*Closed* This was a lovely onsen. I'm glad I was able to go here before it closed down. Judging by comments on the onsen.nifty.com site it seems that Tanabe Onsen closed sometime between January and March of 2009.
Review:
Next to a subway station in a sleepy residential Osaka neighborhood this onsen has a family feel. It seemed that everyone there knew each other. The staff was constantly chatting with the customers and visa versa. One might think this is a good thing but, this can be unsettling as the other customers were rather watchful of a new, strange, and foreign guest. That combined with the architecture, baths, and tiles gave it an Osaka feel. The bathing area is done in the same glass framed by stainless steel style that the entry way is. In the baths the seats are built into the ground and made of tile, unlike the more common movable plastic ones. The water has a slight greenish brown tint that’s emphasized by the colors of the tiles. This onsen runs hot and leaves you radiating heat. Something in the mineral composition of the water and the design of the tubs here lead me to be made it easy for my body to absorb the heat faster and more completely than at other places. This onsen has an emphasis on radon baths, something I think is common among older Osaka sentos, and is the first onsen I’ve featured that has a radon bath. In this case the radon is added to the water and is not naturally occurring in the water. Radon is thought to be beneficial to your health, but it is radioactive and is a carcinogen, and as such should be approached with caution. Personally I like it, but I’m well aware of the danger and there’s no real immediately notable feel to the bath compared to another bath in the onsen. Also be aware that children aren’t allowed in any radon bath or sauna. Also be aware the second floor with the radon sauna and rotenburo gensen bath is accessible only if you pay an extra 240 yen. They will give you a plastic tile on a string which you wear around your neck to show that you’ve paid the fee.