The charm of unremarkable places
A weekend at Kawafuru Onsen
Dear readers, over the past few weeks, several fellow Japan-based Substackers have published stories about onsen (hot springs). By sheer coincidence, I ended up spending a long weekend at one myself, so here's a photo report from my stay.
I’ve never been particularly fond of hot springs, for two reasons. First, they’re usually too hot for me. Second, I quickly get bored soaking on my own while my wife is enjoying herself with the other women on the other side of the wall.
But she loves onsen, and this time she insisted I would enjoy it too.
About 30 years ago, she spent a week at Kawafuru Onsen, in Gunma Prefecture. Gunma is home to some of Japan’s most famous hot springs, and Kawafuru isn’t one of them. It’s tucked away in the mountains, there is almost nothing to do in the surrounding area, and - crucially, as far as I’m concerned - the water is relatively cool by Japanese standards, at around 39°C.
When we arrived at Kogan Station we were welcomed by a couple of swallows that had built their nest near the restrooms.
The place was quite rundown and reminded me of a slightly modern version of the hot spring villages manga artist Tsuge Yoshiharu used to visit and write about in the 1970s.
We next took a bus, crossing the Tone-gawa, Japan’s second longest river. The sky kept threatening rain, but luckily, during our three-day stay, it rained very little.
The owner met us at the Yasumiishi bus stop and took us by car to his hotel, Kawafuru Onsen Hamaya Ryokan.
It isn't the sort of place that ends up in glossy travel magazines, and that's part of its charm. Not being famous also means that it doesn’t attract many people. I’m sorry for the owner, but for us it was the perfect place to spend a relaxing weekend.
The older I get, the less interested I am in famous places. In this respect, Kawafuru’s greatest luxury isn't the water but the silence.
We arrived on a Friday, and we were literally the only guests there. We had both the indoor kon’yoku onsen (mixed bathing onsen) and rotenburo all for ourselves.
On Saturday morning we walked around the hotel, following the riverside paths and venturing inside the forest.
All the houses in the area are now abandoned, which gives the place an eerie feeling.
My wife spent most of her time submerged in the hot spring, while I immersed myself in a stack of long-overdue reading. Over a couple of blissfully lazy afternoons, I revisited the works of Nagai Kafu and Higuchi Ichiyo and read a biographical essay on Matsuo Basho.
On Sunday morning we checked out and made the slow trek back home.
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Onsens don't really do it for me, but you make this quiet getaway sound very attractive in its unremarkable way. Thank you for the relaxing and cooling photos too.
Wait a sec. I’m no fan either of scalding baths but 39C? That’s like hand washing temp. You sure??
Great photos by the way. I can feel the surroundings.