Nagaokakyo Onsen Kyoto

Nagaokakyo, in the southwestern part of Kyoto Prefecture adjacent to the Katsura River and the Nishiyama mountain range, is home to the Otokoyama bamboo forests and the bamboo shoot (takenoko) cultivation that has made Nagaokakyo the most celebrated source of fresh bamboo shoots in the Kinki region, the quality of its pale young bamboo shoots prized by Kyoto's finest kaiseki restaurants each spring. Nagaokakyo Onsen Kyoto draws on sodium and bicarbonate thermal waters from the geological resources of the western Kyoto basin, providing restorative baths in a suburban city whose bamboo shoot cultivation heritage, the traditional Eganji Temple, and the Nishiyama mountain range hiking trails create an appealingly seasonal and naturally connected spa setting between Kyoto's cultural heart and the Osaka metropolitan fringe. The Nagaokakyo spring bamboo shoot harvest season when the tender pale takenoko are prepared in the exquisite nimono simmered dishes of the Kyoto kaiseki tradition, the Nishiyama hiking trails through bamboo forest and temple gardens, and the easy Hankyu Kyoto Line access to central Kyoto and Osaka create a pleasantly refined and seasonally distinctive spa destination in southwestern Kyoto Prefecture.