Hijiori Onsen Riverside Hot Springs

A Thousand-Year Hot-Spring Village

Hijiori Onsen is one of Japan's most historic hot-spring resorts, said to have been discovered in the year 807. The village sits at the bottom of a rare volcanic caldera, giving it a uniquely sheltered, bowl-shaped setting deep in Okura, a village in the mountains of northern Yamagata.

The Domae River & Ryokan Streetscape

The camera looks out over the Domae River as it flows past the weathered wooden inns, bathhouses and shops that line both banks. The tightly packed traditional architecture and the rushing water give the scene its distinctive, timeless character.

A Living Onsen Tradition

Bathers have soaked in Hijiori's mineral-rich waters for over twelve centuries, and the village still hosts a lively morning market along its main street. The surrounding forested peaks of the caldera rim complete a quintessentially rural Japanese mountain retreat.