Wikipedia

List of hot springs in Japan

This is a dynamic list of geothermal hot springs (onsen) as geological phenomena in Japan. This list is not for listing commercial establishments such as spa hotels, onsen ryokan, healing centers or other commercial establishments.

Natural iron hot spring, Beppu, Japan
Sukunabikona, the kami of hot springs, dances on a rock at the Dōgo Onsen while Okuninushi watches
Izu Province, The Hot Springs of the Shuzen Temple woodcut by Utagawa Hiroshige
Nihon fūkei senshū, Ōsumi Anraku onsen by Kawase Hasui

Japan has many geothermal spring systems as it is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire volcanic area. More than 27,000 hot spring sources exist in Japan,[1] together they discharge over 2.6 million liters of water every minute.[2]

These springs have played, and continue to play, an important role in Japanese culture throughout history.[3][4] In Shinto, Sukunabikona is the kami of the hot springs. As the deity of hot springs Sukunabikona and Ōkuninushi went to the Dōgo hot springs. There Ōkuninushi put Sukunabikona in the hot spring water to heal him of an ailment. Upon awakening, Sukunabikona danced atop a stone. It is said that his footprints left impressions on the rock, known as Tamanoishi, which still exists at Dogo Onsen north of the main building.[5][6]

Tamagawa Onsen, Akita prefecture
Beppu Chinoike-jigoku, Ōita prefecture
Yudomari seaside onsen, Kagoshima prefecture
Takanoyu Onsen, Akita prefecture

Akita Prefecture edit

 
Winter bathing at Tsuru-no-yu roten-buro in Nyūtō, Akita
 
Old Tsuru-no-yu Bathhouse in Nyūtō Onsen area, Akita

Aomori Prefecture edit

Ehime Prefecture edit

Fukui Prefecture edit

Fukushima Prefecture edit

Gifu Prefecture edit

Gunma Prefecture edit

 
Takaragawa Onsen, Gunma

Hokkaido Prefecture edit

Hokkaido Prefecture has the third most hot springs with 2,304 registered. The hot springs in the prefecture have the second highest discharge rate of water at 260 kiloliters per minute.[1]

Hyōgo Prefecture edit

 
Yumura onsen

Ishikawa Prefecture edit

Iwate Prefecture edit

Kagawa Prefecture edit

Kanagawa Prefecture edit

Kagoshima Prefecture edit

Kagoshima prefecture has the second most hot springs in Japan, with 2,824 registered.[1] The hot springs systems in Kagoshima have the third highest discharge rate at 201 kiloliters per minute.[1]

  • Higashi Onsen and one other hot spring (Tamagawa Onsen in Akita) have the highest acidity content in its water at a PH value of 1.2, of all the hot springs in Japan.[1]
  • Ibusuki Onsen
  • Kirishima

Kyoto Prefecture edit

Kumamoto Prefecture edit

 
Kurokawa Onsen roten-buro in Kyushu

Mie Prefecture edit

Miyagi Prefecture edit

Nagano Prefecture edit

 
Japanese macaques enjoying a roten-buro open-air onsen at Jigokudani Monkey Park

Nagasaki Prefecture edit

 
Unzen Onsen Jigoku Unzen Nagasaki prefecture

Niigata Prefecture edit

Okayama Prefecture edit

Ōita Prefecture edit

 
Beppu Umi-jigoku, Ōita prefecture
 
Women and children take a hot sand bath at a hot spring in Beppu

Oita is the prefecture with the most geothermal spring sources in Japan, 4,788 are registered. The prefecture also has the highest discharge rate of 296 kiloliters per minute[1]

Saga Prefecture edit

Saitama Prefecture edit

  • Tokigawa Onsen and one other hot spring (Iiyama Onsen in Kanagawa Prefecture) are tied for first place for the highest alkalinity in the water.[1]

Shimane Prefecture edit

  • Tamatsukuri Onsen is mentioned in the Izumo no Kuni Fudoki (Chronicle of the Land of Izumo) from the year, 733.[2]

Shizuoka Prefecture edit

 
Geyser in Atami

Tochigi Prefecture edit

Tottori Prefecture edit

Toyama Prefecture edit

Wakayama Prefecture edit

 
Onsen in Nachikatsuura, Japan, Wakayama prefecture

Yamagata Prefecture edit

Yamanashi Prefecture edit

Other locations edit

  • Kaniyu Onsen
  • Okukinu hot springs group
  • Sashiusudake [Baransky] hot springs - in disputed territory between Japan & Russia

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Phro, Preston (20 December 2013). "The hottest, highest and healthiest hot springs in Japan". Japan Today. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  2. ^ a b Tadanori, Matsuda (30 March 2015). "Soaking up the Benefits: Japan's Hot Springs Tradition". Nippon: Your doorway to Japan. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
  3. ^ Mihaela, Serbulea; Unnikrishnan, Payyappallimana (2012). "Onsen (hot springs) in Japan—Transforming terrain into healing landscapes". Health & Place. 18 (6): 1366–1373. doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2012.06.020. PMID 22878276. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  4. ^ Nakata, Hiroko (22 January 2008). "Japan's hot springs part of social, geologic, historic fabric". The Japan Times. Retrieved 26 August 2020.
  5. ^ "Spirited Away at Dogo Onsen". Taiken Japan.
  6. ^ A Handbook for Travellers in Japan, including the Whole Empire from Yezo to Formosa, by Basil Hall Chamberlain & W.B. Mason, 1901
  7. ^ "Yunoshima Radium Kosen Hoyojo (Rosoku Onsen) (有限会社 湯之島ラジウム鉱泉保養所)". Japan Travel. Retrieved 5 September 2021.
  8. ^ Bro, Lindsey (2022). Thermal: Healing with Heat - Saunas, Hot Springs & Baths. San Francisco: Chronicle Books. p. 182. ISBN 978-1-7972-1857-1.

Further reading edit

Ishizu, Risaku. The Mineral Springs of Japan (1915), published by Sankyo Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo Imperial Hygienic Laboratory for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition

External links edit

 
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