「千と千尋の神隠し」と言ったら、愛媛の道後温泉、台湾の九份始め数々の観光地・温泉地がモデルとなったといわれますが、ここ武雄温泉もその一つです。特に東京駅・日本銀行本店の設計をした、佐賀県唐津市出身の「辰野金吾」が建設した「楼門」は大きなインパクトがあります。一目でわかる「ここが温泉地」という目印です。お湯も老若男女皆に好まれるような低刺激性、弱アルカリ性の無色透明なお湯で、肌はすべすべになり、「美人の湯」とも呼ばれています。
長崎県の離島では、島には温泉はないのでどこかの温泉地に行く必要があるのですが、長崎県がそもそも温泉地は少なく、唯一の雲仙温泉は五島列島地域からは遥か彼方の場所です。この武雄温泉は我々からも最寄りで、西九州地域全体でも最もアクセスしやすい温泉です。
When it comes to “Spirited Away,” it is said to have been inspired by various tourist and hot spring destinations, including Dogo Onsen in Ehime and Jiufen in Taiwan. Takeo Onsen is also one of those locations. In particular, the “gatehouse” (Roumon) designed by Kingo Tatsuno, a native of Karatsu City in Saga Prefecture, who also designed Tokyo Station and the main branch of the Bank of Japan, makes a significant impact. It is a recognizable landmark that signifies it is a hot spring resort. The hot spring water is colourless, transparent, and has a gentle alkaline nature with low irritation, making it loved by people of all ages. It leaves the skin smooth and is often called the “beauty water.”
In remote islands in Nagasaki Prefecture, there are no natural hot springs, so visiting a hot spring resort elsewhere is necessary. However, Nagasaki Prefecture has relatively few hot spring resorts, and the only one, Unzen Onsen, is far from the Goto Islands region. Takeo Onsen is the nearest and most accessible hot spring for us and is also highly accessible in the entire western Kyushu region.