...and another one to those who know Fukuoka well enough - any good onsen + spa facilities there? I mean within Fukuoka.
So far, my favourite and unbeatable onsen + sento complex has been 船橋温泉 (湯楽の里) (http://www.yurakirari.com/yuranosato/ten...bashi.html) in Funabashi. It beats anything I've seen in and around Tokyo.
大江戸温泉物語 seems ridiculous compared to that.

Have you seen anything like the one at the link above in Fukuoka? If not, I will have to take trains to Beppu!
Or else, what are your personal recommendations as for onsen/sento/sauna in Fukuoka?

Thanks,
efeilliaid

Going all the way to Beppu! Madness! 二日市 is a little town near Fukuoka City with many onsen so have a look at what's available there. I'd also recommend 那珂川清滝, 久山 and アマンディ。 They all involve a little travel though, when you say within Fukuoka do you mean within the main city itself or just the general area?

pudding cat Wrote:Going all the way to Beppu! Madness! 二日市 is a little town near Fukuoka City with many onsen so have a look at what's available there.

My Japanese teacher said that we have about 10% of Japan's hot springs. So it should be a place with the biggest amount of onsens in Japan.

Btw I'm going to fukuoka for the first time in 2 weeks so If I'll find anything out, I'll try to tell you.

jettyke Wrote:

pudding cat Wrote:Going all the way to Beppu! Madness! 二日市 is a little town near Fukuoka City with many onsen so have a look at what's available there.

My Japanese teacher said that we have about 10% of Japan's hot springs. So it should be a place with the biggest amount of onsens in Japan.

Heehee, I'm not knocking Beppu for its onsen but if you only have a few hours spare it's a bit far from Fukuoka... Although having said that, if you do have time and money to burn, Ureshino in Saga has some lovely onsen (Ureshino is one of the 『日本三大美肌の湯』), delicious tea and 湯豆腐.

Hey pudding cat!

Thanks a lot for your recommendations. I haven't checked out those places yet as I have moved to Fukuoka (Hakata-ku) just now and been busy discovering the general whereabouts.
I originally meant Fukuoka as the city itself, but now that I've discovered how smallish it is when I'm on my bike, I will definitely go to see what the places you mention are like.
For now, I've been to this one near 'Bayside Place Hakata':
http://www.namiha.jp/shisetu/sauna.html
The choice of puddles to bathe in is not awesome but the sauna rooms on the second floor blew my mind, if anyone is interested

You were right that going to Beppu was madness. I took my European visitors there and we all had an impression that Beppu was overrated as regards both sightseeing and bathing...

Anyway, just wanted to say thanks for all the links.

Cheers
efeilliaid

I haven't been here personally but I had a friend who used to go here a lot. It's in 中央区. You're lucky, I really miss Fukuoka!

Those honeycomb 'bee nest' things look a bit creepy...

I spent about a week in Beppu and, like others, found it a bit overrated. Yufuin, however, is well worth the visit (even all the way from Fukuoka). It's a short train ride from Beppu into the mountains. Truly a marvelous spot. If you want to avoid the hordes of Japanese who flock there, go on a weekday (assuming you can), or at least avoid national holidays.

Near Fukuoka, there is a fairly nice onsen in the town of Nakagawa, called Seiryu.
http://www.nakagawaseiryu.jp/ There is a free bus that leaves from Hakata station. It's a pretty remote place, so make sure your language skills are up to the task, or go with a Japanese friend.