菊池温泉
菊池温泉は、菊池市の東部に広がる温泉街で、8つの温泉ホテル・旅館と、菊池公園の近くにある菊池観光協会がある。各温泉宿には43～45℃に保たれた個性豊かなお風呂がある。温泉の泉質は透明でほとんど無臭、pH9.0以上のアルカリ性だ。入浴後の肌は、化粧水を塗った後のようなヌルヌル・すべすべ感を感じることができる。場所によっては飲用も可能で、ホテルや旅館では料理に使っているところもある。日帰り入浴も可能で、1,500円で8つの施設のうち3つを利用できる「周湯券」を購入することができる。
菊池市は1950年代に温泉が発見されたのをきっかけに、健康増進のためのリゾート地として発展してきた。江戸時代には、くじゅう連山の西側、現在の熊本県と大分県を結ぶ街道沿いの最後の主要な街として商業が栄えた。その流れは戦後まで続き、熊本県全域から菊池の商店街へ客が流れ、温泉街の発展にも繋がった。
Kikuchi Onsen
The Kikuchi Onsen spa district extends across the eastern side of the city of Kikuchi, offering eight spa hotels and inns as well as an information center near Kikuchi Park. Each spa has a distinctive range of baths, which are kept at a temperature of 43–45°C. The hot spring water in the area is clear, virtually odorless, and alkaline, with a pH level of at least 9.0. Its properties make the skin feel smooth and slightly slippery after bathing, somewhat like after the application of skin toner. Drinking the water is possible in places, and some of the hotels and inns use it for cooking. All spas in Kikuchi Onsen welcome daytime bathers, who can purchase a ¥1,500 “bath-hopping” ticket that includes access to any three of the eight facilities.
Kikuchi has been a health and wellness destination since the 1950s, when the discovery of the hot spring sparked resort development. The town had flourished as a commercial hub during the Edo period (1603–1867). At that time, it was the last major population center on the western side of the Kuju Mountains along the road that connected what is now Kumamoto Prefecture with Oita Prefecture on the other side of the mountain range. This mercantile legacy endured into the postwar period, when the flow of customers from throughout the Kumamoto area to Kikuchi’s shopping streets helped the spa district flourish.
