Nishiura Onsen

photo by Evelyn-rose · CC0

photo by Bariston · CC BY-SA 4.0

The original spring ran dry, and since 1998 the hot spring water has arrived every day by tanker lorry from nearby Mitani Onsen: the number of places to stay has fallen from 17 in 1989 to 7 today.

With the spring exhausted, operators turned to tanker lorries bringing water from spring No. 3 of Mitani Onsen, a few kilometres away, where the water is circulated and heated before it reaches the baths of Nishiura. The fall in places to stay, from 17 in 1989 to 7 today, was hastened by a fire in 2013 and by some bankruptcies during the pandemic in 2020. The resort nonetheless looks out on a sandy beach open for swimming, and it is close to the motor racing circuit opened in 2007.

Nishiura Onsen is a hot spring resort in the Nishiura-chō neighbourhood of the city of Gamagōri, Aichi Prefecture, on the coast of Mikawa Bay. The area was originally used for utaigaki, traditional gatherings, and from about 1887 for seawater treatments. The hot springs opened in 1953, with the operating company registered the following year. The original waters were sodium-calcium chloride springs at 26°C, but the spring ran dry: since 1998 the water has arrived by tanker lorry from spring No. 3 of Mitani Onsen, in nearby Mitani, where it is circulated and heated before use. Today 7 places to stay are operating, against the 17 counted in 1989; five historic properties have closed, some because of a fire in 2013 and others through bankruptcy during the pandemic in 2020. Next to the resort there is a sandy beach for swimming; in 2006 statues of the seven gods of good fortune were placed at the various entrances, and in 2007 a motor racing circuit opened nearby.

ℹ️ The waters, brought by tanker lorry from nearby Mitani Onsen since 1998, supply the baths of the hotels and ryokan in the area: access follows the hours and rates of each place to stay. The adjacent beach is open for swimming.

Sources: ja.wikipedia.org

All series · Open the map