[Review] Soraburo

I visited Soraburo on a rainy weekend on during the autumn foliage season.

I was new in Nikko and took the opportunity to explore Chuzenji, and I went into Oku Nikko for a trek in the woods. But within half a day my shoes were soaked and I was cold from the lakeside wind, and an onsen soak felt like the most welcoming option.
Hiking the slight elevation from the lake, I could see the old building of Hotel Kanaya behind the mountain greenery with specks of red, orange and brown.

Soraburo is the name of the onsen belonging to the Chuzenji branch of the local historical brand of Kanaya Hotel.
The lobby area had a fireplace and multiple couches in front of large windows facing the outside scenery.

The cost for the day-use onsen is on the pricier side, ¥1,800 per person with a towel included.
On my way to the onsen, I passed by one of the ground floor rooms that they were cleaning. The furnishing style feels like a mix between a cozy inn and grandma’s house.

The onsen was connected to the main building through a glass corridor, which was close enough to nature that this little guy was right outside minding his own business.

The onsen has pretty good privacy with password locks at the entrance.

It was also quite busy given that it was a weekend on a scenic spot. There were constantly people around so I couldn’t get any good photos.

I’ve been wanting to try out the famous sulphuric onsens. The locals describe the waters as “emerald green” but I thought it looks more like a slightly murky shade of jade. The scent slightly resembled an over-boiled egg or the general air in volcanic regions. Not overpowering in my opinion, but if you have a sensitive sense of smell I wouldn’t recommend this as a first time onsen experience.

I grew interested in sulphuric onsens when I heard of them from my colleague. She went for a dip in one, and it felt so comfortable afterwards that she couldn’t resist falling asleep on the departing bus and ended up in the last station and the driver had to wake her up.

As I eased into the bath and let it warm me up, I could see the why. The waters felt smooth on my skin. The scent doesn’t bother me that much. The indoor bath quickly got rid of any lingering chills from the cold mountains. I soon moved to the rotenburo because I could see the autumn foliage from the window and it looked amazing.

The rotenburo is a very large iwaburo (stone bath). There were multiple larger and flat stones that you could comfortably lean against while you soaked.

I settled into a corner and relaxed. The sky was above me, unobstructed and gray, with the slightest drizzles of rain still falling.

It dawned on me this was the inspiration or vision for the name “Soraburo”, which literally translated to “Sky Bath”.

I soaked for a while, appreciating rustling orange leaves from the view, listening to the distant thrums of nature, the rising steam from the water surface protecting me from the cold.

Wrapping up the visit with a daydream session the lobby is becoming a habit that I enjoy.

On my way home, the exact same thing that coworker described happened to me. I fell into slumber on the bus and didn’t wake up until the final stop. The sleep was so deep it felt like I ceased to exist for that hour. An interesting experience.

The smell of sulphur lingered faintly on my skin throughout the rest of the day. I could smell it on my fingers as I was brushing my teeth at night.