Katsuragawa Onsen

Katsuragawa Onsen is a community thermal facility in Nishikyo Ward, the southwestern ward of Kyoto City through which the historic Katsura River flows below Muko-yama hill, where the Katsura Imperial Villa—designed in the early 17th century and considered the supreme masterpiece of Japanese garden design—represents the peak of Japanese aesthetic sensibility in landscape and architecture. The mineral thermal waters provide warm, accessible relaxation for residents of this quiet ward where the refined cultural heritage of Kyoto's imperial gardens coexists with the everyday domestic rhythms of Japan's ancient capital. The Katsura River's seasonal cherry blossoms and autumn maples, the nearby Matsuo Taisha sake shrine, and the gentle Nishiyama hills create a quietly beautiful backdrop for a neighborhood thermal bath in the less-frequented western margins of Kyoto.