Yoroushi Onsen

Yoroushi Onsen in Nakashibetsu Town, Hokkaido, takes its name from Ainu language roots (iwor-us-i, meaning the hunting ground place or place where things are dipped in water), preserving in its name the indigenous geographical knowledge of the Ainu people who were the first inhabitants of Hokkaido's extraordinary natural landscape. The spring is famous among connoisseurs of Japan's wild thermal tradition for the free, natural outdoor mixed-bath (konyoku) known as Karamatsu no Yu (Larch Grove Waters), situated among larch trees on a hillside above the main facility—a noyu (wild spring) of the classic Hokkaido frontier tradition where natural volcanic water pools in the open landscape without built facilities. This spring's Ainu-named heritage and wild larch grove bath combine to create a thermal experience that connects modern visitors to both the indigenous geological wisdom of Hokkaido's first inhabitants and the frontier outdoor bathing tradition of Japan's northern frontier island.