Tsuetate Onsen

Tsuetate Onsen straddles the border between Oguni Town in Kumamoto Prefecture and Hita City in Oita Prefecture in the deeply forested gorge of the Tsuetate River, earning it the affectionate designation as the inner parlor of Kyushu — a phrase that captures both its geographic remoteness and the feeling of intimate, private comfort that visitors experience in this narrow valley lined with traditional inns. The calcareous chloride spring water of Tsuetate, rich in sodium chloride and calcium, is strongly associated with the warming, deeply penetrating heat that saline springs provide, making it prized for its ability to warm the body from within and maintain that warmth long after leaving the bath. The celebrated inn Hizenya literally straddles the prefectural border between Kumamoto and Oita, a unique geographical situation that has made Tsuetate Onsen a regional landmark within the Yaba-Hita-Hikosan Quasi-National Park, where two prefectures share not only a border but a single historic thermal destination.