Unazuki Onsen

Unazuki Onsen is a celebrated hot spring resort at the entrance of the dramatic Kurobe Gorge in Kurobe City, Toyama Prefecture, the gateway to the Kurobe Gorge Railway whose vintage red trains carry visitors deep into the spectacular gorge of the Kurobe River through one of the most rugged and beautiful mountain landscapes in Japan. The Kurobe Gorge, carved by the Kurobe River through the hard granite of the Northern Japan Alps, reaches depths of more than 3,000 meters from ridge to river in places, creating one of the world's great river gorges, and the small mountain village of Unazuki at its entrance has served as the thermal bathing base for Kurobe exploration since the railway was built in the 1920s to support construction of the Kurobe hydroelectric dam system. The simple mineral waters of Unazuki Onsen provide restorative bathing for visitors returning from the gorge railway journey, combining the visual splendor of the mountain canyon with the physical relief of immersion in the warm and soothing spring that has welcomed travelers at the gorge entrance for nearly a century.