About Ginzan Onsen
Located in Obanazawa City in the northeastern part of Yamagata Prefecture, Yamayama Onsen is a hot spring resort with a strong traditional Japanese atmosphere. The town is located on both sides of the tranquil Ginyama River, and the three- and four-story wooden inns built from the Taisho era to the early Showa period line both sides of the riverbank. The scenery of the gas lamps reflecting on the river at dusk and the beautiful snowfall in winter in the pavilion has attracted numerous visitors.
Gensan Onsen was discovered during silver mining about 400 years ago, and has been used as a long-term healing hot spring since then, with a long history. The water is milky white with a temperature of 55 degrees Celsius or higher, and is said to be effective in recovering from fatigue, relieving tension, and relieving cold hands and feet. There are footbaths that people can use at their leisure along the hot spring street walkway, and visitors can sit down and enjoy the unique atmosphere of the hot spring street. In addition, the recently opened public bath “Shirayama no Yu” has been well received for its modern design and the mood created by indirect lighting.
Gensan Onsen was the filming location for the popular TV series “Shin” and is not only a hot spring resort but also a well-known tourist attraction where many people visit to find the place where the TV series was filmed.
How to get there
40 minutes by bus from Oishida Station (board a bus bound for Ginzan Onsen and alight at the last stop)
Tips
The view of wooden hot spring inns lining both sides of the Ginzan River is hard to find anywhere else. Some tour groups came just to see the sights. After dinner, we walked around the town in yukata and enjoyed the night view. Before breakfast, we walked to the nearby Silver Mine Cave, which was a good exercise. If you go there, it would be better to wear shoes instead of geta (Japanese clogs) at ryokan because there are slopes and stairs.
