Japanese spa and wellness towns off the beaten path.
Less-touristed spa towns in Japan, for travelers seeking fewer crowds but all the beauty.
Beppu's otherworldly Hells — geothermal pools dramatic enough to draw visitors from across Japan — set the tone for what this list of twelve spa towns delivers: thermal culture with genuine depth. From the lantern-lit riverside ryokan of Kurokawa Onsen and the samurai-era onsen retreats near Aizuwakamatsu to Hanamaki's mountain-flanked hot spring resorts and the Kirishima Geopark's volcanic cluster, the waters here come with history, landscape, and local character attached.
Kurokawa Onsen
Forested valley in Kumamoto's uplands holds this atmospheric hot-spring village, where multi-storey timber ryokan line a modest river and visitors stroll the…
Aizuwakamatsu
Aizuwakamatsu, the main city of the Aizu region in Fukushima Prefecture, carries a warrior history stretching back a thousand years, most vividly associated…
Beppu
Beppu, on the eastern coast of Kyushu's Ōita Prefecture, is one of Japan's three great hot spring cities, known above all for the Hells of Beppu — a collecti…
Kusatsu
One of Japan's most famous hot-spring resorts, Kusatsu is a tiny town in Gunma Prefecture's northwest, drawing visitors to its thermal baths and a café and r…
Sendai
Satsumasendai, in Kagoshima Prefecture on Japan's Kyushu island, sits along the coast and incorporates the Koshikijima Islands, a chain with a history as a h…
Hanamaki
Hanamaki, in Iwate Prefecture, is the birthplace of novelist and poet Kenji Miyazawa and the origin of wanko soba, Iwate's signature dish of repeatedly refil…
Kirishima
Kirishima, in Kagoshima Prefecture on Japan's Kyushu island, is a city known for the Kirishima mountain range — listed among Japan's hundred celebrated peaks…
Odawara
Odawara Castle, described in historical sources as "impregnable," anchors this coastal city in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, on the shores of Sagami Bay.
Takarazuka
Takarazuka, in Hyōgo Prefecture, is best known as the home of the Takarazuka Revue, an all-female musical theatre company that has performed since the early…
Kurayoshi
Kurayoshi, in central Tottori Prefecture, is known across the region for its white-walled earthen storehouses — the style is so embedded in local identity th…
Kusatsu
A city on the shores of Lake Biwa, Japan's largest freshwater lake, this Kusatsu in Shiga Prefecture is often confused with the famous hot spring resort of t…
Yamaga
Yamaga, a town in northern Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan, is known for its hot springs, the Yamaga Lantern Festival, and as the leading chestnut-producing area…