Known by many as the quintessential hot spring (onsen) town in Japan, Kurokawa Onsen has long attracted tourists from all over the country and beyond. The charming small town, surrounded by hills and split in two parts by a river (Kurokawa), offers a side of Japan that is increasingly difficult to find. There, the neon signs, combinis (convenience stores), and noise that pervade any sizeable Japanese tourist attraction are nowhere to be found. Instead, visitors have the rare opportunity to walk undisturbed along quiet streets surrounded by dozens of traditional Japanese style inns, restaurants and hot springs.
Among such a wide variety of hot springs, one particularly stands out and should not be missed by any onsen lover. Located at the edge of town, a few minutes walk from the main roads, Okunoyu has a wonderful riverside hot spring where one can spend hours immersed in its soothing waters, surrounded by nature.
Okunoyu is also one of the few inns in Kurokawa that includes a mixed hot bath. When stepping in the bath area, men and women are first separated by a wall in a small wooden house no different than those that are found in any other hot spring. However, behind this house is where the mixed bath and the real attraction start. Set in an tranquil forested area, guests first get into a large rock-lined pool, part of which is covered by a wooden roof. In a corner of the pool, one can also access a small grotto pool, an ideal place to relax away from the main common area. As people tend to linger in the main pool, the grotto seems most of the time like a private space, perfect for couples.
What is perhaps the best part of the onsen can easily be missed by the guests. From the right side of the main pool, a short inclined path runs alongside the river below and leads to a smaller pool. There, surrounded by the forest and meters away from the river, away from the eyes of the bathers in the main pool, it is easy to lose track of time, while away the minutes, and revel in the most relaxing of settings.
