Kinugawa Onsen (鬼怒川温泉)

 town, resort, spa resort, onsen

A well-known onsen town

Unfortunately, the beautiful valley of Kinugawa river is spoiled by dosens of concrete boxes of hotels. Those hotels are very comfortable, though (and costly too).

Kinugawa Onsen (鬼怒川温泉) is a hot spring resort in the city of Nikkō, Tochigi, Japan. The place is named after the Kinugawa River (lit. "angry demon river"), which flows through it.

Located two hours by train from Tokyo, hot springs were first found in the area in the early Meiji period. The area was extensively developed for tourism in the 1970s, but has since experienced severe economic difficulties after a downturn caused by the 1990s recession. However, in 2008 the city's tourism industry received a boost as high car and airplane fuel costs have caused travelers to seek tourist destinations more easily reachable by train, such as the Kinugawa onsen.

Within 8-minute walking distance from Kinugawa is the Tobu World Square which boasts 102 exquisitely crafted 1:25 scale model of the most famous, UNESCO-designated World Cultural and Heritage Sites, complete with 140,000 1:25 miniature people.

wikitravel.org/en/Kinugawa