It’s been quite a while since I published a Japan article since I’ve been traveling the world, but I am happy to announce that I have a new blog for you all! Over the weekend I decided to visit Kita Onsen in Tochigi Prefecture, which is about three hours from Tokyo by car. What makes this hot spring so special is the decorative tengu heads in the male indoor bath. As mentioned in my last article where I visited Kuramadera in Kyoto, which is overseen by tengu deities, tengu are mischievous red creatures with long noses who are fabled to be demons of war. If you’re into Japanese mythology, then you’ve probably seen them before. Out of all of the hot springs I’ve visited, this one has the best decoration and theme so I highly recommend it to those visiting Tochigi.
Getting to Kita Onsen
Though normally I take the train everywhere, the best way to get to Kita Onsen is by car. As stated before, it is about three hours from Tokyo and is a smooth ride. If you come in the winter like we did, then be sure to watch out for snow on the road once you reach Tochigi. If you are going by train, it is recommend to take the Tohoku Shinkansen to Nasushiobara Station, then take the local bus from Nasushiobara Station’s west exit to then Kyukamara Nasu stop and walk 2.5 km to Kita Onsen. This costs around 7500 yen and is quiet the long haul, so I recommend coming by car.
Soaking in the waters of Kita Onsen
This time of year (January — early March) is the best time to visit Kita Onsen so you can glance at the snowy mountains as you gently bathe in the warm hot spring waters. There are two different hot springs in both the male and female sections of Kita Onsen—one indoor and one outdoor. When we arrived in the afternoon, there were no other people so we were able to take photos of the private baths. Please note that the tengu onsen is only for males, which is disappointing for us ladies, but the hot springs designed for us were still top tier. We spent about 30-40 minutes here and were fully satisfied with the experience. My muscles especially felt very healed, and my mind did too.
Restaurants
Before heading to the hot spring, we decided to eat at a small soba shop called “Nasu Kitashonan” that was on the way. I ordered a warm tempura soba set and some wine which was delicious. For how small the shop was, the food was very high quality.
Final Thoughts
Out of all of the onsen that I’ve visited, this was probably the second best. I loved watching the snow fall gently on the ground while bathing and also the fierce tengu faces above the bath (which my male friend graciously took for this article). Although I wished the female baths was designed similarly, I still enjoyed the arrangement and healing properties of them.
If you were curious, my top onsen pick goes to Akagi Onsen Hatago Chujikan in Gunma Prefecture. If you are curious as to why, please read the article.
Next month in early February, I plan on visiting another amazing onsen in Niigata, so please look forward to another article from me soon!