Onsen de relax - How about relaxing at Japanese Onsen ?
This is a blog by thmiyake about various Japanese hot springs I visited. Many of them are combination with short trips, daily climbing etc especially around Kanto area.
Onsen de relax - How about relaxing at Japanese Onsen ?
This is a blog by thmiyake about various Japanese hot springs I visited. Many of them are combination with short trips, daily climbing etc especially around Kanto area.
I reached Fudo-no-yu after a two-hour hike along the Shiobara trails. While it’s actually just a five-minute walk from Fukuwata Onsen, I chose the long route specifically for the “after-hike” experience. Nothing beats the feeling of soaking in a hidden spring after pushing yourself through the mountains.
Continue reading
Just a 10-minute bus ride from Hakone-Yumoto Station, you’ll find the famous Tenzan in Oku-Yumoto. My last holiday visit was way too crowded—literally like ‘human soup’—but remembering the great quality of the water and that amazing foot massage, I decided to give it another shot on a weekday evening.
Continue reading
Yunohanazawa Onsen is the highest hot spring in the Hakone area. I heard they have milky-white sulfur water, so I decided to check it out. It’s about a 5-minute drive into the mountains from Ashinoyu. Even though I was just visiting for the day, they were kind enough to pick me up at the Ashinoyu bus stop!
Continue reading
Shumeikan is located in the Ubako area of Hakone. I’d heard about it before as a hot spring where the water naturally flows from the gaps in the rocks. Curious, I did a little research and found out that the flow is heavily influenced by rainfall—increasing from spring through summer, but stopping completely during the winter months.
Continue reading
Hanashiki Onsen Sekiseikan Honkan is a cozy, quiet hot spring located right next to Shiriyaki Onsen. Its poetic name, which translates to “flower carpet,” comes from a legend that cherry blossom petals covered the water when Minamoto no Yoritomo first discovered it. It is also known as an inn with ties to the poet Wakayama Bokusui.
Continue reading
I’ve always wanted to visit Shiriyaki Onsen if I had the chance. The name “Shiriyaki” is quite funny—they say it comes from people sitting on hot stones in the riverbed to cure hemorrhoids. After a 30-minute bus ride deep into the mountains from Naganohara-Kusatsuguchi Station, the gateway to Kusatsu Onsen, and a 15-minute walk, this is the scenery that unfolds.
Continue reading
Kanashima is such a tiny station that the only sign you see after hopping off is for this onsen. Fuki-no-yu at Kanashima Onsen feels like a local hangout for the neighborhood grandmas and grandpas. The brownish, gentle water—a calcium-sodium chloride spring—has a distinct iron scent and taste.
Continue reading
Tsurumaki Onsen is just about an hour from Shinjuku on the Odakyu Line, making it the perfect spot for those spontaneous “I need a soak!” moments that hit you in the early afternoon. Known for its high calcium content, the water here is a slightly alkaline calcium/sodium chloride spring that’s believed to have great healing properties.
Continue reading
I’ve been to the nearby Ujiie Matsushima Onsen once before, but I heard that Kitsuregawa has a completely different—and excellent—water quality, so I decided to go and see for myself.
Continue reading