Hello, I’m peg fishing
Welcome to Japan Onsen Guide. I’m peg fishing, the author and curator of this site. I’m a Japanese onsen enthusiast who has spent years traveling across Japan to soak in hot springs, meet local innkeepers, and explore the stories behind each town’s healing waters.
While running my main project Fishing Port Navi (全国漁港ナビ), a comprehensive guide to fishing ports across Japan, I often stop by nearby onsen towns. This site grew naturally from those side trips, and I’d like to share these discoveries with international travelers visiting Japan.
About This Site
Japan Onsen Guide is an English-language guide to Japanese hot spring towns, written from the perspective of someone who has actually been there. While I aim for the comprehensiveness of a travel guide, I prioritize the kind of details you can only learn by soaking in the water yourself: the texture of the water on your skin, the subtle minerals you can smell, the warmth of conversation with the inn owner.
I use AI (Anthropic’s Claude) to help draft articles, but every article on this site is reviewed and edited by me, the author. AI handles the organization of factual information; I add the lived experience, opinions, and atmospheric details that only a real visit can capture.
Travel Experience
From bike touring through eastern Hokkaido in the north, where I’d stop at every onsen town I came across, to the famous “beauty waters” of Kyushu in the south, I’ve visited hot spring towns throughout Japan.
Some of the most memorable include:
- Ginzan Onsen (銀山温泉) — A picturesque Taisho-era hot spring town in Yamagata Prefecture, famous for its gas-lit wooden ryokan facades and a snowy winter atmosphere straight out of a Studio Ghibli film.
- Kurokawa Onsen (黒川温泉) — A riverside onsen town in Kumamoto Prefecture (Kyushu), known for its preserved traditional landscape and the popular “Nyuto Tegata” pass for sampling multiple ryokan baths.
- Hanayama Onsen (花山温泉) — A historic onsen in Wakayama Prefecture, prized for its rare, mineral-rich, brownish-yellow water with one of Japan’s highest mineral concentrations.
My Approach to Coverage
- Always bathe: I experience the water firsthand at every site, whether at a public bath, day-trip facility, or as an overnight guest.
- Eat the local cuisine: I sample regional specialties at local restaurants.
- Listen to history: I talk with innkeepers and locals about the history of the springs.
- Document with photos: I take photos at every site to convey the atmosphere.
For International Travelers
This site is written for visitors from outside Japan. I pay special attention to: tattoo policies, cash vs. card acceptance, Wi-Fi availability, vegetarian/vegan options, and accessibility from major travel hubs.
Contact
For inquiries, recommendations, or general questions, please reach out via email:
soshockhori@gmail.com
Sister Site
I also operate a Japanese-language sister site, 温泉巡りNavi by つりぴだ. The same onsen towns are covered in both languages.