This post courtesy of Guest Reviewer, Cami.
I was having such a nice relaxing time around Asan, I decided to skip the late
train back to Seoul and do something I have never done- stay at a jjimjilbang! I had found this place online before I left, and it's easy
to walk to from the Onyang Hot Springs. Just cross the road in front of
the hotel, go under the train tracks, and you will see the neon sign
(assuming you read Korean- if not a taxi might be best). I got there
quite late and it was crowded, but it was Friday night. It is 5500 won to
get in, 7500 with clothes. Its an older building, and probably due to
the crowds, not the cleanest. The jjimjilbang area has a central big
room where many people were laying down, and along the sides 2 men's
sleeping areas. There is a small restaurant and a PC room, no wifi. None
of the jjimjilbang rooms were very hot; there is salt, charcoal, ice
and maybe one more? I was confused over sleeping
arrangements, since there were only men's sleeping areas and most
everyone was just laying in the central area, so I asked. Turns out the
women's sleeping area is in the locker room, and small room near the
back. You can get a big blanket for 1000 w, and they have mats. It was
wall-to-wall people, so I ended up sleeping on the only free space- the
pile of mats in the corner! It was comfy, but all night people kept
going in and out, and it wasn't very quiet. Also at around 5 am a huge
(very loud) group of women came in to the sauna, and it wasn't possible
to sleep after that. So, not very restful, but since it was my first
time ever sleeping at a jjimjilbang, I don't really know what to expect.
I don't sleep well anyway, even at home!
The
bath area has one tub that is hot spring water, so that is nice. It is
also jeweled with huge cut rocks, so its really cool looking! There is a
hot bath, a warm bath, and the hot spring
water bath. Along the back of the room is a large very cold tub, and a
smaller not-so-cold tub. That was really great, often the cold tub takes
my breath away but this one was just right, and it has waterfall jets
for a shoulder massage. There are 2 saunas in the baths as well, and
skin scrubbing. Probably due to the huge group of 5 am women, the
shower area was pretty grubby in the morning.
One
thing to watch for was the jjimjilbang clothes- they were small! I am a
small woman, about 110 pounds, but the shorts were tight on me. I saw
several larger ladies in the jjimjilbang wearing pajama pants or shorts
that were their own, probably for this reason. The shirts were okay, but
the shorts seem to be cut for children! However, they are not picky
about wearing your own pants if their shorts don't fit obviously, so
that was nice and a good way to avoid this problem is to bring shorts or
pants (I wished I had, those suckers
were tight!) The locker room also has a wonderful store, with the best
selection of shampoo and conditioner packets, masks, rubs, and scrubs
I've ever seen. I love to try new masks and shampoos, so that was great.
The staff is also very helpful- I broke a tooth on kalbi earlier in the
evening (ouch!) and it began to hurt around 2 am. The locker room
attendant took me to the front desk, explained what had happened, and
sent me right outside the jjimjilbang to a nearby mart with tylenol, and
stayed at the desk so I could be sure to get back in with no issues. It
was very kind of her.
Open 24 Hours
Costs: prices below include 12 hours in the facility
Sauna only
Enter 5am~8pm Adults: 4,500 won / Kids: 2,500 won
After 8pm (overnight) 5,500 won / Kids: 3,500 won
Sauna + Jjimjilbang
Add 2,000 to prices for sauna only
Chungcheon Nam-do, Asan-si, Shimin-ro 346
충남 아산시 시민로 346
Phone: 041-543-7777
