Forty thousand ills
Shima lies on the upper Shima River, which runs south out of the Mikuni range. The name is said to come from 'a sacred spring that heals forty thousand (shi-man) ills'. In legend the warrior Usui Sadamitsu, chanting sutras through the night here, dreamed of a child spirit who granted him the spring; the spot is Gomuso-no-yu in Hinatami. The first inn opened in 1563. In 1954 Shima, with Sukayu in Aomori and Nikko-Yumoto in Tochigi, became one of the first three National Health Resorts.[8][9][1]
Three centuries of Sekizenkan
Sekizenkan built its bathhouse and lodgings on this spot in 1691 and opened as an inn in 1694 under its founder Seki Zenbei. Locals called it 'Sekizen', and a Meiji-era owner matched that nickname to a line from the I Ching, 'the house that accumulates good deeds (sekizen) has blessings to spare'. The main building is the oldest surviving wooden bath-inn in Japan and a prefectural Important Cultural Property. The Genroku-no-yu of 1930 is a Western-style bathhouse with arched windows and five stone tubs; the Sanso wing of 1936 is a nationally registered cultural property. The storyteller San'yutei Encho and the poet Yanagiwara Byakuren were among its guests.[1][5][12]
Kusatsu's finishing bath
Shima's water is a sodium–calcium chloride and sulfate spring, clear to look at, from 42 sources according to the association. People traditionally came here after a course of bathing in Kusatsu's harsh acid water to let their skin recover, hence the nickname 'Kusatsu's finishing bath'. The habit of drinking the water survives at fountains such as Shio-no-yu and Yuzuriha. It has long been reputed good for the stomach and called one of Japan's three great springs for digestive complaints; we leave the medical claims to the notices.[2][9][4]
Getting there and around
The bus from Nakanojo Station takes about 40 minutes and costs 1,150 yen; Sekizenkan is two minutes from the terminus. There is also a direct express bus from Tokyo Station. The village is long and thin along the river, walkable from Gomuso-no-yu in Hinatami up to Lake Okushima. The free public baths open 9:00–15:00. Winter tyres are essential if you drive.[3][7][8][11]
