Quake evacuees get 1st bath in days, courtesy of free “onsen”

In a refreshing gesture of goodwill, an “onsen” hot spring operator here opened its facility free of charge April 19 to evacuees from the recent spate of earthquakes.

Miwako Kawauchi, director of the facility, said it decided to offer the service after power supplies, which had been suspended due to the earthquakes since April 14, resumed the previous evening.

Takanobu Miyata, 72, who had been spending nights in his car at an evacuation center, took a bath at the Aso Hakusui Onsen Ruri with his grandson Yumeto.

It was the first time for them to bathe since the series of earthquakes started.

“As I had been sleeping in a car, my body had become stiff. It had been a very difficult experience," Miyata said, adding, “I felt so refreshed.”

Kawauchi, 60, who also took to sleeping in her car, said, “People who came for a bath told me that they feel as if their bodies became lighter. They also told me, ‘Thank you.’ I was very pleased.”

(THE ASAHI SHINBUM)