Ginzan Onsen is Ideal Both for Casual Day Trips and Relaxing Overnight Stays
Ginzan Hot Spring is so famous because the area prospered as a large silver mine (or ginzan, in Japanese) in the early Edo period. Quaint wooden inns line the banks of the Ginzan River, which flows through the center of the hot springs town. Ginzan Hot Spring is said to have been the model for the animated film, “Spirited Away.”
Ginzan Hot Springs (or “Onsen”) is around 1 – 2 hours’ drive from Sendai, or around 3 hours by train. The area offers everything from liberating open-air hot springs that allow you to enjoy Ginzan’s nature, retro hot springs that are a century old, and even a modern public bath house designed by the famous architect KUMA Kengo. These various hot springs can be enjoyed during a casual day trip or leisurely overnight stay. The hot spring town has cozy cafes and restaurants, as well as walking paths that take you to a silver mine and Shirogane Falls.
① Ginzan-so
Ginzanso is a ryokan inn surrounded by nature where you can enjoy beautiful scenery while bathing in an open-air hot spring.
This ryokan’s appeal is that you can enjoy Japan’s unique four seasons – new greenery in spring, colored leaves in autumn, and snow-covered landscape in winter – while soaking in their baths.
There is also a shallow outdoor bath designed to lie down, in which you can experience the warmth of the wooden material of the bathtub.
| Address | 85 Ginzan Shinhata, Obanazawa-shi, Yamagata-ken |
| Opening hours | Hot spring hours for day trippers 10:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. (cut-off for reception) |
| Closed | Thursdays |
| Price | 1,000 yen for entry to hot spring as day tripper *tax inclusive |
② Kosekiya Annex
This ryokan inn is older than most in the Ginzan Onsen resort, with a retro façade that preserves the original wooden architecture from a hundred years ago.
Here you can enjoy bathing in hot springs while also experiencing the extraordinary feeling of traveling back in time to old Japan.
| Address | 417 Ginzan Shinhata, Obanazawa-shi, Yamagata-ken |
| Opening hours | Hot spring hours for day trippers 11:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. (cut-off for reception) |
| Closed | Irregular days |
| Price | 700 yen for entry to hot spring as day tripper *tax inclusive |
③ Onyado Yanadaya
This homey hot spring accommodates only four groups of guests per day.
During off hours, you can even lock the door for a private hot spring experience.
| Address | 416 Ginzan Shinhata, Obanazawa-shi, Yamagata-ken |
| Opening hours | Reservation-based |
| Closed | Irregular days |
| Price | Please inquire |
