Did you know that in Iwamizawa City, there's not a gas station, but an "onsen stand"? It's a place where anyone can collect and take home hot spring water. The onsen is called "Ponne-yu," which has a charming ring to it, and it seems to be quite popular for its high-quality and rare spring water!

The onsen stand is located on the side of Hokkaido Prefectural Road 38 in the Manji area of Kurisawa-cho, Iwamizawa. The small hut with a large sign reading "Ponne-yu" is our destination. The rich smell of sulfur, strong enough to rival any traditional onsen facility, naturally raises our expectations.

Wondering where the onsen water comes from, I lifted a likely-looking hose, and out it gushed! The hot spring water flows out with incredible force. This is the famous Ponne-yu.

The water is colorless and transparent. It's a cold spring with a temperature of about 10°C. The water quality is a weakly alkaline sulfur spring, which is rare even in Hokkaido, and is said to be effective for conditions like atopic dermatitis, chronic eczema, and poor circulation.

If you want to enjoy the onsen water at home, a general guideline for a 200-liter bathtub is to fill it about 70% with slightly hotter water, then add one or two 20-liter plastic containers of the onsen water. Please be aware that using the onsen water directly can cause damage to your water heater or pipes.

Anyone can collect and take home water from Ponne-yu, but there is a slot at the stand for donations. The amount is left to the user's discretion. Please consider cooperating to help maintain this high-quality onsen.

But why is there an onsen stand on the side of a road like this? I learned that originally, there were several places in this vicinity where hot spring water naturally bubbled up from cracks in the rocks. A group of volunteers came up with a plan to lay a pipe from the spring source in the mountains to the residential area to make the onsen water accessible.

Photo courtesy of Iwamizawa Tourism Association

Photo courtesy of Iwamizawa Tourism Association

The pipe had to be laid over a distance of 4 kilometers. They faced various challenges, such as hoses being dislodged by melting snow or chewed on by bears, but they somehow succeeded in bringing the onsen water to the residential area. And now, we can also enjoy its benefits.

Hearing rumors of Ponne-yu's wonderful water quality, many people apparently come from other cities to collect it. If you have plans to go to Iwamizawa City, why not stop by the onsen stand with a plastic container? And of course, don't forget to have a donation ready for the collection box!

Iwamizawa Tourism Association
Location: Iwamizawa Composite Station Building 1F, 1-1 Ariakecho Minami, Iwamizawa, Hokkaido
Contact: 0126-22-3470
Official Website: https://iwamizawa-kankou.jp/

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