Yugawara Onsen

Yugawara Onsen is a scenic hot spring resort characterized by its rich nature and mild climate, and has long been loved as a famous hot spring that is effective against all illnesses.

Since the Meiji period (1868-1912), the area has been loved by many literary giants, and many writers, including Soseki Natsume and Doppo Kunikida, have visited and stayed here, leaving their works in this area. Toson Shimazaki, Ryunosuke Akutagawa, and Junichiro Tanizaki have also visited the area.

The springs are simple, weakly saline, and gypsum, and the temperature of the spring water varies from 30°C to 88°C. Yugawara Onsen springs from within the eroded caldera of the Yugawara volcano, which ended its activity hundreds of thousands of years ago.

This hot spring is said to be beneficial for skin diseases, muscle pain, rheumatism, neuralgia, and sensitivity to cold.

Yugawara Onsen has day-trip bathing facilities including the town-run Kogome no Yu (Kogome no Yu) and a heated swimming pool.

After enjoying the historic hot springs, a stroll through the hot spring resort area is recommended. Enjoy the elegant townscape and take a bite of an onsen manju (bun with a bean-jam filling). Kibimochi rice cakes filled with soybean flour also make great souvenirs.

The hot spring resort town of Yugawara Onsen stretches from Yugawara Station up the valley of the Chitose River. Yugawara is mainly traditional Japanese inns, rather than large-scale hot spring hotels, and retains the atmosphere of an old-fashioned “onsen town.

The name “Yugawara Onsen” comes from a poem in the Manyoshu (The Anthology of Myriad Leaves), “Ashigara no Dohi no Kawachi ni Dezuru Yu no Se ni Tayorano koshiro ga Kotohanakani,” which is a poem monument located in Manyo Park.

The name Yugawara Onsen is also used as a generic name for Okuyugawara Onsen, Yugawara Onsen, Hamayugawara Onsen, and Izu Yugawara Onsen.