess most visitors choose to stay the night instead of making it a day trip.

We had spent about 4 hours at the onsen soaking, relaxing, and eating. It was great to see the beautiful scenery, but the baths themselves were somewhat disappointing. I was especially hoping they'd be hotter, but only one or two were at a temperature I liked. I'm still debating whether I should come back, but I think it's an experience everyone should have at least once.

If anyone is interested, here is their website with information. Sadly, it's Japanese only, so good luck. During winter, they have a special pricing plan for both day trips and 2-night stays. The day trip plan that we used lets you get onsen access and lunch for an extremely reasonable 1,200-ish yen (many famous onsen will charge that or more for bathing ONLY), but you must call and reserve. Their 2-night 7-meal plan is also extremely reasonable compared to prices for other ryokan/minshuku, but it's only recommended for people trying to escape from the hustle and bustle of civilization for a while. Can you survive that long with no power, cell phone service, or internet? If you're not staying the night and aren't interested in food, reservation is not necessary and onsen access is 500 yen.