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Nikko NP, Tochigi
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One account dates Kinugawa Onsen’s discovery to 1691. Its first spring, on the river’s west bank, was called Taki no Yu, or “Water of the Falls,” and drew visitors seeking relief for burns and skin ailments.
During the Edo period, Kinugawa’s healing waters were reportedly reserved for Buddhist monks and daimyo visiting Nikko. The baths opened to the wider public in the Meiji era, turning a privileged retreat into a public resort.
The resort actually grew from 2 hot springs on opposite sides of the Kinugawa River: Taki Onsen on the west bank and Fujiwara Onsen on the east. Together, they form the Kinugawa Onsen visitors know today.
The station first opened as Shimotaki, echoing the old name of the spring. In 1927, the area took the name Kinugawa Onsen; after railway links improved, large hotels and inns began transforming it into a major resort.
Kinugawa’s beloved “Kinu no Seiryu” sweet dates to 1956. Its maker says the founder was inspired by moonlight reflected on the river; at first, the treats were delivered to a few local inns by handcart.
At Kinugawa’s Setsubun celebrations, the bean-throwing cry turns the usual “Oni out!” on its head: it’s “Fortune in, ogres in too!” Here, ogres are beloved guardians said to chase away bad luck and bring good fortune.
Seven ceramic oni figures dot Kinugawa’s bridges and station area. Mashiko-based ceramic artist Ikuzo Fujiwara made the figures of Kinuta and Kinuko, playful guardians believed to ward off evil and welcome good fortune.
The name Kinugawa has several proposed origins: it was once written as “Keno River” or “Kinu River,” while another explanation links the kanji 鬼怒 to the river’s demon-like fury in floods. Even its name carries a story of changing waters.
Kinugawa’s 140-meter suspension bridge hangs about 37 meters above the river and links the resort to Tateiwa, a cliff named for its shield-like shape. Local lore pairs the river as female and the rock as male, making this a “matchmaking bridge.”
Upstream between Kinugawa and Kawaji onsens, Ryuo Valley’s rocks preserve traces of an undersea volcanic eruption about 22 million years ago. Purple andesite, green copper-stained tuff and pale rhyolite give its sections their striking colors.
Kinugawa Onsen Hotel opened in 1931 as a branch of Nikko Kanaya Hotel. That family’s hotel story began in 1873, when its founder opened a lodging house for foreign visitors after meeting James Hepburn, namesake of the Hepburn romanization system.
