Kurokawa Onsen

Background

Kurokawa Onsen lies in Minamioguni Town, Aso District, Kumamoto Prefecture, in the Tanoharu River valley at the northern foot of Mount Aso, and is one of the Minamioguni hot spring villages. According to the Japan National Tourism Organization, its therapeutic baths have been popular for more than 300 years; it began as a modest bathing retreat in the mountains of the Aso outer rim. The water is a sulfur spring, rising from relatively shallow strata beneath the town at 80–98°C. The inns on both banks of the valley are all small, and each has an open-air bath of its own form: large riverside baths, cave baths and pools ringed by forest. The whole town sticks to wooden buildings, earthen walls, stone steps and natural colors, with no large concrete hotels or loud signboards. In winter, the Yuakari illumination lights up the hot spring town. In 1964 Kurokawa was designated a National Health Onsen Resort as part of Minamioguni Onsen. In the 1980s the inn association led a revival built on "natural atmosphere" open-air baths and rustic charm, under the slogan "the whole town is one inn, the streets are corridors, the inns are guest rooms." In the 2009 Japan edition of the Michelin Green Guide it received two stars, rare for a hot spring resort, and the name "Kurokawa Onsen" was registered as a regional collective trademark in 2006.

Local customs

• Tour the open-air baths of three different inns with a nyuto tegata pass
• stroll along the river in yukata and wooden clogs, browsing small shops and cafés
• stay a night at an inn and enjoy kaiseki cuisine
• see the Yuakari illumination on a winter night
• you can also try the town's two communal baths, Jizo-yu and Ana-yu.

Travel tips

• On arrival, first pick up a map at the information center in the town center and check which baths are open that day. The town center is compact and easy to walk
• some inns are farther out, and their guests can use the inn's pick-up service. New Year, Golden Week and Silver Week are crowded, so book accommodation early
• prices for the nyuto tegata and individual baths are as officially announced.
• Kurokawa Onsen has no railway. Direct highway buses run from Fukuoka (Hakata Station, Tenjin, Fukuoka Airport)
• coming from Kumamoto, you can travel to Aso Station and then take a taxi or bus. Driving means mountain roads, inn parking is mostly for guests only, and day visitors should use the public car parks. Every season works: autumn is mild with fine autumn leaves
• winter is cold, and the evenings during Yuakari are especially beautiful
• spring blossoms, summer greenery and the town wrapped in mountain mist after rain each have their own charm.