Himi Onsen

Himi Onsen overlooks Toyama Bay from the Noto Peninsula's base, where the fishing city of Himi has built a national reputation around the quality of its winter buri — yellowtail tuna — whose fat-marbled flesh, developed in the deep cold waters of the Japan Sea current system, is considered the finest yellowtail in Japan and is sold in winter at premium prices to sushi restaurants and department store food halls across the country. On clear winter days the view from Himi's coastline across the bay to the Tateyama range, its peaks rising snow-white above the water in a panorama of 3,000-meter summits reflected in the Japan Sea, is considered one of Japan's three great views — a scene of such dramatic beauty that the city has designated specific observation points for optimal viewing and marketed the panorama as Himi's signature natural attraction alongside its exceptional fish. The onsen's siliceous mineral waters provide warm restoration in a city whose winter abundance — in fish and mountain scenery alike — creates one of Toyama Prefecture's most complete seasonal experiences.