Is Onsen one of your purposes to visit Japan?
Onsen, hot springs, is what Japan is known for,
but do you think they all look more or less the same
– an organised bath inside or outside ?
Those classic style of onsens are great indeed,
but you may have wished to visit onsen that not many have experienced.
If you are one of such travellers, why not try Kawayu Onsen?
The word, Kawa means river, and Yu means hot water,
and now you can guess what the Kawayu Onsen is like,
In summer, you can dig your own Onsen
while you enjoy in the beautiful turquoise blue river.
The water is pure and very very cold actually,
but you can warm yourself at some spots in the river, where the hot spring comes up.
In winter, from December to February,
Sennin-buro river bath opens.
“Sennin” has double meanings, a thousand people,
and “immortal mountain hermit”, one not bound by earthly desires or the thoughts of normal men.
“Buro” means bath.
So, as you can imagine from the combined word ,
the Sennin-buro river bath is a massive bath along the river
that a thousand people can bathe together at a time.
You may have heard that Japanese do not wear in the public onsen,
but this onsen is built outside in the river,
so do not forget your swimwear and sandals
in case the rocks are rugged.
Feel the nature and the spirit of Japanese, bathing even in the river !
《Access from Osaka》
The Limited Express Kuroshio from Shin-Osaka station to Kii-Tanabe station ( about 130min),
→ Meijin/ Ryuujin bus to Hongu-Taisha (120min),
→ Kumano Hongu Taisha bus to Kawayu Onsen stop.
(It may seem a long journey, so I recommend you to visit Kumano Hongu Taisha first.
It is an old Shinto shrine, included as part of the Kumano Sanzan in the World Heritage site “Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain Range”.
Kawayu Onsen will be a short ride away from the shrine.)
Related link – Utsukushigahara – one of the top 100 mountains in Japan-
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