Gero Hot Springs

Here we are driving through the picturesque countryside of Gifu prefecture in central Japan. We are on our way to a small, yet famous town called Gero.

Being volcanically active, Japan has many hot springs scattered throughout the country. At last count there were approx 150 hot springs with 14000 or so individual springs.

A hot spring is hot water that is produced by geothermal-heated groundwater from the earth's crust. In Japan, when this water is tapped and directed into a large bath or spa area it is called an “onsen”.

Gero is a small town located deep in the mountain region of Gifu prefecture in central Japan. It has been a noted  hot-spring center since the 10th century  and is one of the top three hot spring locations in Japan as judged by Edo Period (1603-1867) Confucian poet Razan Hayashi.

It is located  in a beautiful valley beside the Hida River, and as many as one million tourists visit the area each year. Tourists main objective is to relax in, and enjoy “onsens” in any one of the towns many Japanese style inns called Ryokans. Ryokans are either built on or near a hot spring where hot water is channelled into the various styled onsens.

Onsens are generally divided between men and women and can be outside (called rotemburo) or inside depending on the ryokan’s location.

A typical large size ryokan can accommodate several hundred people and the nightly fee usually includes dinner and breakfast plus unlimited access to the onsens. Bigger ryokans have several onsens of different sizes and styles, both indoors and outdoors. Some even have normal outside pools for guests entertainment during the hot summer months.

In 1974 Gero council formed a committee and decided to protect the source of  Hot Springs and set a central administration to oversee the supply. Nowadays this administrative body provides the hot springs to each ryokan at 55 degrees celsius.

Now let’s have a look at the onsen in more detail.

When you first walk into a typical onsen the first area you come to is the changing room. Here you undress and put your clothes and bath towel into one of the lockers or baskets provided. It is generally not recommended to bring valuables into an onsen unless you know that there are lockable lockers, but rather leave them in a safe deposit box in your room or with hotel reception.

After changing you make you way into the onsen with your small hand towel which you can use for a degree of privacy. Once in the main bathing area the first thing to do is to pull up a stool in any one of the surrounding showers and have a thorough wash. Soap, shampoo, condition, shaving equipment and awash bowl are all provided so the protocol is to be fully clean and refreshed before entering the water.

Most onsens like this one have a variety of baths and may even include a sauna. You can use the small hand towel for privacy whilst moving around inside the onsen but everyone enters the water naked.

Water temperatures in the baths are usually between 40 to 44 degrees Celsius so many non-Japanese may find this temperature excessively hot. If this is the case, enter the baths slowly and rotate between hot and cold baths. 
Many onsens have water pumped in at a height acting like a small waterfall which can be used to massage your shoulders, back or legs

Depending on the spring, different minerals are sometimes dissolved in the water giving it different health benefits, colors and smells. Many hot springs contain sulfur and have a slight sulfur odor

Baths are made from concrete, stone or wood, others are built to resemble or are actually natural hot spring pools. Some outdoor baths have fantastic views.

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