Ikenoyu Hot Spring
onsen
池の湯温泉
Warm, mineral-rich groundwater bubbles up to the surface at Ikenoyu on the eastern shore of Lake Kussharo.
On the eastern shore of Lake Kussharo in eastern Hokkaido, mineral-rich groundwater rises naturally along the shoreline, forming an open-air pool with unobstructed views of the lake and the Kussharo Caldera mountains. The Ainu used the spring for bathing and for softening elm bark to make bast-fiber thread for weaving tunics. The spring's warm mineral water expedited a process that would have taken much longer in cold water. Today the pool is free, open around the clock, and mixed-gender, with simple changing huts alongside. A stone monument near the water commemorates the explorer Matsuura Takeshiro, who visited in 1858 and composed a tanka poem about the view.
Wash thoroughly at the shower stations before entering the bath. This is non-negotiable etiquette. Bring a small towel but keep it out of the water.
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