Old School Onsen Town

The township of Jiaoxi in Yilan County (宜蘭礁溪) reminded me of those old-school onsen town in rural Japan, like Kusatsu or Arima or Dogo. The moment we stepped out of the train station, all we saw was a big sign with the list of hotels and B&Bs located in the neighborhood, and along the street were all the restaurants and souvenir shops, all geared towards tourists and visitors in this town better known for the hotspring facilities. 

My Perfect Kind of Resort

After a summer of turmoil in our city, we were desperate to get out for a little break where we can switch off and relax. Earlier we received a kind invitation from The Hiramatsu Hotel & Resorts group for hosting us a couple of nights at their property in Sengokuhara near Hakone, so we thought the timing was just perfect and it’s perhaps a blessing in disguise.

A Century-Old Ryokan

We made a slight detour to stay in Gero (下呂) in the middle of our road trip to Central Japan, as the town is considered to have one of the best onsens in the country. Given we have been to the other two previously (Arita and Kusatsu), just thought we will hit this one to check off the list.

Hot spring getaway in the summer

Seems like it’s a silly idea to go on a hot spring holiday in the middle of summer when it’s 30-degree plus out there in Taiwan, but it is what it is - let's just say it's not exactly my idea. The hot spring resort town of Beitou turned out to be much closer to the city than I thought – in fact technically it’s still within Taipei city limit and is easily reachable by MRT, their metro train system. While many opted for a day trip to Beitou from Taipei, we decided to stay there on our first night of our vacation at one of the newer resort hotels built in the mountains, with a car arranged as we landed in late morning which took us into Beitou right on time for check-in at the resort.

Onsen in the Hills and a Morning Hike

Kumano Kodo is the generations-old pilgrimage route through the Kansai region, linking many of the temples and shrines in the area. Its religious significance aside, just by looking at the picturesque scenery and immersing ourselves in the nature filled with forests, mountains and rivers, I can totally see the charm of spending a few days following those footsteps with a hiking trip along the route.

Marriott in an Onsen Town

CYY gave me the funny look when I told her we have booked the room at Marriott during our onsen trip to Shirahama in Wakayama Prefecture. “I thought we were going to stay in a ryokan, no?” – well as it turned out most decent properties in this resort town were medium-sized hotels I thought we may as well check out the Nanki-Shirahama Marriott, which is one of the newest in the area, opened just late last year after the rebranding and renovation under the Marriott brand.

The Town of Hot Sand Bath

After spending two nights in Fukuoka, I rode on the Kyushu Shinkansen train and headed south to Ibusuki, one of the many famous onsen town in Kagoshima prefecture. The ride turned out to be longer than I originally thought, with the 1.5 hour high-speed train ride getting me to Kagoshima City than another 1.5 hour on the slower commuter train along the coastline of Satsuma Peninsula to Ibusuki town on the southeastern tip.

Feb-ulous Kyoto: Onsen by the Lake

Early spring may not be the best season to visit Lake Biwa region (it's much more popular during summer time), but we wanted a quick getaway to somewhere nearby after spending 2 nights in Kyoto. So we hopped onto the train and spend a night at a lakeside onsen resort in Ogoto-onsen in Shiga Prefecture, on the west side of the Lake Biwa, the largest freshwater lake in Japan.

Hip Ryokan in Ureshino

Among many other things, Kyushu is known for its many onsen villages across the island. While places like Kurokawa, Aso, Yufuin or Kagoshima were more popular especially among tourists, this time we decided to check out Ureshino (嬉野) and Takeo (武雄) onsens in Saga Prefecture instead.

Japanese Hitou - the concept of secluded hot spring inns

As the shuttle van winding up the narrow road to Tsurunoyu (鶴の湯), where we would be staying on our second night in Nyuto Onsen-kyo in Akita Prefecture, we felt like riding on a gigantic bobsled. With us sitting uneasily at the back seats, the driver maneuvered the sudden twists and turns on an unpaved, unmarked walkway a few kilometers off the major thoroughfare and completely surrounded by snow as high as the van itself as the road was being plowed and snow piled to the side earlier in the morning. I wouldn't imagine a shuttle van driver would need such driving skills.

Second Day in Nyuto Onsen-kyo

Since we have planned to stay in Nyuto Onsen-kyo for 3 days, we were in no hurry to take off after our first night at the lovely ryokan of Taenoyu. The next morning after breakfast, we packed up, left our luggage at the front desk and went out to check out the other hot spring bath-houses in the "village".

Snow and Hot Spring in Akita

Enjoy a relaxing outdoor hot spring bath/onsen whilst watching snow flurries slowly falling down has always been something we would love to do one day, but then that opportunity just came totally unexpected as we continued our journey through part of the Tohoku region of Japan.

Hoshino Resort Aomori-ya

We swung by three onsen regions in our trip to the northeastern Japan in late March, and Komaki Onsen (古牧溫泉) in Aomori is the first. After spending a night in Aomori City, we took a 2-hour bus ride to Hoshino Resort Aomori-ya resort not far away from the small town of Mikawa.