Oshio Urabandai Onsen

Oshio Urabandai Onsen is a hot spring in the Urabandai highland zone of Fukushima Prefecture, on the northern slopes of Mount Bandai within the Bandai-Asahi National Park, one of Japan's most dramatically formed volcanic landscapes where the catastrophic 1888 eruption of Mount Bandai collapsed the northern flank of the mountain and created hundreds of lakes, marshes, and ponds that transformed the surrounding highland into an extraordinary natural mosaic of water, forest, and wetland. The Urabandai area, whose name means the back side of Bandai, preserves this post-eruption landscape in the Bandai-Asahi National Park and attracts visitors year-round for its autumn foliage, the colorful Lake Goshikinuma volcanic lakes, and the expansive highland plateau trekking, and the sulfurous hot spring of Oshio provides restorative bathing after outdoor activities in this spectacular volcanic environment. The sulfurous volcanic waters of the spring carry the strong geothermal character typical of springs located in active volcanic zones, providing a powerfully aromatic and therapeutically stimulating bathing experience amid the extraordinary post-eruption landscape of the Urabandai highlands.