Shikano Onsen

Shikano Onsen—Deer Field Spring—in Shikano Town, Tottori City, Tottori Prefecture, takes its name from the shikano (deer field), a place historically associated with deer habitat in the mountain landscape of the San'in Coast region, and represents a relatively recently developed hot spring tradition in a valley system that shares its geological drainage with the more established Hamura Onsen downstream. Simple alkaline waters provide the gentle, accessible mineral soak characteristic of Tottori Prefecture's thermal spring tradition within a region defined by the extraordinary landscape of the Tottori Sand Dunes on the Japan Sea coast, the San'in Kinosaki Geopark, and the Mitoku Mountain religious heritage including the dramatically situated Nageiredo cliff temple. The deer field name and relatively recent spring development give Shikano Onsen a quality of emerging pastoral tradition within Tottori's complex thermal spring landscape.