A Guide to Japanese Hot Springs by Anne Hotta | Book Review
One of the most pleasant experiences these fair isles have to offer is that of a visit to an onsen or hot spring. Particularly rewarding after a hard day hitting the slopes on your snow board, there is nothing better than leaning back and relaxing in the hot waters of some rural spring and watching the snow flakes flutter down amongst the bathers.
With a truly huge number of hot springs, and a corresponding range of quality from the superb resorts down to dingy joints that haven’t seen a cleaning cloth or a builder since some time in the 1960’s finding the perfect hot spring can be a challenge. If you live in the country it probably isn’t so much of a problem, just ask around at your local drinking hole and you are bound to start a veritable fireball of a discussion amongst the regulars on the respective merits of the plethora of springs to be found in most parts of Japan.
If you live in the big smoke of Tokyo you will want to get your hand on a guide book, and if it is the idea of soaking away those aches and pains of city life in some beautiful out of the way onsen, then I would highly recommend Anne Hotta and Yoko Ishiguro’s well researched A Guide to Japanese Hot Springs.
Featuring 160 select hot springs scattered the length and breadth of Japan, A Guide to Japan’s Hot Springs offers a wealth of information to the traveller - hot spring newbie or onsen connoisseur alike. If you are looking for a romantic getaway from Tokyo then this book will be indispensable in helping you select and unforgettable destination. Or, if you are looking for some apres ski action (something Japan is sorely lacking) then this book should do the trick.
Surprisingly Chiba has no hot springs worth speaking of. Tokyo gets a mention with the Rokuryu Onsen, (near Ueno and comfortably close if you are staying around the Akihabara / Ueno parts of Tokyo), but it is in the rural areas that A Guide to Japanese Hot Springs really bubbles.
Like the last two off the main-stream guide books featured (Tokyo for Free and Kanto Pilgrimages (day walks around Tokyo)) this book is highly recommended if you are looking for something special during your time in Japan.
# Title: A Guide to Japanese Hot Springs
# Authors: Anne Hotta with Yoko Ishigura
# Paperback: 284 pages
# Publisher: Kodansha America; 1st ed edition (April 1986)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 0870117203
# ISBN-13: 978-0870117206
If you would like a copy, you can pick up a copy from Amazon by clicking here: A Guide to Japanese Hot Springs
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