Sugatani Onsen

Sugatani Onsen—Figure Valley Spring or Form Valley Spring—in Shiga Prefecture takes its name from the sugatani, a valley whose contours or form create a distinctive visual impression from above or from within—a valley of particular shapeliness whose topographic character the Japanese eye appreciates as an aesthetic as well as a geographical feature. Simple alkaline waters provide the gentle, skin-softening mineral soak that complements Shiga Prefecture's exceptional natural heritage—a prefecture that encircles Lake Biwa, Japan's largest and most biodiverse freshwater lake, whose watershed connects the mountains that feed Sugatani's spring to the vast lowland water body that defines Shiga's entire geographical identity. The figure valley name gives this spring a topographic aesthetic character that connects the appreciation of landscape form to the experience of mineral bathing in one of Japan's most lake-defined prefectures.