Takinoue Onsen

Takinoue Onsen is a traditional hot spring resort in the town of Takinoue in Monbetsu District, Hokkaido, Japan — a remote and beautiful area in the eastern Hokkaido mountains perhaps best known internationally for the breathtaking芝桜 (moss phlox) bloom in spring, when the hillsides around Takinoue Park turn into a carpet of vivid pink and purple flowers that draws visitors from across Japan. The iodine-rich thermal waters of the onsen draw on the geothermal and geological resources of the Hokkaido mountain zone and are valued for their warming properties and therapeutic effects on skin and circulation — particularly welcome in the extreme cold winters of eastern Hokkaido. The wild, sparsely populated landscape of inland northern Hokkaido, with its vast forests, clear rivers, and the profound quiet of the Japanese north, creates an atmosphere of elemental natural beauty that gives the onsen experience extraordinary depth. Takinoue Onsen is a destination for travelers who seek the genuine, unmanicured face of Hokkaido's natural and thermal heritage in one of Japan's most authentically wild and scenically beautiful northern regions.