Matsushiro Onsen

Matsushiro Onsen has been used for bathing for hundreds of years, and carries a local association with Takeda Shingen, the sixteenth-century warlord whose forces fought the Battles of Kawanakajima nearby. Legend holds that his samurai soaked here to recover between campaigns, earning it the nickname Takeda Shingen's secret hot spring. The water is colorless underground but turns a golden color at the surface as iron reacts with oxygen, leaving layers of orange mineral residue in the baths. The government-run resort Matsushiro-so, built in the style of a traditional one-story samurai house, offers both overnight stays and day bathing.