A trip to Kinugawa Onsen

At the beginning of my winter break back in December, my girlfriend and I went to Kinugawa Onsen. As you may be able to tell by the name, it is a hot spring resort which is located in Nikko in Tochigi prefecture. To give you an idea, it is about a two-hour train trip from Tokyo. 

This place is a hot spring town, but the sad thing about Kinugawa Onsen is that it used to be much livelier compared to now. Back in the economic boom in the 80s, money was flowing to the extent that even the middle class could afford to spend on luxury - until the 90s hit. Unfortunately, it hit Kinugawa Onsen hard.

While it is not obvious from the central area, you can see many abandoned hotels and buildings as you head away from the city center, and as my girlfriend and I walked from our hotel to the convenience store, you could see them. I was very fascinated about them and wanted to take pictures, but my girlfriend would not let me, citing it was dangerous.

However, from what I have read at the Curious Atlas,  it's not that hard to enter the abandoned hotels, with at least a few people having apparently entered inside to explore Kinugawa Onsen's abandoned buildings.

As I said before, it is about a two hour train trip from Tokyo, and it's not like there aren't other hot springs that are much closer, more popular, or still thriving. However, Kinugawa has many scenic views, and from our hotel room, we had a really nice view of the river. The hotel we were staying had a public onsen, and private baths available for booking. While my girlfriend went to the public onsen first, we booked for the private bath for later in the evening.

The next day, we checked out of our hotel, and had a look around the city center to buy some souvenirs and get some lunch before we headed back to Tokyo. 

I did enjoy the quietness and scenery, and it was nice to take a break from the hustle and bustle of office life in Tokyo, but I can't help but wonder how people can live out there. There were a few convenience stores around, but I could not spot a single supermarket, so I can only assume that people drive the next city over. Being a rural area, if you did plan to live in Kinugawa Onsen, you would definitely need a car to get around. 

If you ever do have a chance to head out to Nikko, I would recommend a one night stay out in Kinugawa Onsen. It is a great change of pace compared to the city of life.