Ohtawara Onsen Tochigi

Otawara, in the northern Tochigi highlands along the Naka River, is a traditional agricultural and military city at the foot of the Nasu volcanic highland, historically significant as the domain of the Otawara clan whose castle town developed as a prosperous gateway community to the Nasu highland hunting grounds favored by generations of Tokugawa shoguns. Ohtawara Onsen Tochigi draws on sodium and bicarbonate thermal waters from the geothermal resources of the northern Tochigi zone at the base of the Nasu volcanic range, providing restorative baths in an agricultural city whose position as the gateway to the Nasu Kogen highland resort and spa area creates a natural stopping point for travellers heading to one of northern Tochigi's most popular resort regions. The Nasu Kogen highland plateau with its numerous hot spring resorts, the Yaita-Nasu cycling road through volcanic grasslands, and the traditional cha-no-yu (tea ceremony) culture of Otawara, which has produced notable tea practitioners in the Edo period, make this an appealing northern gateway spa destination in Tochigi Prefecture.