Here’s part two of our trip to Akita Prefecture where our adventure in Semboku continues.
This time, we went to see the deepest lake in Japan, Lake Tazawa or ‘Tazawako’, traveled to one of the most remote onsens in the country, Nyuto Onsen Village ♨️, and soaked in the milky waters of Tsurunoyu Onsen where high-ranking officials during the Edo period used to bathe.
If you haven’t been to Akita and haven’t explored Japan’s countryside yet, I hope this video encourages you to go.
PS. For a better viewing experience, please turn on captions. 👍🏼
#akita #akitaprefecture #semboku #tsurunoyu #onsen #nyutoonsenvillage #deepestlakeinjapan #tazawa #laketazawa #countryside #ruraljapan #tohoku
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🎵MUSIC
Morning Hike by Lindsay Abraham
Pipe Dreaming by Jon Björk
Mountain Spring High by Gabriel Lewis
via EPIDEMIC SOUND
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The deepest lake in Japan is found here in Semboku City, Akita Prefecture. Can you guess what the name is? If you’ve watched Part 1, I mentioned it a couple of times there. Any guess? Alright. It’s… TAZAWAKO To get around Tazawako by bus, you have to ride the Lake Tazawa Circular Line
From Tazawako Station. Tickets are available at the Tourist Information Center and costs JPY1290 each. The bus stops at the Statue of Tatsuko for 20 mins and the Goza-no-ishi Shrine for 10 mins before heading back to the station. It runs three times daily at 10:25AM and 1:25 and 3:25PM. At 423 meters deep,
It’s just impossible for this beautiful caldera lake to freeze. Its depth also gives its gorgeous shades of blue. It’s surrounded by forests and mountains, which are reflected on its waters at daytime. Besides being the deepest lake, Tazawako is known for something else. A mysterious story. Of a dragon,
That is now protecting the lake. Legend has it that a beautiful lady named Tatsuko who’s from a little town of Innai in Akita, had once upon a time asked the goddess of mercy and compassion to give her eternal beauty. The goddess told her to drink some water from a sacred spring
Which Tatsuko did and to the point that she drank so much water that the spring went dry. But instead of her wish being granted, Tatsuko turned into a dragon. Realizing this, she threw herself into the lake out of despair. She’s now believed to be the dragon guardian of Lake Tazawa.
Her statue is 2.3 meters high and is made from bronze but covered in gold coating to protect it from the highly-acidic waters of the lake. Beside it is a modern-style shrine. Our next stop is Goza-no-ishi Shrine, built in 1911 and dedicated to the legend of Tatsuko.
It stands on a big and flat rock called Goza-no-ishi Rock, which is said to be where the second lord of Akita rested while admiring the beauty of the lake. The vermillion-colored torii gate looks absolutely stunning against the calm indigo waters of Tazawako. Just nearby is another statue of Tatsuko,
Where half of her body is that of a dragon. By the way, since this is Japan, don’t forget to go back to the bus on time as it will leave with or without passengers. Or you can just wait for the next bus if you wanna stay longer. So what else can you do
Around Lake Tazawa? It’s 20 km circumference is a popular route for cycling. There’s also a bike rental somewhere around here if you just wanna do some leisure biking. A popular activity that tourists love to do here is riding the Tazawako Pleasure Ferry Boat, which travels across the lake
And slows down at Goza-no-ishi Shrine and Tatsuko Statue so passengers can take photos. The entire trip takes 40 minutes and costs JPY1200 per person. When we arrived at the farmhouse, Okaasan asked if we wanted to go to an onsen – so here we are… Mizusawa has indoor and outdoor baths
With spring water flowing from Mt Akita Komagatake which is a volcanic mountain. Its waters are rich in sulfur and calcium which are good for the body. A table of sumptuous dinner was waiting for us at the farm house. For our last night here, Hatsumi-san and Okaasan prepared a special Akita dish
– kiritanpo nabe. They also served a home-made plum liquor which instantly became our favorite. We’re heading back to Tokyo later today but we won’t leave Akita without bathing at Tsurunoyu Onsen, the oldest onsen in Nyuto Onsen Village. To get to the onsen village, take the Nyuto Bus from Tazawako Station
And get off at Arupa Komakusa, another onsen facility located at the hillside of Mt Akita Komagatake. From here, there’s a Tsurunoyu shuttle that comes to pick up guests. Google Maps won’t show Tsurunoyu’s shuttle bus as an option and will only tell you to take the bus all the way to
Tsurunoyu Onsen Iriguchi Station and no other transpo option is available from this point. Instead, you will need to walk along the curved and narrow road all the way to the onsen which takes around 40 minutes. Nyuto Onsen Village or Nyuto Onsenkyo is a secluded hot spring resort in Akita. It sits at the foot
Of Mt Nyuto which explains the name. It was discovered more than 300 years ago and consists of eight onsen facilities, offering picturesque views of rural Japanese landscape like no other. There’s the oldest and most popular Tsurunoyu Onsen, then you have Yamanoyado, Ganiba, Ogama, Taenoyu, Kyukamura, Magoroku, and Kuroyu Onsen.
The hot spring baths here come from more than 10 water sources around the vicinity and each onsen has different mineral components and quality. And finally, we’re here No radios, no TVs, no loud conversations could be heard as well. Instead, there’s the sound of grinding pebbles under my feet as I walk
And the rhythmic rushing of water which comes from a nearby watermill. You’ll soon realize that this is a perfect place to unplug. There’s also a certain scent drifting in the air, smells like charcoal and is probably coming from the irori. Irori is a traditional Japanese sunken hearth
Where you can cook food and which doubles as heating. Tsurunoyu’s history dates back to mid- 1600s when the second lord of Akita, Satake Yoshitaka, and his vassals would frequent the place. Its name means ‘crane hot spring’. A long time ago, a local hunter was said to have seen a wounded crane,
Or ‘tsuru’ in Japanese, bathing in the waters of the onsen to heal its wounds. This is how Tsurunoyu got its name. This is another lodging for guests. Not all rooms have an irori or private bathroom, by the way. But if I were you, I would take any available room
Because this onsen is extremely difficult to book. In fact, they recommend to do the booking at least *6-8 months in advance. Tsurunoyu has one ‘rotenburo’ or open-air bath, for women and another one for mixed genders. Bathing fee for day trippers is JPY700 per person. Ticket, snacks, drinks, and some souvenirs
Are available at the office. Now, you may ask… how is the bathing experience at this onsen? First, the view is straight out of a dream, no kidding. Imagine a natural pool of silky, milky blue water with a little wooden shed in one corner. Surrounding it are aged wooden lodgings
And structures at the onsen, mountain on the other side, and trees and greens everywhere you look. It’s a paradise, that they say, becomes all the more magical during winter, when everything is covered in powdery snow. The hot spring waters smells like sulfur and it’s very relaxing. It’s like your body and mind
Are being cleansed by dipping into the water. It’s a surreal, beautiful memory you can only etch in your mind because of course, taking photos is strictly prohibited in an onsen. We went back to the farmhouse after our amazing onsen experience. And Okaasan gave us a ride us to Tazawako Station
Where we need to catch the shinkansen bound for Tokyo. After having been to Aomori and Akita Prefectures, I realized that this part of Japan is a little underrated. These prefectures are truly beautiful and there’s so much to see and do within the region of Tohoku. You’re definitely missing a lot
If you only keep coming back for the cityscapes and the usual destinations. Come and visit Tohoku now and you won’t regret it, I promise. I’ll see you in the next video. Bye!
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