Last Updated: Aug 27, 2024

Hottarakashi Onsen

Blissing Out in Yamanashi Prefecture

This story was originally published on donnykimball.com and has been syndicated here on Medium.

“While this article was originally written during the pandemic, all of the locations and information featured are still valid…”

— Donny Kimball

Unexplained insomnia made worse by an ever-increasing reliance on alcohol. Incompetent clients. Mounting nihilism over Japan’s apathy towards improvement. The Coronavirus. The past week or so hasn’t exactly been what I would describe as enjoyable. Dangerously teetering on the brink of a total #FuckItAll moment, I knew I needed to unplug from it all or else I’d end up going Chernobyl on some poor 7-Eleven clerk. Normally, in these circumstances, I would remove myself to some godforsaken part of the countryside. Alas, I had foolishly scheduled a physiotherapy appointment for Sunday morning, meaning that I would need to find a day-trip solution.

Enter Hottarakashi Onsen to save the day. Located just outside of Yamanashi Prefecture’s capital city of Kofu, this secluded hot spring was just what the doctor ordered. Situated over 700 meters above sea level, Hottarakashi Onsen offers commanding views of the entire entire Kofu valley basin below (which, by the way, has been…