Kinugawa-onsen Hot Springs / Oku-Kinu鬼怒川温泉・奥鬼怒

A fascinating adventure awaits, searching for the hideaway "secret spas" in this pleasant hot spring town.

Kinugawa-onsen Hot Spring is located along the river valley that lies between Mt. O-hinata-yama and Mt. Shaka-ga-take, on the upper stream of the Kinu-gawa River that runs through the central part of Tochigi. Those resorts form a town and it has been 300 years since the first spa opened. The scene of the valley changes its color by azaleas in spring and red leaves in autumn.

Ryu-o-kyo Valley stretches for about 3 kilometers between Kinugawa-onsen and Kawaji-onsen Hot Spring further up the river and is provided with Ryu-o-kyo-shizen-kenkyu-ro (the nature searching path) along which you can take a walk and enjoy the grand scenery at the same time. You can also take a 40-minute boat ride down the fast-flowing part of the Kinu-gawa River and take a look at the 100-meter high cliffs. The sight is especially popular among tourists when leaves put on their autumn colors.

Oku-Kinu is the general term for all the hot springs scattered all over the head-spring zone of Kinu-gawa River at the southeast of Mt. Kinu-numa-yama. Hot springs such as Hatcho-no-yu, Kani-yu, Tejiro-zawa, Kawamata stud the area and called "the home of secret spas." Surrounded by forty-eight bogs of various sizes, Oku-kinu-shizen-kenkyu-ro is the place to feast your eyes on the alpine plants that come out in the marshland.