Ginzan-onsen Hot Spring銀山温泉

Three- and four-story wooden inns along the Ginzan-gawa River. The reflection of the gaslights on the river at sunset and the snow-covered town are stunning sights.

The Ginzan-onsen Hot Spring is located along the Ginzan-gawa River in Obanazawa. This area lies in Yamagata Prefecture and borders neighboring Miyagi Prefecture. Graceful three- and four-story wooden inns stand in rows on both sides of the Ginzan-gawa River, with its steaming crystal clear waters, giving the area an air of a hermitage village. Ginzan, meaning "silver mountain," was so named because of a silver mine discovered there around 500 years ago. This hot spring town makes you feel as though you have strayed off into a movie scene from a Japanese period adventure film.

Shirogane-koen Park, with its promenade at the end of the street lined with inns, is the best course for a relaxed walk after enjoying the hot spring. The park offers many interesting attractions, such as the 22-meter-high Shirogane-no-taki Falls at the entrance, Raion-no-taki Falls upstream, Choja Valley with its monolithic riverbed, and Nobezawa-Ginkodo (silver mine cave) where you can take a 30-minute adventure tour through illuminated mine tunnels.

In 1980, they resumed the production of the evanescently beautiful porcelain Kaminohata-yaki pottery. Legend has it that this pottery was first produced for only 10 years, between 1831 and 1841. This beautiful dark blue porcelain can be found there, and is unique to the Ginzan-onsen Hot Spring.