Futsukaichi Onsen

What it is

• A historic hot spring area formerly known as Musashi Onsen.
• The site features alkaline simple radium springs discovered by Fujiwara Toramaro.
• The area was renamed in 1950 and sits at the foot of Mount Tenpai.
• The springs are mentioned in the Man'yoshu, Japan's oldest poetry collection.

What to see

• Hakata-yu and Gozen-yu serve as the primary public bathhouses for visitors.
• The Gozen-yu bathhouse was historically used as a private bath by the Kuroda clan.
• Daimaru Bessou is the inn where Emperor Showa stayed during his 1949 visit.
• The surrounding area where novelist Natsume Soseki spent his honeymoon.

Getting there

• The hot spring area is a ten-minute walk from JR Futsukaichi Station.

Notes written by Japan Gems from facts in Japanese Wikipedia.