Kakuma Onsen

Kakuma Onsen in Yamanouchi-machi, Nagano Prefecture, forms part of the celebrated Yudanaka Shibu Onsenkyo—a cluster of historic springs in the Shiga highland area famous for Jigokudani Monkey Park where Japanese macaques bathe in thermal pools—and is oriented toward the toji (long-stay bathing) tradition rather than the resort leisure experience of the cluster's more famous neighbors. Simple alkaline waters offer the gentle, reliable mineral soak that toji practitioners seek for extended daily immersion over days or weeks, in the unhurried manner that Japanese thermal tradition has always valued above brief visits. Note: Nagano has two springs named Kakuma Onsen—the other being in Ueda City's Sanada-machi, known as a hidden spring of the Sanada warrior clan, near the Kakuma Valley gorge.