Gozu Onsenkyo

Gozu Onsenkyo in Agano City, Niigata Prefecture is a thermal spring cluster at the foot of Mount Gozu comprising three distinct springs — Murasugi Onsen, Imaita Onsen, and Ideyu Onsen — collectively designated as a National Health Resort by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment, a prestigious recognition acknowledging the exceptional quality of the thermal waters found within this cluster at the foot of a mountain whose name means cow's head in the ancient Ainu and pre-Japanese geographical tradition. The three springs that constitute Gozu Onsenkyo together offer the mineral variety that has earned the cluster its national designation, with their sulfate-rich thermal waters providing the distinctive mineral bathing experience associated with volcanic sulfate chemistry in a prefectural landscape of considerable natural beauty along the Agano River. Gozu Onsenkyo's national resort designation, its three-spring mineral diversity, and its position within Niigata Prefecture's richly varied geothermal landscape make it a thermal destination of recognized quality, connecting visitors to one of the few Japanese onsen clusters to have earned formal governmental recognition of their mineral character and environmental significance.