Kisofukushima Onsen

Kisofukushima Onsen is located in Kiso Town, Nagano Prefecture, at the historic Kiso Fukushima-juku post town on the Nakasendo highway, where one of the most important administrative checkpoints (sekisho) of the Tokugawa shogunate controlled traffic through the Kiso Valley mountain pass, separating the eastern and western halves of Japan for over two and a half centuries. The siliceous thermal waters here flow through a post town whose historic streets, preserved merchant houses, and the reconstructed Fukushima Sekisho checkpoint museum offer visitors an immersive journey into the feudal administration and travel culture of Edo-period Japan. Bathing at Kisofukushima Onsen after exploring the historic checkpoint townscape and the surrounding Kiso Valley cedar forests provides a complete Nakasendo experience where Japan's feudal highway heritage and mineral spring bathing culture are seamlessly combined.