Ureshino Onsen Hot Spring

Information

Surrounded by tea plantations and mountains, Ureshino is such a serene and cosy little spa town, though not as picturesque as some more renowned tourism spots in Japan. There are about 50 small-sized and large Ryokan inns sandwiching the limpid Ureshino-gawa River offering you various choices of Onsen and accommodation that includes Wataya Besso, a traditional Ryokan where Emperor Showa (Hirohito) stayed in 1987.
With a luscious silky and thick consistency in the hot spring water, it is no wonder that Satoshi Fujita, a renowned critic on Japanese hot springs, selected Ureshino Onsen as one of Japan's three great spa towns for beautiful skin, together with Hinokami Onsen in Shimane and Kitsuregawa Onsen in Tochigi.
For getting around the town, renting a bicycle and buying an Onsen ticket booklet (all from its tourism association, right beside Ureshino Onsen Bus Center) is recommended. In the town center, there is a small free footbath called "Siebold-no-Ashiyu (Siebold's Footbath)." It was named after a visit to Ureshino by a German physician Philipp Franz von Siebold during the Edo Period (1603 - 1868).
Ureshino is also famous for Tofu bean curd, and "Onsen Yudofu" is the local specialty of the Ureshino Onsen area. It is a Japanese Tofu hot pot (Yudofu) boiled with hot spring water (Unlike many other hot springs, the hot spring water here is drinkable). The Ureshino's good quality alkaline hot spring water contains salt and carbonic acid. Since the alkaline component in the hot spring water reacts to the protein in Tofu, its texture becomes smooth and mellow. With the hot spring water as the soup base, and using the same water to produce the Tofu, making the whole Tofu dish creamy on the outside yet smooth on the inside. This healthy dish even appeared in the famous Japanese cooking manga, “Oishinbo,” and became a nationally recognized dish. The Ureshino's Tofu is glorified further by “Ureshino Onsen Aki Matsuri (Yudofu Festa)” held in November.
(contributed by JJ)

Opening Hours

• Varies according to the shop / facility

Closed

• Varies according to the shop / facility

Access / Public Transport

• 35 minutes from JR Takeo Onsen Station by the bus bound for Ureshino Onsen or Sonogi Station
• 60 minutes from JR Sasebo Station by the bus bound for Ureshino Onsen Bus Center

Address / Location

• Ureshino Onsen Tourism Association: 2202-55, Ureshinomachi Shimojuku, Ureshino-shi, Saga, 843-0301

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