Goshogake Onsen

What to know

Goshogake Onsen (後生掛温泉) is a hot spring resort on the slopes of Mount Hachimantai in Towada-Hachimantai National Park. It features a single ryokan with bathing facilities open to both overnight guests and day visitors for a small fee.

The gender-separated baths include several attractive wooden indoor pools, steam boxes, and an outdoor bath with limited views. There is also a corner where bathers can apply volcanic mud to their skin, and a free foot bath outside.

Behind the ryokan, a volcanically active valley can be explored via a network of scenic walking trails. A two-kilometer circular route passes bubbling mud ponds, hissing sulfur vents, hot water streams, and Oyunuma Pond, a large pool of hot water and mud dotted with miniature mud volcanoes.

About one kilometer from the trailhead, visitors encounter Japan's largest mud volcano, Odoro Volcano. Its gurgling cones stand only one to two meters tall, but the mud extends eight meters deep.

Approximately 1.5 kilometers down the road from Goshogake Onsen lies Onuma Pond, a pretty lake surrounded by a one-kilometer walking path through marshland and forest. For more ambitious hikers, a seven-kilometer trail connects Goshogake Onsen with Tamagawa Onsen via Mount Yakeyama.

Across from Onuma Pond, the Hachimantai Visitor Center offers exhibits and information about the area. Both Onuma Pond and Goshogake Onsen are especially beautiful during fall foliage season, typically peaking in early October.