Kawakami Onsen (Fukushima)

Kawakami Onsen in Fukushima Prefecture—the Upstream Spring—takes its name from its position at the source region of a river system, the upstream location suggesting a spring of particular purity where the water has not yet accumulated the downstream runoff and human influence that characterize lower portions of river valleys, a quality prized in Japan's thermal spring aesthetic tradition of mountain purity and volcanic geological freshness. Sulfurous thermal waters carry the volcanic potency of Fukushima's active geological systems—the prefecture's volcanic landscape, shaped by the Bandai, Azuma, and Adatara volcanic chains, produces springs of considerable mineral intensity across its highland river headwaters. The upstream volcanic setting creates a spring of particular geological and aesthetic character, its waters emerging at the source of the river system from the most volcanically active portion of the watershed.