Watarase Onsen
- Location
- Hongu, Wakayama, Japan
- Water type
- silica
- Temperature
- 42 °C
- pH
- 7.1
Water profile
Relaxing — deep, immediate muscle release.
Rich in trace elements — gentle on the skin.
Soft water — natural, classic buoyancy.
Watarase Onsen is a large and well-appointed hot spring resort in Hongū, Wakayama Prefecture, situated in the deep cedar forest valley of the Kii Peninsula along the Kumano Kodo World Heritage pilgrimage route, where siliceous geothermal waters emerge from the ancient granite of the Kii Mountains to fill what is among the largest outdoor rotenburo bath complexes in Japan. The resort's expansive riverside rotenburo pools, set among mossy boulders and ancient forest in a narrow mountain valley, have earned national fame in Japan's onsen culture and repeatedly topped polls for the country's most beautiful outdoor bathing experience. The setting within the spiritually charged landscape of Kumano — where three Grand Shrines and the pilgrimage routes connecting them have been sacred since ancient times — infuses bathing at Watarase with a depth of cultural meaning unique to this forested Kii Peninsula.