At the next day of the event, I and my friends went to Noboribetsu  by using a gorgeous bus served by Cool star corp. It took for about 90 min to go to Noboribetsu area from Sapporo by bus.

Our tour started from 9:30 at Shin Sapporo.

1.Let’s riding a buggy at Noboribetsu Off-road Park( 11:15)

2.Genghis Khan pan (13:00)

3.Noboribetsu hot spring (Noboribetsu Grand Hotel) (14:00)

I only have this photo at the grand hotel… Many kinds of caramel are popular in Hokkaido as a souvenir. Let’s try Genghis Khan caramel,,, That’s too stink!!

4.Oyu Numagawa Natural footbath(大湯沼川天然足湯）(15:00)

It was first time for me to take natural footbath and I was so relaxed. At the upstream of Numagawa footbath, we can take a bath, my friend said so.  Of course swim ware is needed.

5.Lake Kuttara in Shikotsu Toya National park (16:00)

It was first time to ride a buggy. Fantatic!  The water quality of Noboribetsu hot spring is the best to make skin smooth. There are many places to visit in Noboribetsu area. In addition to information above, people can visit to Bear park, Jigokudani and more. I am not good at drinking alcohol but I drunk blue beer a lot during this tour.

This Blue Beer is called “Ryu-hyo Draft”.

More travel info about Noboribetsu : http://noboribetsuspa.dip.jp/nobo/e/spot-info.aspx

Dougo-onsen is the oldest spa in Japan. It is located in Matsuyama-city, Ehime-prefecture.
These first two pictures are main building of Dougo-spa.
It was founded over 100years ago by Yukiya Isaniwa who was the first chief of the villege.
He got any salary for adding cost of building because it was huge money at the time.(135,000yen was spent & that is estimated 6.75million yen at present)
It is horrible that spending such huge money by one small villege isnt it?By the way, you might notice that this building is similar to somthing… YES!! Japanese anime movie called “Spirited Away” is modelling it for YUYA.

As in the movie, we can stay and relax in the spa building. Specially, 1st and 2nd floor are prepared for sitting and having tea&sweets.

It is not allowed to take pictures so I could not introduce sorry~
The best way is visiting and watch them on your eyes.

Facing the spa building, there is a shopping moll that people can get some souvenir&local goods. What I was interesting was rice cracker shop.
It is soy-source cracker.
You see there are several kind of rice cracker!!!

bamboo groves in that its location is in the center of Izu peninsula. It was actually developed but

remained the atmosphere of the traditional hot spring resort. I visited there on earyl May 2008

without any information. Traveling without any information is most of times very fun because

everything showed up is quite new experience. At this time, I and my wife didn’t have a map and we just

went there by a train from Atam like “play it by ear”. It took 50 min from Atami. Going to Shuzenji from

Tokyo by a local train not Shinkansen, it takes about 150 min or more. (about 100 min by Shinkansen)

What are so special in Shuzen ji hot springs are…

1. Shuzen ji Temple opened by Kukai (Kobo daishi) in 807 in Shingon sect.(Now Soto Zen sect)
2. Value:Hot springs in this area was selected one of 100 best hot springs (日本100名湯)
3. Food: Buckwheat noodle (Soba) /Wasabi / Black rice (cake or dumpling)
4. Famous: Many authors loved this area such as Masuji Ibuse, Soseki Natsume or Yasunari Kawabata
5. Easy access to the Cycle sports center, Izu Mito sea paradise(means kids also can be fun)

Walking to the center of Shuzen ji hot springs from Shuzenji station took 30 min on foot (1.5mile).
People can take a bus but we choose walking. During walking from a station,

we found some Soba shops which looked very crowded. [Nanaban(な々番)] and [Dokko soba Ohto（独鈷そば大戸)] are famous.
Fresh Wasabi must make visitors surprised and please make some noise when you eat soba. I want you to try Black rice cake. its texture is muy interesante!!
I posted many points with locations,photos and info on Japan hopper,
so please explore by using the tag “shuzenji“. Those photos are some of them.

[Access] Bus #1 from Shuzen ji Station to Shuzen ji Hot spring area
Tokyo-[60min(Shinkansen)]- Mishima-[33min(Izu Hakone railway)]
- Shuzenji station - Bus(10min)- Shuzen ji

“yura-no-sato” will make a mysterious experience!

You will put on YUKATA(like a kimono), and lie on tourmaline stone.

It has effect healing n’ naturally heab!

And you can have experience it at very cheap!!!-about $7

YURA-NO-SATO (湯楽の里）
*Address* 2-1-65 tukimityou Kumagaya-shi, Saitama
*tel* 048-525-4126
*Access* Take a taxi from JR Kumagaya station (about 10 min.)
*web* http://www.yuranosato.com/tenpo/kumagaya.html

Let’s try it!

Recently Hot spring especially ”Foot bath” has been popular in Japan. Taking a foot bath for 10min make your body hot. Anyways, foot bath in a station is very interesting.

I have decided to go to Gero Onsen in Gifu Prefecture that is a famous hot spring because I had come to want to visit an onsen after a long time. It is one of Japan famous 3 onsens chosen in Edo period; the other 2 onsens are Arima onsen and Kusatsu onsen. I love JR Takayaka Line, so I went to Gero by the local train. Then I enjoyed the scenery seen from a car train. 

The railway track in the JR Takayama Line runs almost along the Hida River. The frequency to which the train would traverse the river by the arrival at Gero Station was eight times. There are a lot of scenic spots from the car window like Nihon Rhein, Hisuikyo, and Nakayama-Hichiri and so on. And you will be able to enjoy red and yellow leaves of autumn also.

I arrived at Gero Station. It took about 2 hours to Gero Station from Gifu Station by the local train. The train would have arrived at Takayama Station in about one hour, after leaving from Gero Station.

I visited the Onsen museum that has been built recently before I took an onsen. The hot spring water bottles of Japanese various places were exhibited though it was a small museum. And I was able to see differences of those colors and elements. The souvenirs of each place of hot spring also were exhibited (To our regret, no explanation by English).

As another sightseeing point, there is the Gassho Village of Gero Onsen in the place of ten minutes by bus from the Station. You can see the houses of gassho-zukuri which were dismantled and reconstructed from Shirakawago that is World Heritage there.

After having visited the Onsen museum, I took the outdoor hot spring. The facility’s name is “Kur Garden Roten-buro”. It became cheap a bit because I bought a ticket with the Onsen museum though a usual bathing fee was 600 yen.

I didn’t take the outdoor hot spring in river side because I was shameful for a moment though I wanted to challenge it in reality. It can be used free of charge. But it is a mixed bathing style and there is no changing room. Because one of artesian spring ponds is here, the hot spring water is abundant and hot. I want you to challenge.

I think it is a good idea that you enjoy only the hot spring on the way in going to the Takayama, because the charge of the hotel with onsen is expensive.

Photographs of thing I ate this time 
Tochi-no-mi senbei (Famous horse chestnut cookie in Gifu Prefecture Hida area)
  

Sasa Sushi (Sushi of trout is wrapped by bamboo grass)
  

Hida-gyu Onigiri (Rice ball with Hida beef)
 

Hida Gero cha (Green tea harvested in Gifu Prefecture Hida area)
 

Torii gate is decorated in New Year celebration style.

This is the normal style :>

More information here (Japanese, but with many images)

Access

From Hakata Station (Fukuoka) , 2 hours to Nagasaki station by JR express train, transfer to Shimabara Tetsudo with another half an hour to Chijiwa, Unzen.
Let me note that Unzen is a wonderful Onsen (hot spring) spot with rich food culture and beautiful scenery, surrounded by sea and mountains.

*I appreciate Tanaka-san in Unzen City, for providing me these photes and information.

There is no house on the way.

“Azuma mountain range “

In the mountain path of the early spring, various flowers can be seen.

“a wild cherry tree”

“a Japanese skunk cabbage”

“Flower of a butterbur”

“a Heloniopsis orientalis”

There is only one inn”Masugata-ya” in “Ubayu Onsen hot spring”.(Business period: The end of April～The beginning of November)

This hot spring was discovered about 500 years ago.

There is no house in the surroundings of the inn, and they are only a mountain and a river.

In the inn, there are an outdoor hot spring for a man and an outdoor hot spring for women.

It’s possible to bathe in hot springs while seeing a violent surface of a mountain.

There is only one inn”Fukushima-ya” in “Namekawa Onsen hot spring”.(Business period: The end of April～The beginning of November)

①This hot spring was discovered about 530 years ago.

②There is no house in the surroundings of the inn, and they are only a mountain and a river.

“Fukushima-ya“

③There is “Otaki waterfall” of drop 100m when I climb the mountain of the bottom of the inn.

“Otaki waterfall“

“a Magnolia salicifolia”

“a wild cherry tree”

④Outside the inn, there is an outdoor hotspring bath.

　In the inn, there are a big bath and a bath for exclusive use of the woman.

⑤The inn is an old wooden building.

⑥The meal is local delicious dishes such as an edible wild plant or the river fish of the season.

⑦It’s possible to go from here to “Ubayu Onsen hot spring“.Please read the article of  ”Ubayu Onsen hot spring“.

Several stations from Nagasaki Station (JR) by Shimabara Line, you’ll arrive at Unzen-Shimabara area.

Obama onsen (hotspring) near Unzen is `Sea side hotspring’ with the hottest hotspring of 100 degree centigrade, and plenty of hotspring, 15,000 tons of hotspring per day !

On the sea hotspring.

The best way to enjoy Obama Onsen is to stay Ryokan(Japanese inn) attached to hotspring, for couple of days.

Syunyoukan Ryokan, Retro Japanese style.

This is also old Japanese style, Kunisaki Ryokan.

There are several more, most have ocean view!
(You can also enjoy beautiful sunset.)

Obama Champon noodle, full of seafood.
Soup is made of hotspring water.

Beautiful scenery of Tachibana gulf.

World largest Torii (Shinto Shrine’s gate) in Chijiwa.