[Access] About 20 minutes by car from Nukabira Onsen

A friend of mine, who is interesting in many ways and also a hot spring sommelier, recommended me to visit Horoka Onsen once. In fact, almost all the hot springs he recommended me made me always very happy. And surprisingly he told me that he had lived in this Horoka Onsen for a while. He also told me some amazing stories there. For example, the indoor bath is for unisex even today, and this onsen is managed by a very old lady all by herself.

Horoka Onsen Kanoya is located at the end of the road separated from Route 273. It has a nice, old-fashioned atmosphere. When I entered, there was a small waiting room, but I couldn’t find anyone except those who had just finished taking a bath. There is an old lady in the back of the room, but she doesn’t seem to notice me at all when I call　her. Apparently, she’s very hard of hearing… this must be tough for her to do all the things.

I asked for a one-day hot spring and paid 600 yen, and at the same time I asked to buy a towel because I forgot mine. Then she told me to come over there so I could borrow one. She guided me to the bathroom and told me to return it when I finish using it.

As soon as I enter from the changing room, I saw these three large indoor baths. On the wall, there’re boards showing different types of hot springs, a sodium spring, an iron ore spring, and a calcium spring. On the other side of the room, there is a large window with a wonderful view of the river flowing below. It is a simple configuration with no washing area. Today, the sodium spring was quite hot, and the iron ore spring and calcium spring were nice and relaxing.

The first thing that surprised me about this onsen was the precipitates stuck all over the bathtub. They were quite hard and could hurt me depending on where I was and where I hit. I’ve often seen iron-rich hot springs with brown precipitates stuck to the surface, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a hot spring with so many white precipitates. I can feel the richness of the hot spring ingredients.

Outside of the building, there was an open-air bath with a pleasant view of greenery. The hot spring here was tepid, probably because it is simply located outside. But this tepid hot spring was just so good that I could not get out. Here, there were also so many white precipitates sticking to the surface. I thought, “Are they lumps of salt?” but it was not ragged, and when I touched it, it felt like it’s been polished to a smooth finish. On the page introducing Horoka Onsen, it was mentioned that deer often come to visit the open-air bath, but unfortunately they didn’t appear today.

Right next to Kanoya, there is another hot spring facility that has been abandoned. I’m sure that Kanoya will continue to operate as long as that old lady is fine. I just hope that this wonderful hot spring will continue forever by finding good successor for that old lady.

Near Horoka Onsen, there are the ruins of Horoka station on the abandoned Shihoro Line. The 18.6 km train service between Nukabira and Tokachi-Mitsumata stations was discontinued in 1978, and is substituted by the bus transportation. Only the ruins of the station is remained. There used to be a lot of people living around here, but the area, including Horoka Onsen, seems to be quite desolate, and I can’t help but wonder if it’s true that there was once such a time.

The most famous bridge around Lake Nukabira is the Taushubetsu River Bridge, which is only visible during certain times of the year when the water of Lake Nukabira is receding. Unfortunately it was completely submerged this season, so I took a look at some other bridge sites that were open to visitors. If the train had been running, I’m sure the view from the window would have been wonderful.

The railroad museum in Kamishihoro town is small, but it was quite interesting with various exhibits that gave me a sense of what it was like back then, and a video that seems to have been taken from the driver’s seat of the Shihoro Line railroad. There is also a hot spring at Lake Nukabira, which I did not visit this time, but would definitely like to revisit when I get a chance in future.