The One Experience You Absolutely Shouldn’t Miss in Japan
Be sure to include a visit to an onsen hot springs in any trip to Japan
I’m often asked where is the one place not to miss when visiting Japan — Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hiroshima?
All are great (I have a special affinity for Kyoto) and certainly worth visiting for a day, a week, or a year. But if there is one experience you absolutely cannot miss, it’s a visit to an onsen hot springs resort.
Japan is a volcanic country (Mt. Fuji owes its iconic conic shape to an eruption in 1707). The flipside of frequent earthquakes, tsunami, and smoking mountains is hot water underground that bubbles to the surface in many spots around the country.
With a fetish for cleanliness and some of the best food in the world, Japan’s onsen resorts combine relaxation and beautiful scenery with amazing dining.
The baths are usually at the ryokan hotel, though in some hot spring towns, the baths are in public bath houses spread around the town.
Most of the famous onsen towns are easy to reach by train with the town arrayed around the station, making them a convenient overnight stay.
