The Best Hot Springs (onsen) of Japan

As a volcanically active country, Japan boasts some of the best natural hot springs in the world. Referred to as “onsen”, these geothermally heated springs are scattered all across the country in both indoor and outdoor facilities. These waters are considered to have restorative properties with natural minerals that are thought to heal aches and pains, ease and prevent illnesses, and generally maintain a healthy body. To contribute to the Japanese appreciation for nature, hot springs are an integral part of maintaining a tranquil, Zen-like equilibrium. Many flock to one of hundreds of hot spring destinations as a peaceful getaway, to cleanse the body and soul, and to simply relax.

Dogo Onsen, Ehime
As one of the oldest and most famous noted spas in Japan, visitors enjoy relaxing in this Ehime Prefecture onsen, which is said to have opened 3,000 years ago. Visithttp://www.japaneselifestyle.com.au/travel/dogo_onsen.html for more information

 

Hakone Seventeen Spas, Kanagawa
Situated in the southwestern part of the Kanagawa Prefecture and easily accessible from Tokyo, Hakone’s active volcanoes have given birth to some of Japan’s best hot springs. Said to contain 20 different natural qualities, Hakone is a top destination for anyone looking for peace and tranquility.
For more information, visithttp://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/regional/kanagawa/hakone.html

 

Yufuin, Oita
Over 3 million annual visitors flock to Yufuin in the Oita Prefecture to experience its secluded, relaxing environments. As a spa town, Yufuin is highly attractive for tourists looking to immerse themselves in serene natural landscapes and pure natural waters. View images and find out more about Yufuin here: http://www.yufuin.gr.jp/

 

Nyuto Onsen, Akita
Nyuto, located in the Akita Prefecture, is known for its seven rustic yet luxurious ryokan that surround the beautiful and exclusive hot springs. The onsen’s milky, cloudy waters serve as a wonderful cleansing and relaxing experience, especially during the wintertime when visitors may indulge in an outdoor hot spring surrounded by beautiful white snow. More information about Nyuto can be found here: http://www.nyuto-onsenkyo.com/english/eng_qkamura.html

 

Ibusuki, Kagoshima
Located on Kyushu Island, Ibusuki is a beautiful resort known for its hot sand bath. Visitors clad in kimono are covered up to their neck with warm, geothermally heated sand, which is widely believed to stimulate blood circulation while providing a unique, relaxing atmosphere. Learn more about the Ibusuki area here: http://www.city.ibusuki.lg.jp/lang/english/

 

Jigokudani, Nagano
In the Joshinetsu Kogen National Park lies Jigokudani, or “Hell’s Valley”, named for its boiling water that bubbles out of the frozen ground. The real reason to visit Jigokudani, however, is for its large population of Japanese Macaques, or snow monkeys. The monkeys descend upon the park during the winter months to bathe in the onsen to warm up before retreating back to the forest at night. Learn more about the Jigokudani hot springs here:http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/db/nagano/korakukan.htm

 

What to read: Sushi & Beyond, about the gastronomical pleasures Japan has on offer

In 2008, British food writer Michael Booth embarked on a journey deep into the heart of Japanese food culture. The outcome of his three-month sojourn, a memoir titled “Sushi & Beyond,” follows Booth and his young family from Hokkaido to Kyushu as they seek out gastronomic experiences that range from the sublime (dinner at Mibu, the cultish supper club in Ginza frequented by top chefs from around the world) to the bizarre (a meal featuring whale penis, followed by whale ice cream).

Originally released in 2010, the book met with acclaim in the West, and now the Japanese translation (“Eikoku Ikka Nihon wo Taberu”), which was published in April, is proving to be a hit in Japan as well.

Previously indifferent to a national cuisine he’d dismissed as “dull” and “all about appearance,” Booth emerges from this encounter a complete convert. He describes the flavor of crabs from Hokkaido as “sensuous to the point of perversion” and when I ask about the Japanese foods he misses in Copenhagen, where he lives, he rattles off a list of favorite dishes: kushi-katsu (skewers of breaded, fried pork and other foods), yakitori and shiokara (fermented squid entrails). “I love it all, because the Japanese really know how to work their umami,” he says.

The scientific understanding of umami, and the way Japanese chefs have learned to maximize flavor without adding calorie-rich ingredients such as butter or cream, hold a particular fascination for Booth. He uses the word umami frequently and utters it enthusiastically, with the second syllable stressed, in a cadence that mirrors the pronunciation of “amazing.”

The purported health benefits of the Japanese diet, coupled with concerns about his physical condition, had prompted him to undertake the book project in the first place: Three years in Paris, where he’d studied at Le Cordon Bleu, had elevated his cholesterol levels and, he writes, “for every Michelin star I had sampled, it seemed that I had added one of the company’s tires to my waist.”

His trip through Japan has changed his eating habits. Since writing the book, he’s reduced his meat intake, started cooking more fish and vegetables and has even taken up gardening. “I’m also trying to eat more varieties of fish,” he says. “In the West, we usually only eat four or five kinds.” At the home of housewife Etsuko Shinobu, Booth was impressed to discover that “in traditional domestic cooking (in Japan), people try to eat around 30 different vegetables a day.”

Booth sums up the insights he gained into Japanese food culture in four points: hypersensitive awareness of the seasons; the persistence of local food traditions; the embrace of various textures in food — “from the crunchy to the mealy, spongy and chewy”; and the fact that fermentation plays a surprisingly large role in Japanese cuisine. While none of these observations will strike the typical Japanese reader as especially illuminating, Booth’s intrepid curiosity and the breadth of his experience appeal to audiences in Japan as well as abroad.

Few of us will ever dine at Mibu, and even fewer will have the opportunity to massage a cow on a wagyū farm, but we can all live — and eat — vicariously through “Sushi & Beyond.”

Name(required)

Email(required)

Website

Comment(required)

Submit

Δ