The Power of the Onsen.

It doesn’t get much better than a relaxing day at the hot springs and just recently Koko and I drove nearly 5 hours north for the famous Kurokara Onsen, a quaint little onsen village nestled in the mountains of Kumamoto Prefecture. Named after the river that flows nearby, this onsen village must have had at least 50 different baths to choose from, all of which where unique from the others in town.

So what’s the big deal about the onsen anyways? Well, what it comes down to is that onsen waters are loaded with lots of good stuff like Sulphur, Sodium Chloride, Hydrogen Carbonate and Iron to make you feel better and live longer! And because the onsen water comes from the earth naturally the different minerals and amounts of these minerals vary from one place to the next. Thus, because no two onsen are ever alike, Japanese and the occasional white boy like myself enjoy touring Japan and testing the waters.