Shiohitashi Onsen Ryoma Park
塩浸温泉龍馬公園
The hot spring where Sakamoto Ryoma and Oryo recuperated on what is called Japan's first honeymoon; now a memorial park with a statue, a museum and a day-use hot spring.
Shiohitashi Onsen lies on the banks of the Amakudari River. In 1866, after Sakamoto Ryoma was wounded in the Teradaya Incident in Kyoto, he and his wife Oryo came here at the invitation of the Satsuma domain to recover for 18 days, an episode regarded as Japan's first honeymoon. Today it is Shiohitashi Onsen Ryoma Park, featuring a statue of the couple, a museum that introduces Ryoma's life and his journey to Satsuma, and the Shiohitashi Onsen Fukushi-no-Sato bathing facility, where day-use bathing costs around ¥360 (check on site). You can even bathe in the same spring the couple once enjoyed. Museum admission is about ¥200. Opening hours are roughly 9:00–18:00, and it is closed on Wednesdays. It is about 20 minutes' drive from Kagoshima Airport and a must-visit for Ryoma fans.
Opening hours
About 09:00–18:00; closed Wednesdays
Nearby sights
- Kareigawa Station
- Inukai Falls
- Myoken Onsen
- Kagoshima-jingu Shrine
- Kirishima Onsen Village & Maruo Falls
- Kirishima Open-Air Museum
- Kirishima Shinwa-no-Sato Park
- Kirishima-jingu Shrine