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Nikko NP, Tochigi
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Local tradition says a hunter found Shika-no-Yu in 630 by following an injured white deer. A 738 record also names Nasu: courtier Ono no Ason went there to recuperate with 12 attendants.
The steam was valuable: near Sessho-seki, locals covered sulfurous vents with thatch to collect mineral crystals called yunohana. In the Edo period, some farmers paid their rice tax with these “hot-spring flowers.”
At Shika-no-Yu, bathers traditionally ladle hot water over their heads about 100–300 times before bathing. Then they choose among separate tubs ranging from 41°C to 48°C and take short dips.
At Nasu Onsen Shrine’s October festival, attendants draw water at the hot-spring distribution site on October 8 and ceremonially offer it at the shrine. The following day brings more festival rites.
An 1817 hot-spring ranking modeled on sumo placed Nasu at sekiwake, the East’s second-highest rank behind Kusatsu. It judged springs by their reputed effects, not by visitor numbers.
The original Yumoto bathing quarter stood along the Yukawa stream until heavy rain triggered a devastating landslide on June 14, 1858. The hot-spring town then moved uphill to its present location.
At nearby Sessho-seki, the Goshinka Festival tradition brings torch-bearing participants from Nasu Onsen Shrine toward the legendary nine-tailed fox’s stone, with fox masks and taiko adding to the nighttime ritual.
During his 1689 Oku no Hosomichi journey, Matsuo Bashō stayed 2 nights in Yumoto. At Nasu Onsen Shrine, he composed a verse linking the act of scooping water with the sacred water of Iwashimizu.
Benten Onsen’s origin story begins in a dream: when the spring was discovered in 1840, the Buddhist goddess Benzaiten reportedly appeared to a local man and directed him to the hidden source.
Historic Sandogoya Onsen sits at about 1,500 meters on Mt. Asahi’s western slope and is reached on foot by mountain trail. The old “Seven Springs of Nasu” were spread across the range.
At Kita Onsen, one of Nasu’s historic Seven Springs, an open-air bath is described as swimming-pool-sized; another is surrounded by huge masks of tengu, the long-nosed mountain spirits. Some buildings date to the late Edo period.
Local tradition credits a torii at Nasu Onsen Shrine to the 12th-century archer Nasu no Yoichi. He is said to have prayed there before shooting the fan at Yashima, then offered the gate in thanks.
An approximately 800-year-old mizunara oak at Nasu Onsen Shrine is named Ikiru, meaning “To Live.” The shrine also serves as the chief shrine for 80 shrines across the Nasu region.
