Noji Onsen Hotel in Fukushima Prefecture has superb hot spring waters and several indoor and outdoor baths. Book a visit. It's plenty worth it. The baths are wonderful, and the sulfur-infused water is as good as hot springs get. ♨ Noji Onsen: Noji Onsen Hotel Noji Onsen: Noji Onsen Hotel … [Read more...] about Noji Onsen Hotel’s outdoor bath is worth a soak in any season
Snapshots
Snapshots are short musings about hot springs, traditional Japanese inns and other various topics. Think of them as bite-sized morsels of travel and hot spring goodness.
Bask in winter wonderland at Matsukawa Onsen in Tohoku
Winter in Iwate Prefecture is especially wonderful at a hot spring, and one would be hard-pressed to find a better place to enjoy the snow than at Matsukawa Onsen and its three ryokan traditional Japanese inns. Seen here is the mixed-bathing outdoor bath at Kyounso, a fabulous little inn that is worthy of a stay anytime. Photo: The mixed-bathing outdoor bath at Kyounso inn at Matsukawa Onsen is toasty even in Iwate Prefecture’s frigid winter temperatures. Matsukawa Onsen: Kyounso … [Read more...] about Bask in winter wonderland at Matsukawa Onsen in Tohoku
The first step: Discovering Japan’s hot springs
"Every journey begins with the first step," JRR Tolkien wrote. My visits to Japan’s onsen (温泉) hot springs began more than two decades ago. With Onsen Adventures, I’m building on all the subsequent journeys taken since then to create a useful resource to the best hot springs, ryokan (旅館) traditional Japanese inns and places that I’ve found along the way. Photo: The women's outdoor bath at Tsuru no Yu inn in Akita Prefecture is filled with blue-tinged sulfurous onsen water. Nyuto Onsen … [Read more...] about The first step: Discovering Japan’s hot springs