Bessho Onsen
- Location
- Ueda Nagano, Japan
- Water type
- bicarbonate
- Temperature
- 48 °C
- pH
- 9.8
Water profile
Relaxing — deep, immediate muscle release.
Loaded with major ions — the essential minerals (Ca, Mg).
Soft water — natural, classic buoyancy.
Bessho Onsen is known as the oldest hot spring in Nagano Prefecture, located in the mountains near the city of Ueda, with a bathing tradition documented since at least the Nara period over 1,200 years ago. The alkaline bicarbonate waters, sometimes called 'bijin-no-yu' or beauty waters for their skin-enhancing qualities, emerge at a comfortable temperature ideal for prolonged soaking and relaxation. The resort retains a charming, old-fashioned atmosphere with narrow lanes of traditional wooden inns, a historic public bath, and three ancient temples that earned Bessho the nickname 'Little Kamakura of Shinshu.' Its quiet, deeply traditional character and beautiful mountain surroundings make Bessho Onsen one of Japan's most authentically atmospheric hot spring villages.