Oshu Ekimae Onsen
- Location
- Oshu, Iwate, Japan
- Water type
- sodium chloride
- Temperature
- 41 °C
- pH
- 7.3
Water profile
Relaxing — deep, immediate muscle release.
Loaded with major ions — the essential minerals (Ca, Mg).
Dense, salty water — you float without effort.
Oshu Ekimae Onsen is located in Oshu City in southern Iwate Prefecture, formerly the city of Mizusawa, a historic administrative center adjacent to the Hiraizumi UNESCO World Heritage Site where the Northern Fujiwara clan established a golden age of Buddhist civilization in the 12th century before their destruction by Minamoto no Yoritomo. The city is also home to the Mizusawa Observatory, established in 1899 as one of six global stations tasked with measuring the Earth's wobble on its axis in the International Latitude Service, making it a landmark of early international scientific cooperation whose historical instruments are preserved as scientific heritage. The thermal spring waters here offer convenient relaxation immediately adjacent to the Shinkansen station that serves as the gateway to both Hiraizumi's golden temple complex and the broader cultural heritage landscape of southern Iwate's historic river valley civilization.