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Daisetsuzan NP, Hokkaido
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A 30°C spring near Seta sent Takami Shima searching farther inland. On a snowy 1919 expedition with his nephew, they left their horses at a cliff, slept in the forest, and found the main source 270 m beyond a steaming seep.
At Yamako-so, hot-spring water softened Tokachi-bean tofu into a silky, soy-milk-like dish. The meal ends with rice simmered in the same water as hot-spring porridge—a local specialty born from a kitchen experiment.
The resort began with a 6-tsubo bath hut—about 20 m²—in 1924. By 1934, 15 inns lined the valley, before the dam, railway or ski area existed. The hot spring was already drawing visitors.
At Nakamuraya, hides from local Ezo deer hunters are put to use rather than discarded. A regional craftsperson tans the leather, and inn staff sew it into household goods—even using it as a distinctive tatami edging.
Nukabira began experimenting with separating lodging from meals in 2000. Its “ajimeguri,” or taste tour, lets participating inns welcome one another’s guests for meals, so travelers can sample beyond the kitchen at their own lodging.
Nukabira’s post office has a spring-fed handbath, installed in 2010 as part of a local effort to make the hot water visible. Its postmaster named it “Ikoi no Teyu”—a little onsen pause built into an everyday errand.
Local sources trace Nukabira to Ainu noka-pira, rendered as “cliff with a figure” or “human-shaped rock.” In 2009, the official district name changed from 糠平 to ぬかびら源泉郷, keeping Nukabira while adding “hot-spring village.”
In 2007, Nukabira’s inn association pledged to keep baths source-fed, test regularly for Legionella, and protect the spring and its natural setting. Innkeepers and the town also planted mountain maples together to build the village’s autumn canopy.
Nearby Taushubetsu River Bridge is a railway relic with a reservoir-made vanishing act: the old route was left behind when Nukabira Dam flooded the valley. Rising lake water hides the arches in summer; they reappear as the water falls.
A local preservation group formed in 1997; the town acquired the old Shihoro Line arch bridges the following year, and the group was recognized as Hokkaido Heritage in 2001. The citizen-led conservation work became a model for community action.
Nearby Nukabira Lake can trap lakebed gas bubbles in clear new ice, creating pearl-like patterns underfoot. A snowfall hides them, so the display appears only while the ice is clear and the lake surface remains snow-sparse.
