Hello there!
Shimamoto-cho's pride and joy, "Rikyu no Mizu" was featured on the TV news the other day.
Click here for a post about the news broadcast.↓
We went to Minase Shrine to get the water.
As soon as you enter the shrine grounds, you will see a faucet on your left. You can take water there.
The history of the shrine and the rules of water intake are also displayed on the boards.
I tried cooking rice with Rikyu no Mizu, and was amazed at the unusual luster on the rice.
When I tasted it, the flavor in my mouth amazed me again!
I even used it for miso soup, coffee, and baking bread, and it tasted way better than usual!
So I did some research to find out what kind of water quality it has.
Water quality of Rikyu no Mizu
Type of water: Underground water
Water temperature: approximately 16.0 to 20.0 degrees Celsius
Hardness: 87.0mg/l on average
(Information obtained from this Website)
I also checked the water quality of Shimamoto-cho tap water.
Water quality of Shimamoto-cho tap water
Water source: Deep well
Daily average water purification volume : 8,125 m3
Average hardness: 85.0mg/l
(Information retrieved from the 2019 data of this website）
It seems that the average hardness of tap water in Osaka Prefecture is about 40 mg/l, but that of Shimamoto-cho is quite high because the source of the water is groundwater!
In simple words, the hardness of water refers to the amount of minerals (calcium and magnesium) contained in the water.
In Japan, water with a hardness of 0-100mg/l is classified as soft water, but according to WHO standards, water with a hardness of 0-60mg/l is classified as soft and water with a hardness of 60-120mg/l is classified as moderately hard.
So it turns out that Shimamoto-cho's tap water is a bit hard soft water!
Here is a map of Minase Shrine↓
The free parking area is spacious.
It seems that most people come to the water intake by car or bicycle.
If you are coming by train, I recommend the Hankyu bicycle rental service.
You can rent a regular bicycle for 320 yen or an electric bicycle for 420 yen!