Kitagawa Onsen
- Location
- Kitagawa, Kochi, Shikoku, Japan
- Water type
- bicarbonate
- Temperature
- 40 °C
- pH
- 8
Water profile
Relaxing — deep, immediate muscle release.
Loaded with major ions — the essential minerals (Ca, Mg).
Soft water — natural, classic buoyancy.
Kitagawa Onsen flows in a forested village in the Aki district of eastern Kochi Prefecture, where the Kitagawa River descends from the Shikoku mountains through a valley of extraordinary scenic beauty whose clear waters, emerald pools, and overhanging forest canopy have made it a destination for those seeking the authentic character of Shikoku's mountain interior away from the more heavily visited western and central parts of the island. The village's position in the upper Aki River watershed places it within walking distance of hiking trails that ascend through mixed forest toward the ridgelines separating Kochi from Tokushima, trails once walked by pilgrims on the Shikoku 88-temple circuit and now followed by hikers, botanists, and those seeking the particular silence of Shikoku's forested mountain world. The onsen's siliceous geothermal mineral waters provide warm therapeutic bathing in a community that preserves the character of traditional mountain village life in the deep interior of Japan's fourth-largest island.