-
Zao Onsen AreaZao Onsen is a tourist mountain resort village that can be enjoyed all year round, with trekking, climbing and strolling among beautifully coloured leaves from spring to autumn, and skiing, snowboarding and bathing in hot springs in winter. The town’s streets are lined with a number of hot spring inns and hotels amid atmospheric spring steams. The hot springs are known by the nicknames of Hime-no-Yu (princesses’ bath) and “Kodomo-no-Yu” (children’s bath) for their beauty and health benefits. The town offers three public baths, Kami-yu, Shimo-yu and Kawara-yu, each of which is reasonably priced (200 yen each). These three baths are located very close to each other and are suitable for Onsen hopping.
-
Risshaku-ji Temple
Risshaku-ji Temple is popularly known as Yamadera (Mountain Temple). The rocky mountain itself is a sacred location for ascetic Zen practices. Visitors can enjoy breathtaking views along the one-hour path from the foot of the mountain to Okunoin Temple and Daibutsuden Hall at the top. The great Haiku master Basho Matsuo composed one of his best-known Haiku poems “Shizukesa ya/iwa ni shimiiru/semi no koe” in the work “Oku no Hosomichi” (Narrow Road to the Deep North) while walking this path.
