Susaki Onsen

Susaki Onsen is found in Susaki, a Pacific coast city in central Kochi Prefecture whose harbor faces the full force of the Pacific Ocean swells and whose fishing community has sustained itself on the rich marine resources of the Kuroshio Current that sweeps this coast, bringing warm tropical waters and the abundant marine life that makes Kochi Prefecture one of Japan's premier fishing prefectures. Susaki holds the somber distinction of being the last confirmed sighting location of the Japanese river otter (Nihon Kawauso) — a Japanese river otter was observed here in 1979, and when no subsequent confirmed sightings occurred, the species was officially declared extinct in 2012, making Susaki an unexpected memorial to the loss of one of Japan's most beloved native mammals. The city's fishing traditions, its Pacific coastal scenery of dramatic headlands and sheltered bays, and this poignant connection to Japan's recent extinction history create a layered and affecting atmosphere for visitors who come to experience the coastal character of central Kochi. The onsen here provide silica-rich mineral bathing beside the Pacific in a fishing community of genuinely raw coastal vitality.