Last Updated: Aug 26, 2024

Kita Onsen Ryokan

The Nasu Region’s Hot Spring Shangri-La

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

As I write this article in my head, I am soaking away all of my worldly concerns at Kita Onsen Ryokan in Tochigi Prefecture’s Nasu region. As I begin to boil in the 43° C waters, I slowly stop fretting about that one Google Ads campaign that isn’t performing well enough (and other such trivialities). Gazing above, I am greeted by the sight of the ginormous tengu mask in the photo above. Lazily looking around at the rest of the decor, I quickly wonder what century, let alone what decade, it is right now. Alas, any mental inquiries quickly melt away into hot spring bliss.

Ever since I first stumbled across Kita Onsen Ryokan a few years ago, I’ve been itching to go. Secluded deep in the mountains of the Nasu Highlands, this hidden hot spring is the type of establishment that I originally set out to feature when I started blogging. Perfectly balancing that impossibly fine line between unknown locale and somewhere of interest to overseas visitors, Kita Onsen Ryokan is far more than just a “hotel.” Instead, a stay at this ancient Japanese-style inn will be a standout memory of your travels that’s sure to stick with you for a lifetime.

At least as far as I can tell, some incarnation of what is now Kita Onsen Ryokan has been around for at least 1,200 years. The earliest records we have date from 738 and indicate that nobility from the imperial court in far away Nara had made many expeditions here to bathe in the hot spring’s rejuvenative waters. Some other sources also suggest that the historic complex used to bear the name of Fudo-no-Yu in homage to Fudo Myoo, the Immovable King. Even today, you can still find all sorts of references to this former reverence of the fiery Buddhist deity.

The connection with Fudo Myoo makes a lot more sense when you realize that the entirety of the Nasu Highlands used to be a center for Shugendo and the practice of mountain asceticism. What’s more, the facility that is now Kita Onsen Ryokan was formerly a training ground for yamabushi who were practicing in Nasu. After pushing themselves to their breaking points, these ascetic followers of Shugendo would recuperate in the hot spring waters of Fudo-no-Yu. The custom continued until the Tokugawa shogunate…