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Chubu-Sangaku NP, Gifu
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In the 1677 Gamata Onsenki, a legend dates the spring’s discovery to 1573–1592: a child carried a sick father through the mountains to bathe, and he recovered. It’s a local tale, not verified history.
Gamata River can fish like spring while snow still blankets its banks. Geothermal warmth keeps the water active enough for insects to hatch and trout to feed unusually early in the season.
A 1920 flood swept away Gamata’s inns; the spa was re-established 850 meters downstream. A new spring found in 1956 helped the inns return to this stretch of the river.
Takahara sansho, also called Hida sansho, is a local specialty with a signature fragrance said to depend on a tiny growing area around 800 meters high, within a 5-kilometer radius in Okuhida.
Shinhotaka Onsen is not just one spring: a national park report counts 61 sources along the Gamata River. The area’s springs fall into 3 distinct zones: Shinhotaka, Gamata, and Nakao.
Around 1965, drilling in Nakao brought up steam instead of a conventional hot spring. The steam was collected in tanks and piped to inns—a distinctive way to share the area’s geothermal heat.
A 17th-century account describes spring heat being used to steam hemp fibers spun by local women for cloth. Here, geothermal warmth served everyday work as well as bathing and healing.
Nakazaki Sanso began as a forestry work hut, became a climbers’ inn, and appeared in Yasushi Inoue’s Ice Wall and Jiro Nitta’s White Wall. River-control works closed it in 2007; it reopened as a day spa in 2010.
At Shinhotaka no Yu, high river water can wash sand into the bath, so local residents help keep it clean. This swimsuit-friendly mixed bath sits beside the Gamata River and can be seen from the bridge.
The bare scar visible near Gamata and Yarimi marks an 1889 rain-triggered collapse. It briefly blocked the Gamata River, forming a natural dam with a circumference of about 4 kilometers.
