at the foot of the Towada-Hachimantai National Park, where primeval beech trees grow thickly in the forest. Nyūto Hot Spring Village, a well-known hidden hot spring, is home to seven inns, each with its own unique hot spring source, water characteristics, as well as colors and natural ambience.

With the Yumegurichō, a notebook to keep track of which onsens you have visited, you will also receive a bathing ticket for all seven inns and an all-you-can-ride plan for the traveling bus “Yumeguri-go”, which can be purchased only by guests staying overnight in the Nyūto Hot Spring Village. Enjoy the rich and unique hot springs among seven wonderful inns.

Tsurunoyu Onsen, which originally opened as a medicinal hot-spring for the feudal lord of Akita domain, is said to be the oldest hot-spring inn in Nyūto Hot Spring Village. This feels true in the historic atmosphere of the “Honjin”, a long house with a thatched roof built over 100 years ago. The specialty of Tsurunoyu Onsen is a mixed water open-air bath filled with milky white water. This bath alone contains water from the Kuroyu, Shiroyu, Nakanoyu, and Takinoyu spring sources, thereby allowing you to enjoy several major hot springs at once.

In addition to Tsurunoyu Onsen, Nyūto Hot Spring Village is dotted with other hot springs that are full of the blessings of the earth, such as “Taenoyu” with its modern style and secluded atmosphere and “Kuroyu Hot Spring”, which is surrounded by forests and its gentle, rising steam.

Hanamaki Hot Spring Village consists of twelve different onsen (hot springs) each with different characteristics, including Hanamaki Onsen, Shidotaira Onsen, and Namari Onsen. Visitors can enjoy the wide variety of inns and lodges, from resort hotels to isolated inns, old-fashioned medicinal hot-spring inns and inns associated with Kenji Miyazawa.

Hanamaki Onsen consists of four inns and a hotel, and also features a rose garden that covers an area of about 16,000 square meters where more than 6,000 roses of about 450 species provide color for the four seasons. The charm of Hanamaki Onsen is that you can enjoy a resort-like atmosphere in middle of lush nature.

Namari Onsen is home to the “Shirozaru Bath”, which boasts the deepest bath in Japan. Hollowed out of a natural rock, the bath is 125cm deep, deep enough that a small person can hide his or her shoulders in it.

From the bottom of the bathtub gushes invisible fine air bubbles and transparent, 100% fountainhead spring water.

Although it is a mixed gender hot spring, there is also a women-only time slot for women concerned about privacy.

The Akiu Hot Spring Village has been in operation for 1,500 years and is known as the “inner sanctuary of Sendai”. It has been loved by successive lords of Sendai domain, including Lord Masamune, as a dedicated hot spring for the Date clan. Along with Nozawa Onsen and Bessho Onsen in Nagano Prefecture, Akiu is one of the best “Three Hot Springs of Japan”.

The area is also only 30 minutes by car from the center of Sendai City. Around the hot spring area is Rairai Gorge, a ravine with rough rocks stretching for about 1km, where you can enjoy strolling through the stark scenery of huge rocks and waterfalls. There are also places where you can experience making kokeshi dolls, a kaleidoscope museum, a glass studio, a cafe in a renovated old house, and a winery.

The quality of the spring water in the Akiu Hot Spring Village is transparent and colorless, tasteless, odorless, and soft to the skin. It contains salt similar to the composition of seawater, which prevents sweat from evaporating, so you will feel warm even after taking a bath. 

Most of the inns in the hot spring village offer day trip hot springs as well as plenty of footbaths and public bathhouses. There are also buses that take you directly from the center of Sendai to the hot spring village, making it a good place to stop by during your sightseeing tour of other places in Sendai.

Ginzan Hot Spring is brimming wooden inns built between the Taisho (1912-1926) and Showa (1926-1989) periods, with a blend of Japanese and Western styles, along the Ginzan River. There are no roads or powerlines in the hot spring area. The scenery of the promenade, the river, and the Taisho retro-style inns is like a trip back in time.

At dusk, the bridge over the Ginzan River and the stone-paved pathways, which still retain the atmosphere of the Taisho era, are illuminated by gas lamps, adding to the nostalgia. It is so exceptionally beautiful that just standing there makes you feel as if you are the main character in a movie.

When you come to Ginzan Hot Spring, enjoy strolling around the hot spring village while surrounded by the ambience of a bygone era.

Many of the inns and stores in Ginzan Hot Spring are decorated with painted ("kote-e") plaster reliefs on their signboards and walls.

The stone-paved streets feature footbaths, cafes, and souvenir stores. You can also rent retro kimonos and hakama reminiscent of Taisho romanticism at various shops.

Higashiyama Hot Spring is only a 10-minute drive from the center of Aizuwakamatsu City, and yet it offers a rich natural environment and hot springs to enjoy. Higashiyama Hot Spring has a long history; it is said to have been discovered about 1,300 years ago by Gyoki, the monk who built the Great Buddha of Tōdaiji Temple in Nara. It is also famous as a hot spring loved by famous people associated with Aizuwakamatsu, such as Toshizo Hijikata of the Shinsengumi, Hirobumi Ito (first Prime Minister of Japan), and feminist poet Akiko Yosano.

The sulfate spring is said to be effective in treating rheumatism, menopausal disorders, hypertension, and is characterized by its smooth, colorless, odorless water. Many lodgings are available where you can enjoy a day trip to the hot spring, so we recommend stopping by after sightseeing in Aizuwakamatsu City.

The hot spring village is lined with more than 20 inns along the Yugawa River, which flows through a series of waterfalls both large and small.

Mukaitaki is a long-established ryokan (traditional inn) with a history of being used as a recreational facility for the feudal lords of Aizu. It is also the first ryokan to be designated as a nationally registered tangible cultural property. The traditional wooden sukiya-style architecture is wonderful, and the view from the other side of the Yugawa River of its elegant appearance is one of the most famous views of Higashiyama Hot Spring.