Fukujyuso in Shima

What a little gem! We really enjoyed our stay here. The island has its own weird, nefarious history. But if anything that adds to its mystery…and possibly lack of guests. The hotel was nearly empty, which meant we had almost exclusive use of the onsen.

The food was tasty Japanese fare - westerners not familiar with it will almost certainly struggle, and there are no restaurants or convenience stores on the island, so be aware.

We’d love to come back in sunmer!

After a short 3-minute boat ride from the opposite shore, you'll immediately reach the entrance. The spacious lobby and hot springs on the 1st and 6th floors were wonderfully warm, perfect for a long soak. There were various options for enjoyment, including a walking bath, a waterfall shower, and a sauna.

The rooms were spacious Japanese-style rooms, and you can easily stroll around the island. In the summer, there's a beach and a swimming pool, making it a great place for families.

The meals offered a wide variety of dishes, and the portions were generous – we were completely full!

We thoroughly enjoyed the spiny lobster sashimi, a rare treat.

I feel the heart of hospitality. The food is exquisite and very tasty. The viewing bath where you can see the sunset and sunrise is also the best.

Anyway, the bath was good. You can enjoy different baths by changing two big baths. I am sure that the rating is high. The hotel is close to the sea, so the seafood dishes were delicious. Now I want to go in a warmer time of the year.

Celebrating our 5th wedding anniversary, we stayed at Shima Kanko Hotel The Bay Suite the night before and enjoyed some black abalone. On our way to our next accommodation, Auberge Yusura, we, being hot spring lovers, enjoyed the open-air garden bath, "Kazemachi no Yu," at Fukujuso.♨ To get there, you have to take a 3-minute boat ride... I realized that this is where "Haifu," the awful accommodation I stayed at in January 2016, is located... But since we weren't staying the night and were only going to use the hot spring, we enjoyed the feeling of being on a journey for a while by taking a boat ride across Matoya Bay.🚢 One way: 200 yen/person. It's a short walk from the pier to Fukujuso. We tried to pay 1,500 yen/person at reception, but were told that if we had a JAF membership card, it would be 500 yen/person cheaper, so we were very grateful for their kind guidance.❣ When we got to the hot spring... Hmm? Maybe I've been here before (lol). In fact, I also used it when I stayed at the worst hotel in 2016, "Haifuu" 😅 Anyway, it's okay. The hot spring is quite salty when you dip in, and your body warms up immediately. The hot spring seems to have an abundant supply, as it springs from a source 1,300m underground. The garden open-air bath has a cypress bath, a rock bath, a waterfall bath, a walking bath, and a sauna. On this day, the indoor cypress bath in the men's bath was the most comfortable, with a breeze blowing through it (・∀・) Nice!! The walking bath also felt good on the soles of my feet, and I soaked in it for quite a long time, then went back into the cold bath. However, even though it was summer, there was no air conditioning, so I used a cooler like the ones you'd find in a factory to cool down the sweat that was pouring out 😅 It was possible since we had the place to ourselves (lol). It seems my wife also had the place to herself. This time I only saw the first floor of Fukujuso, but it's a shame that it's so empty despite being such an amazing hot spring, so I think it would become even more popular if it were redeveloped into a hotel or resort...

Excellent

When visiting Ise-san, I used this hot spring inn as it was relatively close. It is located on a small island off the coast of a ria coast, and if you wish to stay overnight, you will enter from the opposite shore by a special boat. The boat ride only takes about 3 minutes, but it's quite atmospheric. Because the hot springs are located along the coast, they are chloride springs with a high salt concentration. The bathroom was very spacious and there were about 20 people taking a bath, but they used it without stress. The dinner menu consisted mainly of seafood and was so delicious that I couldn't finish it all. The room itself is a fairly old building, but it was kept clean, so I was able to use it to the extent that it felt appropriately old. It was a ryokan that I would like to visit again when visiting Ise.

Fresh seafood is delicious. There will be more than you can eat. It has a good flavor overall. The open-air bath on the first floor is popular, but the indoor bath on the sixth floor has fewer customers. The bathtub on the 6th floor hasn't been cleaned enough and is full of mold. Even though it wasn't even the day before a holiday, there were quite a few customers. There are many group tourists, and the age range is wide. It seems that there are many female customers at Hotel Hana, a value-priced inn affiliated with the hotel. All three hotels in the group seem to be popular, which is surprisingly popular for a modern hot spring inn. The other inns on the island either have few customers or seem to have gone out of business. Walking around the island is interesting as you can tour the ruins.

The hotel is on Tokanojima Island. You drive to the dock parking lot and then carry your luggage on the boat. It was raining heavily during check-in, which was inconvenient, but the hotel's hot springs and food quality are good.