Urabandai Onsen Goshikinuma

Urabandai Onsen Goshikinuma is located in the Urabandai Highland of Kitakata City, Fukushima Prefecture, in the volcanic plateau created by the catastrophic eruption of Mount Bandai in 1888 — one of the most destructive volcanic events in modern Japanese history, which killed hundreds of people, triggered massive lahars, and created over 300 new lakes including the famous Goshikinuma (Five-Colour Ponds), whose waters shift between emerald, sapphire, turquoise, and crimson depending on seasonal mineral changes and light conditions. The bicarbonate thermal waters of Urabandai draw from the exceptional mineral richness of the Bandai volcanic sub-strata, reflecting the complex mineral chemistry of a recently active volcano whose eruption products continue to chemically evolve in the landscape's lakes and springs. The juxtaposition of therapeutic mineral bathing amid the technicolour volcanic ponds, forests in autumn gold, and the extraordinary geological heritage of one of Japan's most historically dramatic volcanic landscapes makes Urabandai one of the most scientifically and visually extraordinary onsen areas in Fukushima.