Samani Onsen

Samani Onsen is located in Samani, a coastal town in the Hidaka Subprefecture of southeastern Hokkaido that sits at the heart of Japan's premier thoroughbred horse breeding region — the Hidaka coastal zone between Samani and Urakawa produces the majority of Japan's racehorses, whose exceptional athleticism is attributed to the rich volcanic pasture grasses, cool Pacific air, and the specialized breeding expertise of the dozens of studs and training operations that line the coastal highways between the mountains and the sea. The Hidaka racehorse industry has made this stretch of Hokkaido coast as important to Japan's equestrian world as Kentucky's bluegrass region is to American racing, and the sight of young thoroughbreds exercising along the Pacific shore is one of the region's most distinctive images. The onsen at Samani draw on geothermal resources from the Hidaka Mountains' volcanic geology, providing silica-rich mineral bathing in a community whose identity is inseparable from the breeding of world-class racehorses.