[Memanbetsu Onsen in Ozora] Day Trip Bath, Marchen Hill and Sunflower Can Be Enjoyed

Marchen Hill

Marchen Hill (メルヘンの丘) is a tourist attraction along Nationa Route 39 in Memanbetsu, Ozora, and is relatively near Road Station “Marchen Hill Memanbetsu”. 7-8 Japanese larch trees are planted on a ridge of a gentle hill with about 35 m elevation, and it has became popular beauty spot because the scenery was used for famous Japanese movie “Dreams (夢)” filmed by Mr. Akira Kurosawa (黒澤明). I do not know the origin of the name, but I suppose the hill was named as the Marchen Hill because the view looks as if the view appeared in a fairy tale. Potate and wheat are planted at the hillside, and its view goes well with the Japanese larch trees, and the scenery with the blue sky or the red sky in the early evening as the background is popular. The Marchen Hill in a winter also has a good atmosphere. Rest places and a parking space are built at the site. Admission free. The parking space is free of charge. Read More

Memanbetsu Sunflower Fields

Sunflowers are planted at 3 sunflower fields, Asahigaoka Park (朝日ヶ丘公園), Tomappugawa Park (トマップ川公園) and a neighborhood of Memanbetsu airport, in Memanbetsu, Ozora town located in the southern direction of Abashiri city. To enjoy sunflowers 2 times is a feature of the Memanbetsu Sunflower Fields. The sunflowers are planted in a summer and an autumn, and a best time to see the sunflowers in the summer is from early August to late September, and a best time to see the sunflowers in the autumn is from mid October to late October. Read More

Memanbetsu Hygrophyte Colony

Memanbetsu Hygrophyte Colony (女満別湿生植物群落) is a skunk cabbage colony at the right bank of Lake Abashiri (網走湖) located in the northern part of Memanbetsu, Ozora town, and is close to Memanbetsu Onsen (女満別温泉). Broad leaf forest such as Japanese Ash and Alnus Japonica var Grow at the damp ground of 56 ha, and has been designated as the natural monument since 1972. The skunk cabbages used to be in full bloom from mid May to late May, but those were flowered when I visited here in late April, 2015. I suppose that the best time to see the skunk cabbages is from late April to early May under the effects of global warming. Admission free. A parking lot is free of charge. Read More

Yumoto Hotel Sansui Bihada-no-Yu

Yumoto Hotel Sansui is a long-established onsen ryokan run by Taisetsu inc., and has opened a business since 1969. It has a hot spring facility for day trip onsen, too, and is popular with local people. When I visited here, about 10 local people took a bath. An entrance fee to a bath facility is JPY 440. A staying is possible, too. A soft serve ice cream and soba can be eaten at the facility, and a free cold water dispenser is provided.

There are 2 open-air baths, 1 indoor bath, 1 electric whirlpool bath, 1 cold bath and 1 sauna at a large public bathhouse. The exposed concrete bathhouse with large windows is feeling good. The indoor bath beside the windows is the size that about 10 people can take a bath. The electric whirlpool bath is the size that about 4 people can take a bath. Both baths use free flowing hot springs. By the way, the hot springs are used as hot water of showers and faucets at wash places.

At the outside, a round open-air bath surrounded by Kitami Teppeiseki stone and an open-air bath surrounded by rocks with a roof are set, and each the baths are the size that about 4 or 8 people can take a bath, and use heated hot springs. Those are surrounded by blindfold fences, so a view is not good. But a sense of openness can be felt.

The hot springs are simple hot spring, and are clear and colorless and have neither taste nor smell. It has very slippery touch. Shompoos and bodysoaps are not provided at the bathhouse, so visitors have to bring those. Paid hair dryers and a restroom are provided at a dressing room.

Types of Hot Springs	Simple hot spring (Type: Alkaline, Osmotic Pressure: Low, Spring Temperature Type: Extra hot spring)
Water temperature of Hot Spring Source	43.8 C
ph	8.9
Indications	Neuralgia, Muscle pain, Arthralgia, Frozen shoulders, Motor paralysis, Tightening of the joint, Bruise, Sprain, Hemorrhoids, Chronic digestivediseases, Cold sensitivity, Convalescent convalescence, Relieving fatigue, Healthy increase
Contraindications	Acute disease(when there is the heat in particular), Active tuberculosis, Malignant tumor, Severe heart disease, Respiratory failure, Renal insufficiency, Hemorrhagic disease, High anemia, Other diseases during condition of a patient progress generally
Indications of drinking	Not drinking
Facilities	Open-air bath(2), Indoor bath(3), Sauna(1). * Sex-Segregated Bathhouse.
Entrance fee to the bath facility	Adult: JPY 440. Child: JPY 140. Child under elementary school age: JPY 70.
Business hours	11:00-22:00
Regular closing day	Open all year round
Parking lot	A free parking is provided (150 cars)
Telephone number	+81-152-74-2343
Home page	Home page is here
Reservation	Jalan is here, Rakuten is here
Mapcode	305 275 460*20

Himawari Onsen

The Himawari Onsen is a public bath at Memenbetsu Agriculture Improvement Center (女満別農業構造改善センター) near Memanbetsu Athletic Park (女満別運動公園). The appearance of the 2-story building covered with windows is stylish. The cleaning is thorough, too. Sex-Segregated public bathhouses are on the 1st floor, and a ticket vender is provided. An entrance fee to a bath facility is JPY 450. The public bathhouses are popular with local old people.

The sector public bathhouse has a lot of windows, and the sunny room is feeling good. There are 2 indoor baths at the bathhouse. Each half-oval indoor baths with different water temperature are that about 4 people take a bath. The water temperature of hot indoor bath is about 43 C, and The water temperature of warm indoor bath is about 40 C. A hot spring gushing point is at the hot indoor bath, and hot springs flow to warm indoor bath through a partition panel, and that adjusts the water temperature. The baths use 100% natural free flowing hot springs, and have smooth and slippery touch. Watch your steps because the baths are very slippery.

The hot springs are sodium carbonated chloride spring, and are clear and colorless and have neither taste nor smell. The sum total of the hot spring ingredients are 1.462 g/kg. Unfortunately, the hot springs are not suitable for drinking. Because shampoos and body soaps are not provided at the bathhouse, bathers should bring those. A restroom and a free hair dryer are set at a dressing room. A Japanese-style resting room is also on the 1st floor, and everybody can use it freely. A portable barley tea cooler is served for free, too.

[Shut Down] Hotel Konan-so

Hotel Konan-so is a small-sized long-established onsen hotel on the shore of the Lake Abashiri at the backside of Memambetsu Station, and has opened a business since 1962. The interior decoration has an atmosphere such as Showa period. An entrance fee to the bath facility is JPY 400. A staying is possible, too. Unfortunately, they have been closed a business since September, 2020.

There is 1 indoor bath at a public bathroom. The tiled bathroom is samll. The indoor bath is the size that about 10 people can take a bath, and uses heated cold spring with moor spring that is named “Kaba-no-Kuroyu (樺の黒湯 * black hot springs of the birch)” because it gashes out from sub-coal bed (white birch became deposited in 300 meters below ground). This is a rare type of the hot springs in this area. But nobody seemed to notice that it was such rare hot springs at first.

The moor spring is brown spring that gushes out from a peat bed or a lignitic bed, and contains a lot of organics of plant origin, so it has slippery touch, and is good for a skin, and is called beauty hot spring (美人の湯), too. The moor spring is different from usual types of the hot springs, and the hot springs are recognized as the moor spring if those contain humus.

The hot springs are cold spring with moor hot spring, and are opaque and brown and have neither taste nor smell, and are not drinkable because of circulation type baths. The sum total of the hot spring ingredients are 0.375 g/kg. Shampoos and body soaps are provided at the bathroom. Because there was not a restroom at a dressing room, you should get a wash beforehand at the restroom at a corridor.

Atmosphere of Konan-so Can Be Watched on Youtube

Movie of Konan-so