Japan has many wonderful tourist spots.
This time I would like to introduce Ginzan Onsen, which I visited with my father when I went back to Japan in 2023.
What is Ginzan Onsen?
Japan's Tohoku region is rich in nature and historical hot spring resorts. Among them, Ginzan Onsen is a particularly attractive place. Ginzan Onsen is a hot spring town in Obanazawa City, Yamagata Prefecture, where wooden inns with a Taisho era (the time around 1912 to 1926) atmosphere line up in a retro streetscape. It is also known as the setting for the movie "Spirited Away" and attracts many tourists from home and abroad. I went to Ginzan Onsen for a two-day trip. I will introduce my experience and the charm of Ginzan Onsen tourism.
The history and origin of Ginzan Onsen
Ginzan Onsen started from the discovery of silver mines in the 16th century. It is located on the site of a silver mine that prospered as a public mine in the Edo period. The silver mine flourished from the Ashikaga shogunate era to the early Edo period, but declined in the mid-17th century. After that, hot spring therapy became popular and the hot spring town was formed. The hot spring town was destroyed by a great flood in 1913, but was restored by the local financial community. The current hot spring town scenery was created at that time. In 1968, it was designated as a national health resort, and in 1986, the "Ginzan Onsen Preservation Ordinance" was enacted and efforts were made to improve the landscape.
The tourist spots of Ginzan Onsen
Ginzan Onsen is a hot spring resort where you can enjoy the beautiful scenery of each season. Especially, the autumn foliage season and the snowy season are recommended. There are the following tourist spots in the hot spring town.
Shirogane waterfall
A beautiful waterfall with a drop of 22m, surrounded by the beauty of each season. You can walk to the vicinity of the waterfall and feel the power and coolness. The autumn leaves are splendid.
Kote-e
Colorful paintings on the door pockets of wooden inns, telling the history and culture of Ginzan Onsen. They are three-dimensional decorations by plasterers, expressing the luxury of the wooden high-rise inn town that competed for luxury at that time.
Waraku foot bath
A
free communal foot bath that uses the same source as the inns in Ginzan
Onsen. You can enjoy the atmosphere of the hot spring town while warming
your feet.
How to access Ginzan Onsen
The access methods to Ginzan Onsen are as follows.
Access from Tokyo
- Car: Tokyo → (Tohoku Expressway & Yamagata Expressway / about 5 hours) → Yamagata JCT → (Tohoku Chuo Expressway / about 30 minutes) → Obanazawa IC → (about 30 minutes) → Ginzan Onsen
- Shinkansen: Tokyo Station → Tsubasa Shinkansen / Yamagata → Ou Main Line Express for 40 minutes → Oishida Bus for 15 minutes → Obanazawa Transfer for 40 minutes → Ginzan Onsen
Access from Osaka
- Express bus: Osaka Station (Umeda) departure → Sendai Station arrival for 11 hours 27 minutes & 9,800 yen or more
- Airplane: Itami Airport departure → Yamagata Airport arrival for 1 hour 10 minutes & 16,160 yen or more
My Recommendation
The inn we stayed at was Kozankan(古山閣), a long-established hot spring inn.. There are a four-story wooden main building and a new Western-style building of Auberge, and we stayed at the new building for one night. Koyamakan is located along the Taisho Roman Road, and you can overlook the road from the bedroom window. Moreover, this inn is located in the center of Ginzan Onsen, so it is very convenient to move around. The food at this inn is kaiseki cuisine and Italian full-course cuisine that use local and seasonal ingredients from Yamagata, such as brand rice, Obanazawa beef, seasonal vegetables, wild plants, mushrooms, etc. You can enjoy the menu with local beer and wine.
Kozankan(古山閣)
Contact:+81 237-28-2039
Address:423, Ginzan Shinhata, Obanazawa city,Yamagata prefecture, 999-4333 Japan
Homepage: https://kozankaku.com/
Homepage: https://kozankaku.com/
Summary
Ginzan Onsen is a hot spring town in Obanazawa City, Yamagata Prefecture, where wooden inns with a Taisho era atmosphere line up. There are tourist spots such as Shirogane waterfall and Omokage garden around Ginzan Onsen. Also, in the autumn foliage season, Ginzan Onsen is colored with autumn leaves and many tourists visit. If you have not been there yet, must visit !
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