Misasa Onsen

photo by 三塚 · CC BY-SA 4.0

photo by 663highland · CC BY 2.5

In 1164 a samurai spared a white wolf: the spring was revealed to him in a dream.

A spa town along the Mitoku River, among the most concentrated natural radium springs in the world. According to legend, in 1164 the samurai Ōkubo Samanosuke spared an old white wolf he had come across; the following night the deity Myōken Daibosatsu appeared to him in a dream and revealed where the spring flowed. The radon breathed in or absorbed through the water produces the effect called ‘hormesis’, which the spa still uses to promote itself today.

A spa resort in the municipality of Misasa, Tōhaku-gun, with ryokan along both banks of the river; together with nearby Mount Mitoku it is recognised as Japan Heritage (日本遺産).

ℹ️ The public street and the bridge over the river are always accessible. Baths and facilities at the individual ryokan have their own hours and prices, to be checked with each establishment. Address of the centre: 〒682-0123 鳥取県東伯郡三朝町三朝.

Sources: izanro.co.jp · spa-misasa.jp · misasaonsen.jp

All series · Open the map