The Fall Foliage Has Finally Arrived in Nyuto Hot Spring Area!

In the most recent updates on fall foliage in Tazawako Area, Nyuto Onsen Hot Spring Area is finally reported to have reached its peak!

Nyuto Area is covered with many different kinds of trees: the best known are beech trees, which shows the brightest shades of oranges in this season. The picture of the spectacular view of Kuroyu Onsen embedded in the bright orange and yellow mountains (see below) is probably one of the most published to represent Nyuto Hot Spring Area.



Kuroyu Onsen （黒湯温泉）



Here are some photos of Nyuto Area from last week when it was at the earlier stage of foliage. The foliage has gotten preceded even further by now; Now the leaves are in much more vibrant colors!

"Nyuto Onsen Map"











In the average year, the foliage is expected to arrive from October 11 and 22. The temperature is already so low today that it feels as if it would start to snow any day - not until mid-November. 

Just imagine yourself being soaked in the hot steamy hot spring bath out in the nature! That’s the experience you could have in Nyuto this week!

Taenoyu and Jindai Curry Group at Happinets Game

Last weekend, the Taenoyu family and Jindai Curry promoters gathered at Akita Northern Happinets' home game in Akita City!

Taenoyu Co., Ltd. （妙の湯）is an official team partner of Akita Northern Happinets, a professional basketball team of Akita Prefecture.

Other partners from Tazawako are Yama-no-Hachimitsuya Bee Skep （山のはちみつ屋ビースケップ）, a honey shop near Lake Tazawa, and Tsurunoyu Onsen （鶴の湯温泉）, a 360 year-old hot spring inn in Nyuto Onsen-kyo Area.

Jindai Curry booth at Akita Northern Happinets Game

Jindai Curry　(神代カレー） is one of the booths opened at the home games. Only 100 servings were available on a day! Try this curry plate, which is available at some restaurants in Semboku City (map).

At Happinets games, Jindai Curry is sold in a lunch box (“Jindai Curry Bento”) for 700 yen. It includes two types of curries, some steamed white rice (Jindai-mai), iburigakko (smoked and pickled radish), and an onsen-tamago (half-boiled egg). Jindai Curry retort packages  are available as well. One package with two servings is only 630 yen! It makes a good souvenir.

Taenoyu Group is best known for Taenoyu Onsen, one of the seven Nyuto Onsen inns. Hotel Ischia, also managed by the same company, hosted the team’s New Year’s party in January. Many people who came this day have met the team in person, been impressed by their dedication and friendliness, and agreed to come support the team at a game.

Ms. Kyoko Sato is the famous o-kami san of Taenoyu Onsen.

Akita Northern Happinets played against Takamatsu Five Arrows this day. The Akita team has the largest average number of audiences in Japan! No wonder why, because they had completely entertained us all!

The excitement had made us jump up and down the whole time— especially towards the end of the game, when the team’s victory was becoming certain. At the height of the excitement, the Taenoyu and Jindai Curry group was also giving the team loudest cheers!

With the exuberant feeling of victory, the group reassured the continuous support of the team! Perhaps the Taenoyu and Jindai Group feel connected to the basketball team, because they share the hope to revitalize and cheer up the Akita’s local community.

Taenoyu’s Okami Nationally Awarded!

Taenoyu Onsen (妙乃湯温泉) CEO and okami, Ms. Kyoko Sato (佐藤京子）received 2010’s Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) Commissioner Award!

Photo Courtesy of Sakigake On The Web

According to the Japan Tourism Agency Website, the award is presented to the individuals and organizations that have made outstanding contributions to the development of Japanese tourism industry. The first awarding was held last year 2009, and the second annual awarding ceremony was held yesterday in Tokyo.

Our proud Taenoyu Onsen’s CEO, Ms. Kyoko Sato was among the eight awarded this year. Her contribution to Japan’s inbound tourism is recognized as the most outstanding this year: She hosted the location filming of Korean drama IRIS and triggered the significant number of international travelers to Akita prefecture.

Her company, Taenoyu Group, manages three onsen hotels in Tazawako Area: Taenoyu Onsen (妙乃湯）, Tazawako Hotel Ischia （田沢湖ホテルイスキア）, and Natsuse Onsen （夏瀬温泉都わすれ). For the duration of location shooting in Akita, her company had taken in the crews and actors – 100 of them — which included the featuring Korean actor and also awarded Lee Byung-hun, and provided accommodations and food for free of cost. If it weren’t their contributions, hosting of the filming had not made Akita Prefecture the only area with significantly increased number of inbound tourists.

The Korean drama IRIS had become a great success with breaking record of audience rating in Korea, and it has been viewed in many other countries as well. To entertain the guests, Hotel Ischia had been displaying the filming sets and props, and has become the main IRIS-related attraction here, which resulted in promoting the development of inbound tourism in surrounding regions.

According to Sakigake Newspaper, the awarded included Japanese actor, Mr. Masaharu Fukuyama, and Panasonic’s founder, the late Mr. Konosuke Matsushita. Awarding ceremony was held yesterday, October 20th, 2010, in Kasumigaseki, Tokyo. Lee Byung-hun was not able to attend the ceremony but announced that “As an actor who took a part in IRIS, I am marveled that its filming location had become so widely-known. I wish for Akita Prefecture to become more loved and visited as a global site.”

Japanese Version of IRIS Trailer:



A Day Trip to Taenoyu Onsen

Onsen-kyo (温泉郷）literally means “Onsen Village,” which typically has only one onsen headspring with hotels and lodges built around it, which makes the area relatively small while sharing the same property of water.

Nyuto Onsen （妙乃湯）is unique in that it has 15 headsprings, which allows each inn to occupy at least one or two springs of different quality. That means there is NO Nyuto Onsen in Nyuto Onsen-kyo; instead, there are 7 hot spring inns scattered in the vast area.

Taenoyu Onsen, one of the Nyuto inns,  is known for its sophisticated modern Japanese atmosphere. It is without a doubt one of the most popular hotspring inns in Japan.  Taenoyu Onsen owns two headsprings on its own-- Kin-no-yu （金の湯）and Gin-noyu （銀の湯）, Golden Water and Silver Water.

Taenoyu Onsen

 

The Sendatsu River

The entrance

Upon entering, please remove your shoes.

A beautiful seasonal display.

The front desk. Pay here.

For guests on daytrips: 700 yen to enter. S small towel (300 yen) and a bathtowel (500 yen).

Welcome. An antique phone greets you.

Overnight guests are able to purchase Yumeguri-cho, a book of tickets that allows you to enter 7 different hotsprings in Nyuto area. The book includes fares of multiple rides on Yumeguri-go, the circulating shuttle bus that connects Nyuto inns. It is available for the overnight guests only!!

If you would like to hop around and explore different types of waters in Nyuto, this bus is the most convenient! The book is valid for one year. Considering that entry fees to all the 7 onsens in Nyuto would cost you at least 3,700 yen, this 1,500 ticket book with the bus fares is incredibly reasonable. Don’t forget to ask for it at your hotel.

Since we had a Yumeguri-cho book, which allowed us to enter with no additional charge! After we had it stamped, we were friendly guided to the changing rooms.

Available only at the Nyuto inns.

Yumeguri-cho

Have it stampted!

Every little details of the display is beautiful.

The baths are beyond the curtain.

Red is for woman. Blue is for man. The baths are swapped daily.

A certificate of component analysis made in 1956.

The safety box is located in front of the red and blue curtains.

More certificates to show how authentic and aesthetic this place is.

The changing room.

If you are not familiar with Japaneses customs, this poster might help you know the etiquette in the public bathing area.

Make sure you know it as a courtesy to the others!

Kin-no-yu is named after the reddish brown color—rich in calcium, magnesium, and sulfuric acid—and said to be effective for skin disease and arteriosclerosis.

Kin-no-yu, Golden Water is in this shallow neyu (reclining tub).

 Gin-no-yu is, on the other hand, is clear with no color and categorized as a simple hot spring. It is said to be affective for rheumatism, anemia, and many women’s diseases.

A hotbath called "Taenoyu"

Myoken-no-yu is an outdoor mixed bathing bath. Women can enter with a bathtowel.

As long as the time allows, you can take a long relaxing moment here. You will never get bored with their variety of hot baths (7 in total), especially the outdoor bath with a river flowing alongside. Get soaked up and enjoy as much as you want but make sure you are not boiled up. ;) To ease your thirst, have a drink from the tap-- the spring water is so fresh and mild that it sooths you well.

Located on the hallway. You acn purchase a bottle at the front desk.

You can rest here. Ask them for a cup of tea, if you like.

The resting area is available for daytrippers until 14:30 p.m.

Little drawers full of good souvenirs! Pay at the front.

Okami in a beautiful paiting.

On the hallway a few paintings and photos are displayed. We found a water-color painting from which a illustration of Okami Sembei was taken from. A beautiful painting!

All the onsen inns in Nyuto welcome visitors on an onsen daytrip (higaeri nyuyoku). Remember it is available until a certain time of the day. You are recommended to check the hours and bus schedule and plan ahead!

TO ACCESS:
If you are coming from JR Tazawako Station, take a bus on the Nyuto Line (Nyuto-Sen;乳頭線） and get off at Taenoyu bus-stop.

The inn is located on a corner. Drive carefully.

The bus stop of Ugo-kotsu bus company, Tatsuko-go, and Yumeguri-go.

Yumeguri-go stop.

Yumeguri-go shuttle bus (more like a van, though.)

The parking lot is located 50m up after the Taenoyu building.

TAENOYU ONSEN （妙乃湯）

OPEN HOURS FOR DAY TRIPPERS: 10:00 a.m. -15:00 p.m.

TEL: 0187-46-2740

Recommended Souvenirs: Honey Jams and Okami Crackers

Some loyal fans of Tazawako might have already tried most of the typical souvenirs from Akita, such as kiritanpo, inaniwa udon, sake etc-- they are very delicious and must items but rather ubiquitous in Akita.

Since you are in Tazawako area, you should try something different or bring back something different to impress your friends.

Here  we would like to recommend you other unique options of souvenirs!

Honey Jams from Bee Skep!

Left: Strawberry Jam

Right: Honey and Milk "Jiggly" Jam

You can buy it at a honey shop called Bee Skep near Lake Tazawa! These jams are very tasty! Honeys are lower in calories and less-fattening ;) Highly recommended!

"Akita Bijin no Okami Senbei"

From Hotels of Taenoyu Group

These crackers are not so sweet but the okami is..

Okami, the landlady/master of a Japanese inn, illuarated on the crackers is one of the most acclaimed contributors who brought the filming of Korean drama IRIS to Tazawako Area. She is a petit but an energetic lady who will welcome you in her charming warmness.

She is the head of Taenoyu Onsen, one of the 7 hot spring inna in Nyuto Onsen Area,  in affiliation with Hotel Ischia and Miyako Wasure.  If missed catching her in person for a photo, do not worry-- just get these senbei!! :)