Foot and Hand Baths
There are nine foot baths (ashiyu) scattered around Gero’s hot spring district, seven of which are free to use and open to the public. Four of the baths are open to visitors around the clock. The hot spring district is an easily walkable street filled with traditional ryokan inns offering hot spring bathing for a small fee and lined with cafes and street vendors selling local snacks. Enjoying a foot bath makes a pleasant break to explorations of the area.
Each foot bath has its own unique style. Venus no Ashiyu is a European-themed bath with pearl tiles instead of traditional stones on the bottom, while Sagi no Ashiyu, which was the first foot bath in Gero, is decorated with hinoki cypress wood. Funsenchi, a public outdoor hot spring bath along the Hida River and next to Gero Bridge, also functions as a foot bath.
Gero also has hand baths (teyu). While not as commonplace as foot baths, they provide an alternative way to experience the area’s healing waters. Hand baths are offered at places such as Onsen Shrine and in front of JR Gero Station.