Shibu-onsen village

 village, hot spring, onsen, interesting place

- Here is a place you can experience nostalgic Japanese spa town
- Many ryokan hotels have a history more than 400 years
- 2 km from Yudanaka station, 2.5 hours from Tokyo - Travel info
- 5min. to get to the Monkey park by bus (+ Walking path) or 40 min on foot
- there are 35 onsen ryokans along one street + 9 public hot spring bath-houses along the street
what makes unique old japanes hot spring town atmosphere
- Many choices of accommodation depending to your bugget and expectations - from B&B to ryokan
with hot spring bath on your balcony and top quality kaiseki traditional dinner
- 7 temples- Free table tenis available, Sake brewery & tasting,
- Restaurants, Bars, Souvenir shops, Post office with ATM, Information cente.

Shibu Onsen street is a very famous narrow onsen street surrounded with ryokan hotels next to each other and old architecture. People are strolling down the street wearing kimono or yukata and traditional Japanese sandals(geta). They are walking from bath to bath, stopping in souvenir shops or bars. I recommend this to everybody, to be a part of this real japanese atmosphere.

- Come to take Bath to Shibu Onsen after watching Snow Monkeystaking hot bath
- If you don't stay in Shibu Onsen, it's worht to come just for a walk, foot bath or take a public bath. (buy ticket (500yen) in Information Center and you can enter the biggest Oyu bath, which is under the foot bath)
- if the water in public bath is too hot, adjust the temperature with tap water, hot springs here are all natural and really hot.
- Sometimes Snow Monkeys come down to Shibu Onsen to find some food.

Each of the bath-houses have their own stamp.
After taking a bath in each of them you should collect the stamps on a special towel (300yen at your ryokan or souvenir shops). If you take bath in all 9 Bath-houses, it’s said good fortunes will come true such as ‘easy delivery and rise up’, ‘live long and healthy’, ‘talisman against evils’. Therefore those Bath-houses are very popular.

Shibu Onsen was a long time ago called Hirao Onsen. It originated in the year 1303, when priests from temples in Kyoto discovered healing effects of local hot springs and have been coming overe here regulary. The powerful Takeda Shingen leader of Soto sect was using Shibu Onsen's hot springs for healing his men after long battles. In the Edo period (1600 - 1868) Shibu Onsen was used as a relaxation SPA area by Samurais from the Sanada clan. The very famous poet Issa Kobayashi stayed in many ryokans in this area and wrote several poems, which you can see writen on stones around the town.

www.japanican.com/japaninfo/Mesh.aspx?Mesh=200502