Kussharo Hot Sand (Sunayu)

photo by 663highland · CC BY 2.5

photo by 663highland · CC BY 2.5

You only need to dig 10–30 cm into the sand on the shore and the hot spring water rises by itself, free of charge.

Along the shore of Lake Kussharo you only need to dig a hole 10–30 cm deep in the sand for hot spring water to rise up: onsen, the Japanese name for hot water of volcanic origin used for bathing. There is no bath and no ticket: the temperature changes from spot to spot, scalding in some stretches and barely lukewarm in others; finding a hot one, says the same tourist source, ‘depends on luck’.

It lies on the shore of Lake Kussharo, inside the caldera of the same name. It is a natural geothermal phenomenon, not a facility: the hot spring water seeps up of its own accord beneath the sand of the shore. The name Sunayu literally means ‘sand hot water’.

ℹ️ Access and digging are free. In winter the lake is home to wild swans, and a free footbath is also available.

🚉 Sunayu (砂湯) · 1 min walk

Sources: traveltoku.com

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