Nozawa Onsen: Northern Nagano’s Hot Water Paradise

A Town Built on Hot Water

Nozawa Onsen, a village in Nagano located on the border with Niigata, stands at the foot of Mount Kenashi, where the region’s hot springs bubble up from the ground. The springs are said to have been discovered by ascetic monks on a pilgrimage in the eighth century.

The hot springs flow freely in Nozawa Onsen, whose narrow roads are lined with a lively assortment of bath houses and souvenir shops. The whole village brims with the atmosphere of an onsen resort untouched by time. A 20-minute walk around the central hot springs area will take you past more than 20 different bath houses and 13 outdoor public baths.

One symbol of Nozawa Onsen itself is the wellspring known as Ogama, whose characters, 麻釜, mean “a cauldron for hemp.” The waters of this spring, which come bubbling forth at a scalding temperature near 100ºC, was formerly used for boiling hemp. Today the spring is directed into five receptacles used for washing or boiling different things: the Ōkama and Yudekama for boiling vegetables, including the local delicacy nozawana, a dish made from turnip greens that takes its name from the village; the Takenoshigama and Marugama, where the vines of the akebia are boiled for making baskets; and finally the Shimogama, located a short distance from the other four. The Ogama area has long been a place where townsfolk would gather to wash vegetables, boil eggs, and swap stories with each other. Visitors aren’t allowed inside the fenced off portion, as it is easy to lose one’s footing on the slippery surface, but stopping by to watch locals as they go about their business is a sight to see in and of itself.

Some of the pools at the Ogama facility.

Another symbol of the town is the public bath known as Ōyu. With an architectural style representative of the public bathing centers of the Edo period (1603–1868), this is a popular stop for Japanese and foreign tourists alike, and has been listed in the Michelin Guide for Japan. The free-flowing sulfur springs are said to have health benefits such as helping with stomach problems and rheumatism. The Ōyu baths have long been a part of local culture, with townspeople gathering to chat about local politics and other gossip since the days of the Tokugawa shogunate.

The Ōyu public bathhouse.

A look at the Ōyu baths.

An open-air foot bath in front of Ōyu.

Access to Nozawa Onsen (from Tokyo)

By car: Take the Kan-etsu Expressway from the Nerima interchange to the Fujioka junction, then the Jōshin-etsu Expressway to the Toyota-Iiyama interchange (about 233 km); take National Route 117 around 20 km to the hot springs from there.

By rail and bus: Take the JR Hokuriku Shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Iiyama Station (just under 2 hours), then the Nozawa Onsen Liner bus from Iiyama Station (around 25 minutes).

Nozawa Onsen Tourism Association
Web: http://nozawakanko.jp/english/  

(Originally written in Japanese. Banner photo: The pools at the Ogama. Photo courtesy of Nagano Tourism Organization.)