Solaniwa Onsen
Solaniwa Onsen is a hot spring theme park built inside the Osaka Bay Tower, a minute from Bentencho Station. No mountains, no snow, no long drive: you take the train, walk into a tower and come out in old Japan. After Kiyomizu-dera in the morning and Dotonbori at lunch, our legs wanted exactly that.
You pick a yukata at the entrance and wear it the whole time. The main hall is full of lanterns, with a little red bridge in the middle.
We took a lot of photos on that bridge.
The garden
Outside there’s a Japanese garden with foot baths running through it, and a path of stepping stones through the warm water. It was drizzling, so umbrellas.
There’s a red torii out there too, and signs pointing up to a rooftop garden and private baths you can book.
Then the baths themselves, so no photos. Entry came to around ¥3,000 each with the extras. Strawberry milk after, as you do.
And dorayaki on the platform on the way back, because one sweet thing is never enough. Then back to Namba for dinner at Wagyu Idaten.
Postcard from Bentencho, Osaka
A big onsen complex in Osaka Bay Tower, right by Bentencho Station on the JR Loop Line. You get a yukata on entry and can wander between the baths, a lantern-lit hall and a garden with foot baths.