Dig Into the Roots of Wakura

The Souyu Bathhouse sits in the middle of the Wakura Onsen grounds──

Currently in its 7th incarnation, the first building was built in 1899 and, over the span of 100 years, was rebuilt 7 times. This can only be attributed to the nature of Wakura Onsen itself.

Wakura Onsen is known for two major characteristics. First is the fact that the water, which reaches 90℃ or 194°F, is hot enough to boil “onsen tamago,” or eggs boiled in the minerals of onsen water. The second is the fact that due to the high concentration of salt in the waters, the eggs themselves become salty. The baths in Wakura actually have the 4th highest concentration of salt in all of the onsen in Japan.

In any case, the fact that the current building is in its 7th incarnation shows how easily its facilities could be damaged. If this is the case now, it must have been even more difficult in the past seeing as the history of Wakura Onsen dates back over 1200 years.

Let’s jump headfirst into the onsen town of Wakura Onsen.