Goshougake Onsen

Goshougake Onsen in Kazuno City, Akita Prefecture sits on the western slope of the Hachimantai plateau volcano near the Akita-Iwate prefectural border, positioned along the scenic Hachimantai Aspite Line mountain highway that makes this high-altitude volcanic spring relatively accessible despite its remote mountain setting compared to other springs in the Tohoku backcountry. The spring's sulfurous and sulfate-rich thermal waters reflect the intense geothermal activity of the Hachimantai volcanic massif, whose plateau is dotted with mud pots, fumaroles, and multiple spring outlets that collectively create one of Tohoku's most dramatically active volcanic thermal landscapes. Immersing in the milky, pungently sulfurous waters of Goshougake Onsen amid the volcanic highland of Hachimantai provides one of the most viscerally immediate encounters with active volcanic geothermal energy available at any accessible hot spring destination in the Japanese archipelago.