Onsen

Friday, 23 November 2012

［Hello-Nippon.net］Japanese Onsen(Hot Springs)

[ Hello-Nippon.net ] Arima(Japan) Onsen (Hot Springs) Hyoe Koyokaku 1/2

2 free onsen in Shiretoko nat park HOKKAIDO

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Akayu
Akayu (赤湯^?) is a town in Nanyo City, Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. Akayu is most famous for Akayu Onsen (赤湯温泉), a series of ryokan famed for their natural hot-springs which are believed to have medicinal properties.
The town's name, which is literally translated as "red hot water", derives from a story in 1093. It is said that the feudal chief of Tohoku, Minamoto no Yoshitsuna took a wounded soldier to a hot spring bath. His blood immediately turned the water red and the wound closed.
Eboshiyama Park (烏帽子山公園) is regarded as one of the top 100 cherry blossom viewing sites in Japan, and in 2000 an estimated 25,000 people came to the town in April to enjoy hanami (花見, lit. "flower viewing") parties. The town also has an internationally recognised hang-gliding venue, the Sky Park, which hosted the Third Women's Hang Gliding Championships in 1993.
Akayu's most famous ex-resident is Toyotarō Yūki, a former governor of the Bank of Japan, and the town has a museum devoted to his life.
English travel writer Isabella Bird visited Akayu on her travels in Japan in 1878. In Unbeaten Tracks in Japan she wrote of Akayu:

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Akita Prefecture
Akita Prefecture (秋田県, Akita-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region of northern Honshu, the main island of Japan. The capital is the city of Akita.
The area of Akita has been created from the ancient provinces of Dewa and Mutsu.
Separated from the principal Japanese centres of commerce, politics, and population by several hundred kilometres and the Ōu and Dewa mountain ranges to the east, Akita remained largely isolated from Japanese society until after the year 600. Akita was a region of hunter-gatherers and principally nomadic tribes.^{[citation needed]}
The first historical record of what is now Akita Prefecture dates to 658, when the Abe no Hirafu conquered the native Ezo tribes at what are now the cities of Akita and Noshiro. Hirafu, then governor of Koshi Province (the northwest part of Honshū bordering the Sea of Japan), established a fort on the Mogami River, and thus began the Japanese settlement of the region.
In 733, a new military settlement—later renamed Akita Castle—was built in modern-day Akita city at Takashimizu, and more permanent roads and structures were developed. The region was used as a base of operations for the Japanese empire as it drove the native Ezo people from northern Honshū.

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Aomori Prefecture
Aomori Prefecture (青森県, Aomori-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku Region. The capital is the city of Aomori.
Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Aomori prefecture was known as Mutsu Province.
The prefecture came into existence in 1871. Aomori Town was established in 1889. The town was incorporated as a city in 1898 with a population of 28,000. On May 3, 1910 a fire broke out in the Yasukata district. Fanned by strong winds, the fire quickly devastated the whole city. The conflagration claimed 26 lives and injured a further 160 residents. It destroyed 5,246 houses and burnt 19 storage sheds and 157 warehouses. At 10:30 p.m. on July 28, 1945 a squadron of American B29 bombers bombed over 90% of the city.
Radio Aomori (RAB) made its first broadcast in 1951. Four years later, the first fish auctions were held. 1958 saw the completion of the Municipal Fish Market as well as the opening of the Citizen's Hospital. In the same year, the Tsugaru Line established a rail connection with Minmaya Village at the tip of the peninsula.

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Arima Onsen
Arima Onsen (有馬温泉, Arima Onsen^?) is an onsen, or hot springs in Kita-ku, Kobe, Japan. This Onsen is still a hidden treasure of modern Kobe, behind Mount Rokko. It attracts many Japanese who want tranquility with beautiful natural surroundings and yet easy access from the busy cities in the Kansai metropolitan area including Osaka.
This onsen is the one of Japan's oldest, with Dogo Onsen in Ehime Prefecture and Shirahama Onsen in Wakayama Prefecture. Many documents since the 8th century AD mention this onsen.
According to these documents, among the many visitors to Arima Onsen are Gyoki (行基), a charismatic Buddhist monk in the 7th century, and Ninsai (仁西), another monk in the 12th century. Ninsai was said to greatly admire Arima Onsen and helped develop it. Hideyoshi Toyotomi visited this onsen several times in the 16th century.
Arima Onsen has two kinds of springs. One is kinsen (金泉^?, "gold spring"), which has water colored yellow-brown from iron and salt. The other is ginsen (銀泉^?, "silver spring"), which is colorless and contains radium and carbonate.

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Asamushi Onsen
Asamushi Onsen (浅虫温泉^?) is an onsen (hot spring) resort in the city of Aomori, Aomori Prefecture.
The resort is served by Asamushi-Onsen Station on the Tōhoku Main Line. Guests arriving by automobile can take Route 4; the trip from the center of Aomori takes about 30 minutes.
Two attractions include the Asamushi Aquarium and the Wonderland Asamushi amusement park. The Matsu no Yu communal onsen and Michi no Eki Asamushi Onsen are among the bathing facilities. Asamushi has the nickname "the Atami of Tohoku."
Asamushi Onsen is said to have been discovered by Ennin in 876, during the Heian Period. The onsen was used for the steaming (mushi) of flax (asa), leading to the name. When Hōnen visited in 1190, he popularized the custom of bathing, and the onsen took that purpose. During the Edo period, a honjin was located here, and during sankin kotai, the daimyō of Tsugaru han stayed here. Dazai Osamu is said to have a connection to Asamushi Onsen.
Coordinates: 40°53′21″N 140°51′41″E / 40.88917°N 140.86139°E / 40.88917; 140.86139

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Aso, Kumamoto
Aso (阿蘇市, Aso-shi^?) is a city located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan.
The city was formed on February 11, 2005 from the merger of the former town of Aso with the town of Ichinomiya, and the village of Namino, all from Aso District.
As of March 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 28,931, with a household number of 11,000 and a density of 76.89 persons per km². The total area is 376.25 km².
Media related to Aso, Kumamoto at Wikimedia Commons

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Dōgo Onsen
Dōgo Onsen (道後温泉^?) is a hot spring in the city of Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture on the island of Shikoku, Japan.
Dōgo Onsen is one of the oldest onsen hot springs in Japan, with a history stretching back over 1,000 years. The springs are mentioned in the Man'yōshū (written c. 759), and according to legend Prince Shotoku (574–622) used to partake of the waters.
Dōgo Onsen was the favorite retreat of writer Natsume Sōseki (1867–1916) when he was working near Matsuyama as a teacher in what was at the time rural Shikoku. In Soseki's loosely autobiographical novel Botchan, the eponymous main character is a frequent visitor to the springs, the only place he likes in the area.
Modern haiku poet Masaoka Shiki (1867–1902), a noted critic of Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694), was a resident of Dōgo Onsen. His poems are prominently inscribed in many places around town.
The present building of the Dōgo Onsen public bath was organized by Dogo Yunomachi mayor Isaniwa Yukiya and built in 1894. Built on three levels for maximum capacity, the baths remain popular and are usually crowded at peak times, such as in the early evening before dinner.

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Ehime Prefecture
Ehime Prefecture (愛媛県, Ehime-ken^?) is a prefecture in northwestern Shikoku, Japan. The capital is Matsuyama.
Until the Meiji Restoration, Ehime prefecture was known as Iyo Province. Since before the Heian period, the area was dominated by fishermen and sailors who played an important role in defending Japan against pirates and Mongol invasions.
After the Battle of Sekigahara, the Tokugawa shogun gave the area to his allies, including Kato Yoshiaki who built Matsuyama Castle, forming the basis for the modern city of Matsuyama.
The name Ehime comes from the Kojiki and means "beautiful maiden."
In 2012, a research group from the University of Tokyo and Ehime University said they had discovered rare earth deposits in the City of Matsuyama in Ehime-ken Prefecture,Japan.
Located in the northwestern part of Shikoku, Ehime faces the Seto Inland Sea to the north and is bordered by Kagawa and Tokushima in the east and Kōchi in the south.
The prefecture includes both high mountains in the inland region and a long coastline, with many islands in the Seto Inland Sea. The westernmost arm of Ehime, the Sadamisaki Peninsula, is the narrowest peninsula in Japan.

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Fukui Prefecture
Fukui Prefecture (福井県, Fukui-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Fukui.
The Kitadani Dinosaur Quarry, on the Sugiyama River within the city limits of Katsuyama, has yielded the Fukuiraptor kitadaniensis and Fukuisaurus tetoriensis as well as an unnamed dromaeosaurid and a new sauropod. It also shows the coexistence of pterosaurs and birds, in the forms of comingled tracks.^{[citation needed]}
Fukui originally consisted of the old provinces of Wakasa and Echizen, before the prefecture was formed in 1871.
During the Edo period, the daimyō of the region was surnamed Matsudaira, and was a descendant of Tokugawa Ieyasu.
The province faces the Sea of Japan, and has a western part (formerly Wakasa) which is a narrow plain between the mountains and the sea, and a larger eastern part (formerly Echizen) with wider plains including the capital and most of the population. The mountain side of the eastern part has much snow in winter.
As of 31 March 2008, 15% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Hakusan National Park; Echizen-Kaga Kaigan and Wakasa Wan Quasi-National Parks; and Okuetsu Kōgen Prefectural Natural Park.

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Fukushima Prefecture
Fukushima Prefecture (福島県, Fukushima-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region on the island of Honshu. The capital is the city of Fukushima.
Until the Meiji Restoration, the area of Fukushima prefecture was known as Mutsu Province.
The Shirakawa Barrier and the Nakoso Barrier were built around the 5th century to protect 'civilized Japan' from the 'barbarians' to the north. Fukushima became a Province of Mutsu after the Taika Reforms were established in 646.
In 718, the provinces of Iwase and Iwaki were created, but these areas reverted to Mutsu some time between 722 and 724.
The province of Fukushima was conquered by Prince Subaru in 1293. This region of Japan is also known as Michinoku and Ōshū.
The Fukushima Incident took place in the prefecture after Mishima Michitsune was appointed governor in 1882.
The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, the tsunami that followed, and the resulting Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant disaster caused significant damage to the prefecture, primarily but not limited to the eastern Hama-dōri region.

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Hida River
The Hida River (飛騨川, Hida-gawa^?) has its source in Mount Norikura (乗鞍岳 Norikura-ga-take) in Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. It flows from the northern to the southern section of the prefecture before emptying into the Kiso River in Minokamo.
The river passes through or forms the boundary of the communities listed below.
35°26′46″N 137°03′09″E / 35.446241°N 137.052444°E / 35.446241; 137.052444Coordinates: 35°26′46″N 137°03′09″E / 35.446241°N 137.052444°E / 35.446241; 137.052444 (mouth)

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Iwamuro, Niigata
Iwamuro (岩室村, Iwamuro-mura^?) was a village located in the former Nishikanbara District, Niigata, Japan. The area is famous for onsen near Yahiko mountain. Farming remains the predominant industry in the area. It is served by National Route 116 and Niigata Route 55.
On April 1, 2007, Iwamuro became part of Nishikan-ku ward (西蒲区, Nishikan-ku?) of Niigata city.
Iwamuro, which means 'stone' and 'room' in kanji, lies at the foot of Yahiko Mountain (弥彦山, Yahiko yama^?). It was originally surrounded by lagoons and marshes before major irrigation work was undertaken in the late 19th and early 20th century. Nevertheless people have been coming to the area since the Edo period to bathe in naturally-created geothermal waters. Currently there are more than 20 onsens which range in price from cheap (500 yen) to expensive (+20,000 yen). Iwamuro's fame stems from its waters 'perceived' healing properties. An apocryphal tale tells of a farmer's wife who found a goose with a broken leg. She put it in a hot sulphur-smelling pool near her home. The goose's leg got better. The farmer and his wife then became very rich by opening the first onsen in Iwamuro. Iwamuro w.

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Kaga, Ishikawa

Kaga (加賀市, Kaga-shi^?) is a city located in the southwest of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan.
Created as an old temple town, the city was greatly developed by the Maeda clan in the early Edo period. The modern city was first incorporated on January 1, 1958, and then expanded on October 1, 2005 through a merger with the town of Yamanaka, from Enuma District.
Today, Kaga is an important tourist city with a number of temples and hot-springs.
Media related to Kaga, Ishikawa at Wikimedia Commons

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Kagoshima Prefecture
Kagoshima Prefecture (鹿児島県, Kagoshima-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. The capital is the city of Kagoshima.
Kagoshima Prefecture is located at the southwest tip of Kyushu and includes a chain of islands stretching further to the southwest for a few hundred kilometers. The most important group is the Amami Islands. Surrounded by the Yellow Sea to the west, at least since 1879 by Okinawa Prefecture in the south, Kumamoto Prefecture to the north, and Miyazaki Prefecture to the east, it has 2,632 km of coastline (including the 28 islands). It has a bay called Kagoshima Bay (Kinkowan), which is sandwiched by two peninsulas, Satsuma and Ōsumi. Its position made it a 'gateway' to Japan at various times in history. While Kyushu has about 13 million people there are less than 2 million in this prefecture.
The prefecture boasts a chain of active and dormant volcanoes, including the great Sakurajima, which towers out of the Kagoshima bay opposite Kagoshima city. A steady trickle of smoke and ash emerges from the caldera, punctuated by louder mini-eruptions on an almost daily basis. On active days in Kagoshima city an umbrella is advisable to ward off the ash. Sakurajima is one of Japan's most active volcanoes. Major eruptions occurred in 1914, when the island mountain spilled enough material to become permanently connected to the mainland, and a lesser eruption in 1960. Volcanic materials in the soil make Sakurajima a source for record daikon radishes, roughly the size of a basketball. Many beaches around the Kagoshima Bay are littered with well-worn pumice stones. A crater lake in the southwestern tip of the prefecture, near the spa town of Ibusuki, is home to a rare species of giant eel.

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Kanagawa Prefecture
Kanagawa Prefecture (神奈川県, Kanagawa-ken^?) is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.
The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period (around 400 BC). About 3,000 years ago, Mount Hakone produced a volcanic explosion which resulted in Lake Ashi on the western area of the prefecture.
It is believed^{[by whom?]} that the Yamato Dynasty ruled this area from 5th century onwards. In the ancient era, its plains were very sparsely inhabited.
Kamakura in central Sagami was the capital of Japan during the Kamakura period (1185–1333).
In medieval Japan, Kanagawa was part of the provinces of Sagami and Musashi.
During the Edo period, the western part of Sagami Province was governed by the daimyo of Odawara Castle, while the eastern part was directly governed by the Tokugawa Shogunate in Edo (Tokyo).
Commodore Matthew Perry landed in Kanagawa in 1853 and 1854 and signed the Convention of Kanagawa to force open Japanese ports to the United States. Yokohama, the largest deep-water port in Tokyo Bay, was opened to foreign traders in 1859 after several more years of foreign pressure, and eventually developed into the largest trading port in Japan. Nearby Yokosuka, closer to the mouth of Tokyo Bay, developed as a naval port and now serves as headquarters for the U.S. 7th Fleet and the fleet operations of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force. After the Meiji Period, many foreigners lived in Yokohama City, and visited Hakone. The Meiji Government developed the first railways in Japan, from Shinbashi (in Tokyo) to Yokohama in 1872.

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Kobe
Kobe (神戸市, Kōbe-shi^?, Japanese pronunciation: [koːbe]), is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately 30 km (19 mi) west of Osaka. With a population of about 1.5 million, the city is part of the Keihanshin (Keihanshin) metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kyoto.
The earliest written records regarding the region come from the Nihon Shoki, which describes the founding of the Ikuta Shrine by Empress Jingū in AD 201. For most of its history the area was never a single political entity, even during the Tokugawa Period, when the port was controlled directly by the Tokugawa Shogunate. Kobe did not exist in its current form until its founding in 1889. Its name comes from "kanbe" (神戸^?), an archaic title for supporters of the city's Ikuta Shrine. Kobe became one of Japan's 17 designated cities in 1956.
Kobe was one of the cities to open for trade with the West following the end of the policy of seclusion and has since been known as a cosmopolitan port city. While the 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake diminished much of Kobe's prominence as a port city, it remains Japan's fourth busiest container port. Companies headquartered in Kobe include ASICS, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, and Kobe Steel, as well as over 100 international corporations with Asia or Japan headquarters in the city such as Procter & Gamble, Boehringer-Ingelheim and Nestlé. The city is the point of origin and namesake of Kobe beef as well as the site of one of Japan's most famous hot spring resorts, Arima Onsen.

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Kumamoto Prefecture
Kumamoto Prefecture (熊本県, Kumamoto-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan located on Kyushu Island. The capital is the city of Kumamoto.
Historically the area was called Higo Province; and the province was renamed Kumamoto during the Meiji Restoration. The creation of prefectures was part of the abolition of the feudal system. The current Japanese orthography for Kumamoto literally means "bear root/origin", or "origin of the bear".
Kumamoto Prefecture is located in the center of Kyūshū, the southernmost of the four major Japanese islands. It is bordered by the Ariake inland sea and the Amakusa archipelago to the west, Fukuoka Prefecture and Ōita Prefecture to the north, Miyazaki Prefecture to the east, and Kagoshima Prefecture to the south.
Mt. Aso (1592 m), an extensive active volcano, is in the east of Kumamoto Prefecture. This volcano is located at the center of the Aso caldera.
There are nine districts and 45 municipalities.
As of 31 March 2008, 21% of the total land area of the prefecture was designated as Natural Parks, namely the Aso Kujū and Unzen-Amakusa National Parks; Kyūshū Chūō Sanchi and Yaba-Hita-Hikosan Quasi-National Parks; and Ashikita Kaigan, Itsuki Gokanoshō, Kinpōzan, Misumi-Ōyano Umibe, Okukuma, Shōtaisan, and Yabe Shūhen Prefectural Natural Parks.

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Nakanojō, Gunma
Nakanojō (中之条町, Nakanojō-machi^?) is a town located in Agatsuma District, Gunma, Japan.
As of July 1, 2011, the town has an estimated population of 17,931 and a population density of 40.8 persons per km². There are a total of 6,059 households in town. The total area is 439.28 km² and an elevation of 400 m above sea level. The town's area is 83% mountains and forests (197 km²). The town mayor is Michitaka Iriuchijima (入内島道隆, Iriuchijima Michitaka^?) (2004).
On March 28, 2010, the village of Kuni, from Agatsuma District, merged into Nakanojō.
Nakanojō has four kindergartens, five elementary schools (Nakanojō, Sawada, Isama, Nakuta, and Kuni), three junior high schools (Nakanojō, West Nakanojō, and Kuni), one high school, and one agricultural high school.
The main draw of tourists to Nakanojō are the natural hot spring resorts. There are two major hot spring resort areas within the town.
The larger and more famous on is Shima Hot Springs. Shima is tucked into the mountains on the north end of town. The name means 40,000, and represents the 40,000 ailments the water is supposed to cure. The other resort is called Sawatari Hot Springs. It can be reached by taking route 55 from highway 353.

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Otaru, Hokkaido
Otaru (小樽市, Otaru-shi^?) is a city and port in Shiribeshi, Hokkaido, Japan, northwest of Sapporo. The city faces the Ishikari Bay, and has long served as the main port of the bay. With its many historical buildings, Otaru is a popular tourist destination. Because it is a 25-minute drive from Sapporo, it has recently grown as a bedroom community.
As of July 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 131,706 with 67,308 households and a population density of 541.71 persons per km². The total area is 243.13 km². Although it is the largest city in Shiribeshi Subprefecture, the subprefecture's capital is the more centrally-located Kutchan).
Otaru is a port town on the coast of the Sea of Japan in northern Shiribeshi Subprefecture. The southern portion of the city is characterized by the steep slopes of various mountains, notably Tenguyama; and the altitude of the land sharply drops from the mountains to the sea. The land available between the coast and mountains has been almost completely developed, and the developed part of the city on the mountain slopes is called Saka-no-machi, or "Hill town", including hills named Funamizaka (Boat-view Hill) and Jigokuzaka (Hell Hill).

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Otaru, Hokkaidō
Otaru (小樽市, Otaru-shi^?) is a city and port in Shiribeshi, Hokkaido, Japan, northwest of Sapporo. The city faces the Ishikari Bay, and has long served as the main port of the bay. With its many historical buildings, Otaru is a popular tourist destination. Because it is a 25-minute drive from Sapporo, it has recently grown as a bedroom community.
As of July 31, 2011, the city has an estimated population of 131,706 with 67,308 households and a population density of 541.71 persons per km². The total area is 243.13 km². Although it is the largest city in Shiribeshi Subprefecture, the subprefecture's capital is the more centrally-located Kutchan).
Otaru is a port town on the coast of the Sea of Japan in northern Shiribeshi Subprefecture. The southern portion of the city is characterized by the steep slopes of various mountains, notably Tenguyama; and the altitude of the land sharply drops from the mountains to the sea. The land available between the coast and mountains has been almost completely developed, and the developed part of the city on the mountain slopes is called Saka-no-machi, or "Hill town", including hills named Funamizaka (Boat-view Hill) and Jigokuzaka (Hell Hill).

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Sabakoyu Onsen
The Sabakoyu Onsen (鯖湖湯 or "Mackerel Lake Hot Spring") in Iizaka, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan is the oldest community onsen in the country. Sabakoyu Onsen was originally spelled 佐波来湯 when, according to legend, Yamato Takeru, prince of the Yamato dynasty and son of Keikō of Yamato, the 12th Emperor of Japan, visited the area and bathed in the hot springs. In doing so, his sickness was cured. Matsuo Bashō, a famous Edo period poet, visited Sabakoyu onsen in 1689. The original building was constructed in 1890 and the present day structure was built in 1993.
37°49′57″N 140°27′08″E / 37.832597°N 140.452181°E / 37.832597; 140.452181Coordinates: 37°49′57″N 140°27′08″E / 37.832597°N 140.452181°E / 37.832597; 140.452181

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Shin'onsen, Hyōgo
Shin'onsen (新温泉町, Shin'onsen-chō^?) is a town located in Mikata District, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan.
The city was founded on October 1, 2005, as a result of the merger between the towns of Onsen and Hamasaka, both from Mikata District.
As of May 1, 2008, the town has an estimated population of 17,542. The total area is 241.0 km².
Media related to Shin'onsen, Hyōgo at Wikimedia Commons

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Sukayu Onsen
Sukayu Onsen (酸ヶ湯, Sukayu^?) is a well-known onsen (hot spring) in the city of Aomori, Aomori Prefecture. It is known for its "Sen-nin-buro" or "1,000-person bath", a large mixed gender public bath.
Coordinates: 40°39′03″N 140°51′01″E / 40.65083°N 140.85028°E / 40.65083; 140.85028

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Takanoyu Onsen
Takanoyu Onsen (♨鷹の湯温泉) is one of several hot spring resorts in the Akinomiya Hot Spring Resort area of Yuzawa, a town in southern Akita Prefecture. The onsen is nestled in a small gorge along the banks of the Yakunai River. Because of its secluded location, it is referred to as a Hitou, or hidden hot spring.
Legend has it that the Akinomiya Hot Springs, the oldest in Akita Prefecture, were found 1,200 years ago. Local legend also has it that Takanoyu, or Falcon's Hot Spring, got its name when a falcon led a hunter to the spring, giving the onsen its eponymous name. The onsens in Akinomiya were officially recognized by the Akita Clan in the Edo period (1603–1868).
The various hot springs in the immediate area are referred to as the Akinomiya Geothermal Area and are situated along the western base of Mount Kurikoma.
Takanoyu Onsen has its own hot spring, which wells up directly adjacent to the inn on the east bank of the Yakunai River. The water temperature at the spring source is 72°C (162°F). Only about ten percent of all hot spring facilities in Japan have water flowing directly from their own environmentally safe and pure source as recommended by the Japan Offspring Fund. Its medicinal benefits are recommended for neuralgia, rheumatism, and skin disorders.

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Wakura Onsen
Wakura Onsen (和倉温泉^?) is a hot spring (onsen) resort located on the edge of Nanao Bay at the base of the Noto Peninsula in Nanao, Ishikawa, Japan. It one of several well-known, high-end onsen resorts in Japan. Wakura Onsen has existed as a resort for 1,200 years; it was originally discovered by a traveling priest who noticed an injured crane bathing its wing in the warm water.
The center of Wakura Onsen is the ryokan Kagaya, a 20-floor hotel capable of holding approximately 1,300 guests.
Other hotels and ryokan in the vicinity include:
Wakura Onsen is approximately five minutes by car from Wakura Onsen Station on the JR West Nanao Line and Wakura IC on the Nanaota-Tsuruhama Bypass (National Route 249).
Coordinates: 37°05′12″N 136°55′05″E / 37.0867°N 136.918°E / 37.0867; 136.918

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Yugawara
Yugawara (湯河原町, Yugawara-machi^?) is a town located in Ashigarashimo District, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2010, the town had an estimated population of 26,729 and a density of 655 persons per km². The total area was 40.99 km².
Yugawara is located in the far southwestern corner of the prefecture, facing Sagami Bay on the Pacific Ocean.
Kanagawa Prefecture
Shizuoka Prefecture
During the Kamakura period, the area around Yugawara was called "Doi County" in Sagami Province. The area was under control of the late Hōjō clan in the Sengoku period, and part of Odawara Domain during the Edo period. After the Meiji Restoration, it was divided into six villages, and initially formed part of the short-lived Ashigara Prefecture, before becoming part of Ashigarashimo District of Kanagawa Prefecture. In April 1889, four of the six villages merged to form Doi village. The remaining two villages merged to from Yoshihama village. On July 1, 1926, Doi village was elevated to town status, taking the new name of Yugawara. Yoshihama attained town status on April 1, 1940, and merged into Yugawara on April 1, 1955. A planned merger of Yugawara into Odawara in 2005 was rejected by local voters in an August 8/ 2004 referendum.

wn.com/Yugawara
Yuzawa, Niigata
Yuzawa (湯沢町, Yuzawa-machi^?) is an onsen (hot spring) town located in Minamiuonuma District in the mountains of the Chuetsu region of Niigata Prefecture, Japan.
As of September 1, 2011, the town had an estimated population of 8,266 and a population density of 23.15 persons per km². The total area is 357.00 km².
There are a large number of ski resorts in the area. The town is served by the Echigo-Yuzawa and Gala-Yuzawa stations on the Jōetsu Shinkansen line, making it one of the most easily accessible winter sports areas from Tokyo, and the town's economy is reliant principally on skiing and snowboarding.
Yasunari Kawabata's classic novel Snow Country takes place in Yuzawa.
Media related to Yuzawa, Niigata at Wikimedia Commons

wn.com/Yuzawa,_Niigata
Ōita Prefecture
Ōita Prefecture (大分県, Ōita-ken^?) is a prefecture of Japan on Kyūshū Island. The prefectural capital is the city of Ōita.
Around the 6th century Kyushu consisted of four regions: Tsukushi-no-kuni 筑紫国, Hi-no-kuni 肥国, Kumaso-no-kuni (熊襲国^?) and Toyo no kuni. Present day Oita was part of Toyo-no-kuni, which means "Abundant Land".
Toyo-no-kuni was later divided into two regions, upper and lower Toyo-no-kuni, called Bungo Province and Buzen Province.
After the Meiji Restoration, districts from Bungo and Buzen provinces were combined to form Ōita Prefecture. These provinces were divided among many local daimyo and thus a large castle town never formed in Ōita. From this time that whole area became known as "Toyo-no-kuni", which means "Land of Abundance".
The origins of the name Ōita are documented in a report from the early 8th century called the Chronicles of Bungo (豊後国風土記, bungonokuni-fudoki^?) . According to the document, when Empress Keikō visited the Kyushu region, stopping first in Toyo-no-kuni, she exclaimed that 'This is a vast land, indeed. It shall be known as Okita-Kuni!' Okita-Kuni, meaning "Land of the Great Fields", later came to be written as "Ōita". Present day interpretations based on Ōita's topography state that Oita's name comes from "Okita", meaning "many fields", rather than "vast" or "great" field, because of Ōita's complex terrain.

wn.com/Ōita_Prefecture

Debito Arudou
Debito Arudou (有道出人, Arudō Debito^?) (born 13 January 1965) is an American-born Japanese author and activist. Formerly also an associate professor of English as a foreign language, as of 7 February 2012 he is an affiliate scholar at the East-West Center.
Arudou was born David Christopher Schofill in California in 1965. He grew up in rural upstate New York in a 140-year-old 10-room cobblestone house on over 3 acres (1.2 ha) of land. In the 1970s he became David Christopher Aldwinckle when adopted by his stepfather. Aldwinckle attended Cornell University, first visiting Japan as a tourist on invitation from Ayako Sugawara (菅原文子, Sugawara Ayako^?), his pen pal and future wife, for several weeks in 1986. Following this experience, he dedicated his senior year as an undergraduate to studying Japanese, graduating in 1987. Aldwinckle moved to Japan and taught English in Sapporo, Hokkaidō, for one year, then decided to return to university in the United States to study. He entered the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies (IR/PS) at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), but deferred from the program to return to Japan and spent one year at the Japan Management Academy in Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture. Aldwinckle married Ayako Sugawara in 1989. In 1990, he returned to California to complete his Masters of Pacific International Affairs (MPIA), and received the degree in 1991.

wn.com/Debito_Arudou

［Hello-Nippon.net］Japanese Onsen(Hot Springs)

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photo: AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais

U.S. President Barack Obama, right, waves as he embraces Myanmar's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, left, after addressing members of the media at Suu Kyi's residence in Yangon, Myanmar, Monday, Nov. 19, 2012.

Burma's and America's Ongoing Storms

WorldNews.com

20 Nov 2012

Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling President Barack Obama's whirlwind tour of southeast Asia and meetings with dignitaries will have to walk a tightrope between either appearing to endorse military juntas or truly being committed to ongoing pro-democracy movements. Specifically at issue is Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi, a democratic advocate...(size: 5.0Kb)

photo: AP / Melanie Gouby

People walk past as M23 rebel soldier's take positions near the Heal Africa hospital in the center of Goma, Congo, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2012.

DR Congo soldiers surrender to M23

Al Jazeera

21 Nov 2012

Hundreds of government soldiers and police in the Democratic Republic of Congo have surrendered to rebels at a stadium in Goma, Al Jazeera's Nazanine Moshiri has reported from the scene. The M23 rebel group, believed to be backed by Rwanda seized the strategic, provincial capital of Goma in eastern Congo on Tuesday, home to more than 1 million...(size: 18.7Kb)

photo: AP / Sebastian D'souza

FILE - In this Nov. 26, 2008 file photo, Mohammed Ajmal Kasab, the accused gunman walks at the Chatrapathi Sivaji Terminal railway station in Mumbai, India.

India hangs gunman from 2008 Mumbai attack

Herald Tribune

21 Nov 2012

MUMBAI, India - India executed the lone surviving gunman from the 2008 terror attack on Mumbai early Wednesday, India's home ministry said. Ajmal Kasab, a Pakistani citizen, was one of 10 gunmen who rampaged through the streets of India's financial capital in November 2008, killing 166 people. Kasab was hung at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday at a jail in...(size: 4.5Kb)

photo: AP / Emilio Morenatti

Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Mohammed Chaudhry arrives at the Supreme Court compound in Islamabad, Pakistan, on Tuesday, March 24, 2009.

Pakistan's powerful military under scrutiny

Al Jazeera

22 Nov 2012

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photo: WN / Ahmed Deeb

Shortly before a cease-fire is announced between Israel and Hamas. Israel and the Hamas militant group agreed to a cease-fire Wednesday to end eight days of the fiercest fighting in nearly four years, promising to halt attacks on each other and ease an Israeli blockade constricting the Gaza Strip.

Gaza cease-fire holding but issues left unsettled

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

22 Nov 2012

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A unique piste in the East

Independent online (SA)

18 Nov 2012

Hokkaido, Japan - Forget the boot heaters and the hand warmers. When you've been wind-slapped by a Siberian air stream, nothing achieves togetherness of body and mind like a heated loo seat. Visiting Japan's northern island of Hokkaido in the winter is like stepping into a painting. Silver birch boughs drape as sculpture. Mount Yotei towers in...(size: 6.5Kb)

Miyamoto dedicated 2,000th hit to late friend, mentor Higuchi

Japan Times

18 Nov 2012

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Japan Times

10 Nov 2012

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Japan Times

09 Nov 2012

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Niseko: A unique piste in the East

The Independent

09 Nov 2012

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The Jazz Mann

08 Nov 2012

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Japan Times

05 Nov 2012

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Canberra Times

02 Nov 2012

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Japan Times

01 Nov 2012

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Scoop

29 Oct 2012

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The Guardian

27 Oct 2012

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San Francisco Chronicle

25 Oct 2012

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The Examiner

24 Oct 2012

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Outdoor pool, Naruko, Miyagi

Guidebook to Hakone from 1811

An onsen (温泉^?) is a term for hot springs in the Japanese language, though the term is often used to describe the bathing facilities and inns around the hot springs. As a volcanically active country, Japan has thousands of onsen scattered along its length and breadth. Onsen were traditionally used as public bathing places and today play a central role in directing Japanese domestic tourism.

Onsen come in many types and shapes, including outdoor (露天風呂 or 野天風呂, roten-buro or noten-buro^?) and indoor baths. Baths may be either public run by a municipality or private (内湯, uchiyu^?) often run as part of a hotel, ryokan or bed and breakfast (民宿, minshuku^?).

Onsen are a central feature of Japanese tourism often found out in the countryside but there are a number of popular establishments still found within major cities. They are a major tourist attraction drawing Japanese couples, families or company groups who want to get away from the hectic life of the city to relax. Japanese often talk of the virtues of "naked communion" (裸の付き合い, hadaka no tsukiai^?)^[1] for breaking down barriers and getting to know people in the relaxed homey atmosphere of a ryokan with an attached onsen. Japanese television channels often feature special programs about local onsens.

The presence of an onsen is often indicated on signs and maps by the symbol ♨ or the kanji, 湯 (yu, meaning "hot water"). Sometimes the simpler hiragana character ゆ (yu) is used, to be understandable to younger children.

Roten-buro outdoor onsen at Nakanoshima in Nachikatsuura, Wakayama

Indoor onsen at Ōfuka Onsen

Traditionally, onsen were located outdoors, although a large number of inns have now built indoor bathing facilities as well. Onsen by definition use naturally hot water from geothermally heated springs. Onsen should be differentiated from sentō, indoor public bath houses where the baths are filled with heated tap water. The legal definition of an onsen includes that its water must contain at least one of 19 designated chemical elements, including radon and metabolic acid and be 25 °C or warmer before being reheated. Stratifications exist for waters of different temperatures. Major onsen resort hotels often feature a wide variety of themed spa baths and artificial waterfalls in the bathing area utaseyu (打たせ湯^?).

Onsen water is believed to have healing powers derived from its mineral content. A particular onsen may feature several different baths, each with water with a different mineral composition. The outdoor bath tubs are most often made from Japanese cypress, marble or granite, while indoor tubs may be made with tile, acrylic glass or stainless steel. Different onsen also boast about their different waters or mineral compositions, plus what healing properties these may contain. Other services like massages may be offered.

Traditionally, men and women bathed together at the onsen and sentō but single-sex bathing has become legalized as the norm since the opening of Japan to the West during the Meiji period. Mixed bathing (混浴, kon'yoku^?) persists at some special onsen in the rural areas of Japan, which usually also provide the option of separate "women-only" baths or different hours for the two sexes. Children of either sex may be seen in both the men's and the women's baths.

People often travel to onsen with work colleagues, friends, couples or their families.

1 Etiquette
2 Therapy
3 Risks
4 Incidents
5 Selected onsen
6 See also
7 References
8 Further reading
9 External links

Etiquette [link]

Baskets

Ensuring cleanliness [link]

At an onsen, as at a sentō, all guests are expected to wash their bodies and rinse themselves thoroughly before entering the hot water. Bathing stations are equipped with stools, faucets, wooden buckets, and toiletries such as soap and shampoo; nearly all onsen also provide removable shower heads for bathing convenience. Entering the onsen while still dirty or with traces of soap on the body is socially unacceptable.^[2]

Swimsuits [link]

Bathers are not normally allowed to wear swimsuits in the baths. However, some modern onsen with more of a waterpark atmosphere require their guests to wear a swimming suit in their mixed baths.

Towels [link]

Onsen guests generally bring a small towel with them to use as a wash cloth. The towel can also provide a modicum of modesty when walking between the washing area and the baths. Some onsen allow one to wear the towel into the baths, while others have posted signs prohibiting this, saying that it makes it harder to clean the bath. It is sometimes against the rules to immerse or dip towels in the onsen bath water, since this can be considered unclean. In this latter case, people normally set their towels off to the side of the water when enjoying the baths, or place their folded towels on top of their heads.

Noise [link]

Onsen vary from quiet to noisy, some play piped music and often feature gushing fountains. Bathers will engage in conversation in this relaxed situation. There are usually prohibitions against rowdiness in the washing and bathing areas. A small amount of excess energy and splashing around is usually tolerated from children, however.

Shower cubicles

Tattoos [link]

Many onsen ban bathers with tattoos, which in Japan are traditionally perceived as a badge of criminality—Yakuza traditionally have elaborate tattoos. Despite this background reason, the rule is often enforced strictly against all, including foreigners, women, and even when tattoos are small and "peaceful".^[3]^[4]^[5]

Therapy [link]

The volcanic nature of Japan provides plenty of springs. When the onsen's water contains distinctive minerals or chemicals, the onsen establishments display what type of onsen it is.

Some examples of types of onsen include:

Sulphur onsen (硫黄泉, iō-sen^?)
Sodium chloride onsen (ナトリウム泉, natoriumu-sen^?)
Hydrogen carbonate onsen (炭酸泉, tansan-sen^?)
Iron onsen (鉄泉, tetsu-sen^?)

In Japan, it is said onsen have various medical effects.^[6] Japanese people believe that a good soak in proper onsen heals aches, pains and diseases, and visit onsen to treat the illnesses, such as arthralgia, chronic skin diseases, diabetes, constipation, menstrual disorders and so on.^[6]

These medical benefits have given onsen a central role in balneotherapy which is called "Onsen Therapy" (温泉療法, onsen-ryōhō^?). Onsen Therapy is a comprehensive bathing treatment conducted to maintain health, normalize dysfunctions and prevent illness.^[6]

Risks [link]

Although millions of Japanese bathe in onsen every year with few noticeable side effects, there are still contraindications to onsen usage, such as high blood pressure or heart disease.^[7]

In recent years, Legionella bacteria have been found sporadically in onsen with poor sanitation.^[8]^[9] Revelations of poor sanitary practices at some onsen have led to improved regulation by hot spring communities to maintain their reputation.^[10]

There have been reports of infectious disease found in hot bodies of water worldwide, such as:

Various Naegleria species.^[11] While studies have found the presence of Naegleria in hot spring waters, the worrisome Naegleria fowleri amoeba has not been identified.^[11] Nevertheless, less than 5 cases have been seen historically in Japan, although not conclusively linked to onsen exposure.^[12]

Many onsen have posted notices for visitors, reminding anyone with open cuts, sores, or lesions to not bathe. Additionally, in recent years onsen are increasingly adding chlorine to their waters to prevent infection, although many onsen purists seek natural, unchlorinated onsen that instead does not recycle its water, cleaning baths daily.^[10] These precautions as well as proper onsen usage (i.e. not placing the head underwater, washing thoroughly before entering the bath) greatly reduces any overall risk to bathers.

Incidents [link]

"Japanese Only" sign at Yunohana Onsen in Otaru

In 2001, onsen owners in the port city of Otaru, Hokkaido referred to incidents of rowdy Russian fishermen bothering other customers and causing lost businesses as reason to refuse service to anyone not Japanese.^[13]^[14] This issue was highlighted in February 2001, when naturalized-Japanese Debito Arudou and two co-plaintiffs sued Yunohana Onsen in Otaru, Hokkaidō, for openly refusing service to customers because of their race. Yunohana Onsen lost the lawsuit in November 2002.^[15]

In another case of discrimination, Kurokawa Onsen Hotel in Kumamoto Prefecture ran into legal trouble when leprosy patients were refused entry.^[16] Leprosy is not contagious once treated, and laws that used to force seclusion on leprosy patients have long been overturned.

Out of the thousands of onsen in operation in Japan, there have been few reports of businesses practicing discrimination of this kind.

Selected onsen [link]

Kinosaki Hot Spring, Hyōgo, postcard circa 1910

Old Tsuru-no-yu Bathhouse in Nyūtō Onsen area, Akita

Winter bathing at Tsuru-no-yu roten-buro in Nyūtō, Akita

Kurokawa Onsen roten-buro in Kyushu

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

Yumura-onsen's hot-spring resort and forests in Shin'onsen, Hyōgo

Dōgo Onsen hot springs (main building) in Matsuyama, Ehime

Ginzan Onsen in Obanazawa, Yamagata

Akagi, Gunma
Akayu, Yamagata
Arima Onsen, Kobe, Hyōgo
Asamushi Onsen, Aomori Prefecture
Aso, Kumamoto, a famous onsen area alongside Mount Aso, an active volcano
Atami Onsen (ja:熱海温泉), Atami, Shizuoka, major onsen resort town near Tokyo
Dōgo Onsen, Ehime Prefecture
Futamata, Hokkaidō
Gero Onsen (ja:下呂温泉), Gero, Gifu, famous for its free open bath on riverbank of Hida River
Getō Onsen (ja:夏油温泉), Iwate Prefecture
Ginzan Onsen (ja:銀山温泉), Obanazawa, Yamagata
Hakone, Kanagawa, famous onsen resort town near Tokyo
Hanamaki, Iwate
Hirayu Onsen (ja:平湯温泉), Takayama, Gifu
Hokkawa Onsen (ja:北川温泉 (静岡県)), Shizuoka
Ibusuki Onsen, Kagoshima Prefecture
Itō, Shizuoka
Iwamuro, Niigata, famous for onsen since the Edo period
Jigokudani, Nagano Prefecture
Jōzankei Onsen (ja:定山渓温泉), Hokkaido
Kakeyu Onsen (ja:下鹿教湯温泉), Nagano
Kanzanji Onsen (ja:舘山寺温泉), Shizuoka
Kindaichi Onsen, Iwate
Kinosaki, Hyōgo
Kinugawa Onsen, Tochigi
Kurokawa Onsen Village, Kumamoto Prefecture
Kusatsu Onsen, Gunma Prefecture
Nagaragawa Onsen, Gifu, Gifu
Sawatari, Gunma Prefecture
Shima, Gunma Prefecture
Naruko, Miyagi
Noboribetsu, Hokkaido
Nuruyu Onsen, Kumamoto Prefecture
Nyūtō Onsen (ja:乳頭温泉郷), Akita Prefecture
Onneyu Onsen (ja:温根湯温泉), Hokkaido
Ōfuka Onsen, Akita
Sabakoyu Onsen, Fukushima Prefecture, the oldest community onsen in Japan
Sakunami Onsen, Miyagi
Senami Onsen (ja:瀬波温泉), Niigata Prefecture
Shimabara, Nagasaki
Shimobe Onsen (ja:下部温泉), Yamanashi Prefecture
Shiobara Onsen (ja:塩原温泉郷), Tochigi Prefecture
Shuzenji Onsen (ja:修善寺温泉), Shizuoka Prefecture
Sōunkyo Onsen (ja:層雲峡温泉), Hokkaido
Sukayu Onsen, Aomori Prefecture
Sumatakyō Onsen (ja:寸又峡温泉), Shizuoka Prefecture
Suwa, Nagano Prefecture
Takanoyu Onsen, Akita Prefecture
Takaragawa, Gunma, one of the largest outdoor mixed baths in Japan
Takarazuka, Hyōgo
Tara, Saga
Tōyako, Hokkaidō
Tsukioka Onsen (ja:月岡温泉), Niigata Prefecture
Tsurumaki Onsen (ja:鶴巻温泉), Kanagawa
Unazuki Onsen (ja:宇奈月温泉), Kurobe, Toyama Prefecture
Wakura Onsen, Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture
Yamanaka Onsen, Kaga, Ishikawa
Yamashiro Onsen (ja:山代温泉), Kaga, Ishikawa
Yubara Onsen (ja:湯原温泉), Okayama Prefecture, one of the largest mixed baths at the foot of Yubara dam
Yudanaka Onsen (ja:湯田中渋温泉郷), Nagano Prefecture
Yufuin, Ōita Prefecture
Yugawara, Kanagawa Prefecture
Yumura Onsen (ja:湯村温泉 (兵庫県)), (Shin'onsen, Hyōgo)
Yunogo Onsen, Okayama Prefecture
Yunokawa Onsen, Hokkaido
Yunomine Onsen (ja:湯の峰温泉), Tanabe, Wakayama, site of the UNESCO World Heritage Tsuboyu bath
Yuzawa, Niigata
Zaō Onsen, Yamagata Prefecture
Awara Onsen (ja:芦原温泉), Awara, Fukui Prefecture
Awazu Onsen (ja:粟津温泉), Komatsu, Ishikawa
Beppu Onsen, Beppu, Ōita Prefecture, famous for its multi-coloured baths
Ikaho Onsen (ja:伊香保温泉), Ikaho, Gunma
Kaike Onsen (ja:皆生温泉), Yonago, Tottori
Katayamazu Onsen (ja:片山津温泉), Kaga, Ishikawa
Kawayu Onsen (ja:川湯温泉), Tanabe, Wakayama
Misasa Onsen (ja:三朝温泉), Misasa, Tottori Prefecture
Nanki-Katsuura Onsen (ja:南紀勝浦温泉), Nachikatsuura, Wakayama
Nanki-Shirahama Onsen (ja:南紀白浜温泉), Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture
Ryujin Onsen (ja:龍神温泉), Tanabe, Wakayama, one of Japan's famous three beautifying onsen
Tsubame Onsen (ja:燕温泉), Niigata - famous for its free open mixed onsen

References [link]

^ This term should be carefully differentiated from the word skinship (スキンシップ, sukinshippu^?) which refers to the benefits of physical contact, for instance, on babies by their mothers.
^ In very isolated onsen, where there is no possibility to use soap before entering in the bath, onsen users are expected to at least rinse their body with the water of the bath before entering it.
^ Covering the offending tattoo with sticking plaster can sometimes solve the problem. "Onsen Warnings and Hassles"
^ Tattoo in Japan (2009-12-22). "Tattoo in Japan". Boing Boing. http://boingboing.net/2009/12/22/tattoo-in-japan.html. Retrieved 2010-12-07.
^ "Sunnypages - Tokyo reviews by English speakers". Sunnypages.jp. http://www.sunnypages.jp/contents/detail/146. Retrieved 2010-12-07.
^ ^a ^b ^c Getting into hot water for health. The Japan Times. May 25, 2003.
^ "Hot Spring Treatment｜Hot Spring Encyclopedia｜ONSEN｜BEPPU CITY｜". City.beppu.oita.jp. http://www.city.beppu.oita.jp/01onsen/english/03hyakka/ryouyou.html. Retrieved 2010-12-07.
^ H. Miyamoto; S. Jitsurong, R. Shiota, K. Maruta, S. Yoshida, E. Yabuuchi (1997). "Molecular determination of infection source of a sporadic Legionella pneumonia case associated with a hot spring bath". Microbiol Immunol. 41 (3): 197–202. PMID 9130230.
^ Eiko Yabuuchi; Kunio Agata, Kansenshogaku zasshi (Kansenshogaku zasshi) (2004). "An outbreak of legionellosis in a new facility of hot spring Bath in Hiuga City". Kansenshogaku zasshi 78 (2): 90–98. ISBN 0387-5911. PMID 15103899. http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=15675965.
^ ^a ^b 'Onsen': know what you're getting into (The Japan Times) http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20040814a5.html
^ ^a ^b Shinji Izumiyama; Kenji Yagita, Reiko Furushima-Shimogawara, Tokiko Asakura, Tatsuya Karasudani, Takuro Endō (07 2003). "Occurrence and Distribution of Naegleria Species in Thermal Waters in Japan". The Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology 50 (s1): 514–5. DOI:10.1111/j.1550-7408.2003.tb00614.x. PMID 14736147. http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1550-7408.2003.tb00614.x?cookieSet=1.
^ Yasuo Sugita; Teruhiko Fujii, Itsurou Hayashi, Takachika Aoki, Toshirō Yokoyama, Minoru Morimatsu, Toshihide Fukuma & Yoshiaki Takamiya (05 1999). "Primary amebic meningoencephalitis due to Naegleria fowleri: An autopsy case in Japan". Pathology International 49 (5): 468–70. DOI:10.1046/j.1440-1827.1999.00893.x. PMID 10417693. http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/links/doi/10.1046/j.1440-1827.1999.00893.x.
^ Charles Scanlon (2001-02-01). "Bath house in hot water". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/1147784.stm. Retrieved 2003-11-21.
^ Michael Hoffman (2002-04-21). "Quiet after Otaru onsen storm - Hokkaido public forum finds birthplace no bar to a bath". Japan Times. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fl20020421a6.html.
^ "Racist Japanese bathhouse fined". BBC News. 2002-11-11. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/2442411.stm.
^ "Japan lepers reject spa apology". BBC News. 2003-11-21. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/3228200.stm.

External links [link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hot springs of Japan

OnsenJapan.net Interactive Google map with easy-to-read icons, pictures, and reviews
Secret Onsen a database with more than 125 onsen all around Japan
Onsen of Fukuoka Prefecture from official page of Fukuoka Prefecture Tourism Association
Guide around Yudanaka Onsen, Shibu Onsen and Jigokudani Monkey park onsen
Japan Onsen A mountain onsen guide for the Shin-etsu region of the Japan Alps
Tanabe City Kumano Tourism Bureau Indepth information on onsen in Wakayama Prefecture

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Contents

Etiquette [link]

Ensuring cleanliness [link]

Swimsuits [link]

Towels [link]

Noise [link]

Tattoos [link]

Therapy [link]

Risks [link]

Incidents [link]

Selected onsen [link]

See also [link]

References [link]

Further reading [link]

External links [link]

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