Train to off-the-beaten-path onsen town gives you a taste of Japanese bathing culture even before you arrive at your destination.

One of the coziest things that happens in Japan in the winter is when the rail companies turn on the heaters underneath the seats on the trains. Having warm air blowing on your calves feels so nice that sometimes I almost don’t want to get off the train when I got to the station I was headed to.

But it turns out that there’s an even cozier way to ride the rails coming soon from Kintetsu Railway Co. Though based in Osaka, Kintetsu Railway also operates lines in Aichi and Mie Prefectures, and later this winter they’ll be adding genuine onsen hot spring footbaths to some of them!

The Tsudoi sightseeing train runs along the Kintetsu Nagoya and Yunoyama Lines, tasking passengers from Kintetsu Nagoya Station to Yunoyama Onsen Station, in the Mie town of Komono, in about one hour. Since Komono is famous for its hot springs, Kintetsu wants to give travelers a preview of the local bathing culture while they’re on their way to or from the town. Of course, having travelers undress for a full bath wouldn’t be practical, so instead on special days this winter the Tsudoi will be outfitted with a pair of ashiyu, or foot baths, crafted from hinoki (aromatic Japanese cypress) and filled with hot spring water taken directly from the spring source in Komono.

Each footbath can accommodate four users simultaneously, with passengers taking turns for 10-minute sessions. While you wait, the Tsudoi is also outfitted with a drink and snack stand selling senbei (rice crackers), tea, and even tasting sets of locally brewed sake from the Komono area.

▼ A cup of sake, a warm footbath, and the swaying of the train sounds like an immensely enjoyable and sleep-conducive set of conditions.

Despite it being a sightseeing train, Tsudoi tickets are remarkably low-priced, just 510 yen (US$3.35) for the one-way ride between Nagoya to Yunoyama Onsen, plus an additional of 100 yen for a 10-minute ashiyu session. The ticket also includes discounts on admission to various hot springs, museums, and the scenic ropeway/cable car in Komono.

The hot spring footbath Tsudoi is scheduled to run on a total of eight days: January 31 and February 1, 7, 8, 14, 15, 22, and 23. On each day the train will depart Kintetsu Nagoya Station at 10:06 a.m. and arrive at Yunoyama Onsen at 11:50, then start its return trip at 3:38 in the afternoon and be back at Kintetsu Nagoya at 5:23. Passengers can also get on or off the ashiyu Tsudoi at Kintetsu Yokkaichi Station, the only stop it makes along the way.

Nagoya-to-Komono isn’t the most heavily trafficked sightseeing route in Japan, but the trains will have a maximum capacity of 56 passengers, so reservations, which can be made up to one month in advance at major Kintetsu Railway stations, are advised. And if you’re looking for a way to get to Nagoya in the first place, the footbath Tsudoi will be running at the same time as the Final Fantasy Shinkansen that goes to JR Nagoya Station.

Source, images: PR Times
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