Yukichichibu

You smell Yukichichibu before you see it. The road climbs out of Konbu between high snowbanks, and near the top the heater starts pulling in sulphur from Oyunuma, the steaming pond right behind the building. Rankoshi rebuilt the bathhouse in 2015 and runs it as a plain municipal day bath, so you pay cash at the window and walk straight through to the water.

Seven outdoor tubs face Nitonupuri, and on a cold afternoon some of them sit cooler than you'd want, so warm up first in the hotter indoor bath. The sulphur water comes out grey and slightly thick on the skin. Women get the place's famous extra: a tub where grey mud from the spring settles on the bottom, and regulars scoop it up, paint it on their arms and let it dry before sliding back in. When your skin has had enough sulphur, the second spring is a softer water with a golden tinge.

Weekends between noon and four are the busy stretch. Last tickets go at 6:30, which leaves a tight window after a full day on Annupuri, so this is a bath for a short day or a rest day. Rinse well before you dress, because the smell rides home in your hair and anything silver goes black in this water.