YUMURA ONSEN

Yumura is a city of onsen whose history dates back more than 1,150 years ago. Legend says that these onsen were discovered in 848 by the monk Jikaku Daishi, one of the great patriarchs at Tendai School. The best way to discover this small village and go walking. We'll start down to the Haruki River crossing the city. On the edges of this one, you can soak up your feet in hot baths at 40 ° C (don't forget to bring your towel to wipe your feet). Along the river, there will also be about fifty hand prints, left by Japanese celebrities. A little higher, you can buy raw eggs to cook a dozen minutes in the onsen boiling water. This is where the source (arayu) of these onsen lies. The water that comes out has a temperature of 98 ° C. It's Japan's hottest onsen and 470 liters per minute. In the houses of the city, we can still find close to three faucets: one for cold water, one for hot water and one for onsen. Bowls are available to drink a sieve of this water, rich in meta-silicic acid and soda bicarbonate. On the other side of the bridge crossing the river is a statue representing Sayuri Yoshinaga. This Japanese actress played the main role of Yumechiyo Nikki drama (The Journal of Yumechiyo) of NHK, whose three seasons were toured from 1981 to 1984 in Yumura, making the city known to the general public. A small museum reproduces the drama of the drama and presents accessories used during the shooting. On the second floor, photos of time and objects reflecting the history of Yumura are exhibited (open daily from 9 a. m. to 6 p. m., 300 ¥ for adults and 150 ¥ for my schoolchildren and the college). In the evening, you should not miss to look to the hills to see the kanji yume (dream) illuminate 5 minutes at the passage of each hour, from the night down.