Kita Shirakawa Radium Onsen

Kita Shirakawa Radium Onsen—North White River Radioactive Spring—is a mildly radioactive (radon-bearing) thermal spring in the Kita Shirakawa district of northern Kyoto City, situated in the forested hills below Mt. Hiei (Hieizan)—the mountain that has been the sacred seat of Tendai Buddhism in Japan since Saicho established the Enryakuji temple complex there in 788 CE, creating a religious institution of extraordinary historical and cultural influence on Japanese Buddhism. The radon-bearing waters reflect the European radium spa tradition that influenced Japanese balneology during the Meiji and Taisho periods, when mildly radioactive mineral springs were classified among the most distinctive spring types within the thermal repertoire. Bathing in radon-bearing spring water in the shadow of Mt. Hiei's ancient Buddhist complex creates a bathing experience that combines a long thermal tradition of radium spa culture with the spiritual weight of one of Japan's most influential sacred mountains.