Minoh, Osaka

Oedo-Onsen Monogatari Minoh Onsen Spa Garden

Oedo-Onsen Monogatari Minoh Onsen Spa Garden (Japanese site) is a bit of a mouthful, but we decided to try a family friendly onsen (hot springs) in the northern part of Osaka. We took a free 30 minute hotel shuttle bus from Umeda station, which was a nice bonus to get our trip started. There is a way to get there by train, but free and direct is hard to beat. We were looking forward to a more relaxed day after our day at Universal Studios.

Oedo-Onsen is a chain of resort hotels that had bought a number of older bankrupt hotels, revamped them and targeted a more budget conscious traveler. The Minoh hotel was attached to a day use hot springs facility, outdoor pool and food/entertainment area so people come enjoy it with a day pass too. Since we were staying overnight, we also had use of hot springs/baths at the top floor of the hotel which had spectacular views to the Osaka skyline. Since pools are not that common at Japanese hotels, this was a nice feature to escape the heat.

When we arrived, we noticed the hotel was pretty old, but also many parts had been renovated. The building was over 60 years old, but must have been an impressive stay when it first opened. The hotel sits on the lower part of a cliff/hill surrounded by trees, with nice views out towards the city. It is an odd architecture with bare concrete and steel, which clearly looks outdated now. The rusted bits add to an old abandoned building feel, which was probably the state when Oedo-Onsen bought and revived the place. However, the massive baths and day use areas are all renovated and relatively new, so your brain gets tricked most of the time. There is almost an amusement park vibe with the food court, day use area and Edo period decor. The entrance coming from the train station would bring you up a huge glass elevator and bridged walkway. Again, a grand entrance back in the day, a bit awkward in a modern hotel even with fresh new elevator interiors.

The pool was great, with some nice views of the city. They had a kiddie pool with small slides too. While the pool area was busy, there was plenty of space to hang out, probably due to being a weekday. Since we arrived a bit early before check-in, we were able to rent some towels for cheap which was a nice touch. After we tired of the pool, we soaked in the hot springs, which were quite impressive in size. Then we stopped by the food court for a snack and some sodas to cool off again.

After we checked in, we hit up the baths at the top of the hotel, and apparently M sat naked out on the balcony for a long while, looking out towards the city. I couldn’t make out our future home, but maybe with binoculars it would be possible.

A non-hike and Momiji Tempura

We decided to explore the town and went down the big glass elevators and checked out the train station. The town felt like a nice suburb, not too busy or exciting around the station. However, there is a famous hike/road which takes you to the [Minoh Waterfall][http://www.minohfalls.com/en/] that starts from the station, passes the hotel glass elevators and continues on for a mile or two. It was a bit too hot and M wasn’t motivated to make the trip. It would be quite beautiful during the fall color change, definitely next time. The small section we did walk, we saw Momiji Tempura (Fried Japanese Maple leaf) shops, a foot bath and a classy ryokan (traditional inn). We were curious, did they just pick up old leaves and fry them? It turns out, they salt them for like a year, and according to the wife’s parents, it’s been a thing in Minoh for a while. We just had no idea, so many odd things, and we didn’t try any. Next time?

Dinner

Dinner was a “viking” (buffet) with a decent assortment of food. The sashimi/sushi was probably the best part of it, they used a local ‘akamai’ (red rice) which I thought was pretty funny. It looked a bit more brown than red, but that was a unique touch. We also lucked out, they were running a special since it was a weekday, and we got free all you can drink! They had these beer pouring machines, which you loaded up the beer mug and it would tilt and pour the right amount for you, for the perfect beer each time. The big selection of shochu and sake was awesome, although some were a bit harsh (cheap?).

Morning Soak

Finally, we had one more soak in the hotel top baths in the morning. They switched the mens/womens each day, so we got to experience a different bath each time. Yep, views were still pretty sweet up there but didn’t want to get sun burned on the more tender areas, so kept the open-air bath time short.

Summary

I liked the Minoh area, and I want to do that hike some day. The onsen hotel wasn’t bad either, especially for families with small children. For the price, 28,000 yen ($220), which included use of the day spa facilities/pool, dinner and breakfast was a really great value. Did I mention we got free drinks too? The food quality was just okay, not that memorable, but the drinks certainly helped. If you wander off (which we did on the wrong floor one time) you might find some abandoned and haunted parts of the hotel. The facilities are pretty big, and maybe 30% rooms not renovated/used. However, the free hotel shuttle back to Umeda station was really convenient, so I could see us do a mini vacation again someday when we move into our new place. That being said, there seems to be an endless number of onsen hotels in Japan, we may not do the same place twice.

Onwards to the next place! We head to Suzuka, Mie for one more night out before heading back to the parents place for a break from our travels.