The best and worst onsens/sentos in Joetsu: An incomplete list

There are really only two things in Japan that I think are better than anything comparable back home: public baths and ramen. I've given myself the go-ahead to spend as much time and money (and in the case of ramen, calories) as I want to on these two things, and I try to eat ramen and go to an onsen at least once a week, because I know I'll miss both when I go home.

Anyway, this is a list of the onsens I've been to in Joetsu. I'm hoping to branch out and try a lot more--I think Yukidaruma Onsen in Yasuzuka is next on my list, and I really want to go to the Oedo Onsen Monogatari onsen theme park in Tokyo! So expect a Part 2 soon :)

1. Shichifuku no Yu (Super Sento)
Also known as "the onsen by AEON/JUSCO," this is by far my favorite sento in Joetsu. My friend Vincent said that it reminded him of Spirited Away, which is probably the best way to describe it. It has literally everything: indoor and outdoor baths, a sauna (with TV), a steam room (it's lavender-scented!), jets, a cold bath for after the sauna, crazy electric current massage baths, an outdoor TV, individual baths (one for each lucky god), and a bath with mysterious* healing powers that all the old ladies crowd into when there's plenty of room in the other baths. There's also decent food and nice rooms where you can chill and relax after your bath.

*mysterious for those cursed with poor Japanese reading comprehension, anyway

2. Kuwadori Yuttarimura
This onsen is in Kuwadori, a rural area near one of my schools, but I'd never bothered to check it out until recently. It. Is. Amazing. The building is beautiful and new-looking and smells great (I know that's a weird observation but it's true), and the baths themselves are small, but really nice. There's an indoor and outdoor bath (the indoor one has jets and seats where you can lie back) and a small steam room. I haven't tried the restaurant yet, but something tells me it's a cut above the regular onsen fare.

3. Yuttari no Sato
Our local favorite, AKA the Yosh Onsen. Three indoor baths (a regular one and two scented ones), nice outdoor bath, not-so-nice steam room. The restaurant is nice and homey; it took me a year and a half to figure out what their specialty is, but now I can recommend the tonkatsu teishoku with confidence. (The tenzaru soba in the summer is pretty good, too.)

4. Unohama Ningyokan
The baths themselves are small but nice--one indoor and one outdoor with a view of the ocean--but I didn't really enjoy the one time I came here because some woman brought her son who was WAY too old to be in the women's side of the onsen (he was at least 8 or 9) so I spent the whole time in silent outrage trying to hide behind my towel. Some people, man. I'll give it another try some other time. There's also a pool downstairs (admission is separate), and quite a bit more to do around the building, it looks like.

5. Robatakan
I really only included this one to prevent people from seeing the sign on Route 8 and getting the mistaken impression that it's worth going to. Don't bother.