Yunishigawa Onsen Travel Guide
In Japanese: 湯西川温泉
Prefecture: Tochigi
Closest Train Station: Yunishigawa Onsen Station
Distance from Tokyo: about 3-4 hours one way
Famous Attractions: Yunishigawa Onsen Kamakura (Snow Hut) Festival (every year from late January – late February)
I’m not even sure how I found out about Yunishigawa Onsen anymore.
Sometime last year, around 2am on a weeknight, amidst the iridescent glow of my phone reflecting off my glasses, I must have stumbled upon some sparse click-baity article about snowy weekend destinations from Tokyo.
“BBQ in a kamakura!” かまくらの中でバーベキューしましょう！
That’s probably the title that caught my weary attention.
Kamakura? I had known Kamakura as the seaside tourist town not too far from Tokyo, but why did this photo on the internet show a picture of people BBQing… in an igloo?
As I deep dove into the research abyss, the mystery surrounding these snowy kamakura began to rapidly unfold in front of my sleep-deprived eyes.
Kamakura is also the Japanese word for igloo, snow house, snow hut, whatever you’d like to call it. In this small remote hot spring town located deep within the mountains of Tochigi prefecture, there is a Kamakura Festival every winter. From late January – mid February, Yunishigawa Onsen musters up their best touristic energies to create a town-wide experience for visitors to enjoy the snow huts in a variety of ways.
Being a food fanatic, I became obsessed with the idea of doing what the people in that fated photo were doing: BBQ in a kamakura!
I found out about the festival early January last year, and immediately made moves to book a weekend getaway to Yunishigawa Onsen.
But, with the town being as remote as it is, its size corresponds. Yunishigawa Onsen is a very small onsen town, so by early January 2018, all of the hotels already been booked up for months! Having lived in Japan for a few years, I was reminded also of this very Japanese phenomenon: you must make reservations for anything popular months (a year in some cases!) in advance.
I was absolutely crushed that I wouldn’t be able to experience cooking and eating in a kamakura that year, but I took that energy and immediately created reminders on my phone to book a hotel for the following year. I set a reminder on my phone to book something in October 2018… we wouldn’t be going till February 2019.
This was one of the most challenging trips for me to plan. I had to plan WAY in advance and there wasn’t a lot of useful, updated, or detailed information online in Japanese (let alone English) that made planning this trip straightforward.
I found it difficult to find a comprehensive guide for Yunishigawa Onsen online, so I wanted to make a travel guide that compiled research collected from several websites and my own experience going there into this one (hopefully!) easy to follow guide.
Yunishigawa Onsen Travel Guide
Before You Go
Get There
Get Around
Do
Eat
Stay
Before You Go
If you want to go to Yunishigawa Onsen for the Kamakura Festival, you must book everything in advance, especially during the weekend!
Here are the three things you need to have booked before you go:
- Accommodation (3-6 months in advance)
- Transportation (1 month in advance)
- Kamakura BBQ (a few weeks in advance)
- You can only BBQ in the kamakura by reservation. Every year, the reservations can only be made by telephone reservation and they start accepting reservations a few weeks before the festival begins.
- The reservations get taken VERY quickly. I called to make a reservation the first day the telephone lines were open. I called a few hours after they had opened, and I waited half an hour just to get through. When I finally got through, I took one of the last few weekend slots! Make sure to call ASAP to make a reservation!
Get There
From Tokyo, getting to Yunishigawa Onsen requires taking a train and a bus.
You can either: a) take the train to Kinugawa Onsen Station and then take an hour long bus ride or, b) take the train to Yunishigawa Onsen Station and then take a half hour long bus ride.
The easiest way to get to Yunishigawa Onsen Station is taking the reserved-seating limited express train, Revaty Aizu, from Tobu Asakusa station.
Tobu Asakusa Station –> Yunishigawa Onsen Station
The Revaty Aizu has four departures a day from Tobu Asakusa station.
| Tobu-Asakusa Station (DEPT) | Yunishigawa Onsen Station (ARRV) | |
| Revaty Aizu 101 | 6:30 | 9:45 |
| Revaty Aizu 111 | 9:00 | 11:42 |
| Revaty Aizu 117 | 11:00 | 13:28 |
| Revaty Aizu 129 | 14:30 | 17:01 |
All seats on the limited express train are RESERVED. It is possible to reserve seats on the day of from the station master, but I highly recommend reserving beforehand if you are traveling with others. During the high season (winter) trains can get full up quickly. I didn’t reserve our seats till a week in advance which meant that on the way there, my partner and I had to sit separately!
You can reserve seats from the official Tobu train website which is available in English.
Yunishigawa Onsen Station –> Yunishigawa Onsen
The train arrival times are set up to connect with the bus heading towards the actual town of Yunishigawa Onsen.
These are the bus times from Yunishigawa Onsen Station:
| 8 | 30 |
| 9 | 05 |
| 10 | 05 35 |
| 11 | 00 42 |
| 12 | 55 |
| 13 | 38 |
| 14 | 40 |
| 15 | 27 |
You can check for the updated bus schedule at the official Nikko Kotsu website.
Depending where your hotel is or where you’d like to go, these are the bus stops that will probably be of most interest to you:
| English | Japanese | Comments |
| Yunishigawa Onsen Station | 湯西川温泉駅 | |
| Mizu No Sato Kankou Center Mae | 水の郷観光センター前 | Takes about 15 minutes to get here |
| Yunishigawa Hoikusho Mae | 湯西川保育所前 | |
| Hana to Hana Mae | 花と華前 | |
| Yamashiro Ya Hotel Mae | 山城屋ホテル前 | |
| Heike no Sho Mae | 平家の庄前 | |
| Honke Bankyu Ryokan Mae | 本家伴久旅館前 | |
| Yunishigawa Onsen | 湯西川温泉 | Takes about 30 minutes to get here Terminus station, town hub |
Yunishigawa Onsen –> Yunishigawa Onsen Station
When returning to Tokyo from Yunishigawa Onsen town, these are the bus times going to Yunishigawa Onsen station:
| 9 | 10 40 |
| 10 | 20 50 |
| 11 | 50 |
| 12 | 30 |
| 13 | 00 35 |
| 14 | 13 55 |
| 15 | 30 |
| 16 | 00 55 |
| 17 | 55 |
By the way, I recommend getting to Yunishigawa Onsen Station a bit earlier than when your train is supposed to depart. The station has a lovely michi no eki, a “road side station,” connected to it. At the michi no eki, there is a local farmers market, a cafeteria serving up regional specialties like yuba udon, and there’s even an onsen and free ashi-yu, foot hot spring!
Yunishigawa Onsen Station is also a unique train station as it is located in an underground tunnel, 500m below the surface. You could definitely spend an hour just enjoying the facilities at the station!
Get Around
Once you arrive at the town of Yunishigawa Onsen, you can access most of the tourist attractions on foot. The town is really small and very walkable.
The only place that you cannot access easily on foot would be the Snow Park which is a winter play park for children. That’s on the outer edges of the town that can be accessed by either a 30 – 40 minute walk or just by taking the bus back towards 水の郷観光センター前, Mizu No Kankou Center Mae.
Do
Heike No Sato – Historical Open Air Folk Museum
Yunishigawa Onsen was founded in the 12th century during the Heian period as a hidden enclave for the Taira samurai clan. The Taira clan (also known as the Heike clan) were embroiled in a power struggle with the Minamoto clan (also known as the Genji clan). The Taira clan lost the power struggle and were forced deep to escape deep into the mountains.
The present day location of Yunishigawa Onsen was where the Taira clan decided to set up a hidden village. In order to conceal themselves within the village, strict rules were enacted which are still followed to this day. It was decided that villagers wouldn’t be able to keep chickens (due to their crowing), have bonfires (due to the smoke), or raise koinobori, which are colorful streamers to celebrate Children’s Day, as they would draw attention to the village.
Heike no Sato is an open air folk museum where you can stroll around old-style thatched roof houses and see how the Taira clan would have lived their lives. For the Kamakura Festival, Heike no Sato is the main site for the larger kamakura. They have the large kamakura on display which you can enter and snap a photo with, or if you spend over 1000 yen at the café, you can enjoy local food in a kamakura. They also have a nightly mini kamakura light up event.
Setsubun Festival – February 3rd
In Japan, February 3rd is Setsubun which is traditionally known as the last day of winter and the transition into spring begins. This is one of my favorite special occasions in Japan because it’s full of cute and endearing traditions such as eating a large sushi roll in silence while facing a lucky direction and throwing beans at someone dressed up as a demon all the while yelling: “Demons get out! Good luck come in!”
If you are happen to be visiting Yunishigawa Onsen on February 3rd, you should definitely make time to attend the Setsubun Festival held at Heike no Sato. This year, it was held in the morning around 10:30am.
The Setsubun Festival at Heike no Sato was a enjoyably unique and frightening experience! We were all given plastic bags and before we knew it, the mayhem began. Items were being hurled into the audience. They threw household items like sponges and towels, candy and chips of all sorts, one hundred yen coins wrapped up like bon bons, and balls with special markers indicating a grand prize!
It was 10 minutes of unbridled and animalistic anarchy. Grandmas throwing elbows up, middle aged dads leaping into the air, junior high school students swiftly clamoring the icy ground for the best prizes. At the end of the day, our inexperience showed and these were our spoils of war:
Two whoopee cushions later, I was so happy we were able to get anything and experience the Setsubun Festival. I really recommend trying to come to Yunishigawa Onsen on February 3rd just to experience it!
Strolling the Town
Yunishigawa Onsen is a very small and walkable town! Take time to walk around look at the various snow sculptures and soak in the dreamy small town atmosphere. You might run into an Olaf, a Totoro, and who knows what else!
Mini Kamakura Light Up
At night, after you’ve eaten a tasty dinner, it’s time to head out to see the mini kamakura light up! At the edge of town, along the river, the town’s citizens have sculpted hundreds of mini kamakura and each night, they light each kamakura up one by one.
It’s an absolutely sublime view to see the ocean of mini kamakura twinkling against the backdrop of the dark, mountain sky.
This is one of the highlights of the festival, so it does get a bit crowded, but it shouldn’t be missed!
Eat
Kamakura BBQ
Seeing the photos of people BBQing inside a kamakura is what sparked my obsession with going to Yunishigawa Onsen!
Inside the kamakura, they’ve laid out a large tatami mat so you can sit down in the kamakura without getting icy and wet. They’ve also hooked up a gas BBQ which is where you’ll grill! You’re given a generous tray full of meat and vegetables and let loose to your own BBQ fancies for 50 minutes. You can also buy beer and some local dishes at the stall nearby and bring them into your kamakura.
This is completely unique experience, you’ve have to try it out when you’re in Yunishigawa Onsen!
As I mentioned before, you can only BBQ in the kamakura if you make a reservation by phone at 0288-22-1525. Reservations open several weeks before the festival starts.
You can check when the reservation opens for next year at the Yunishigawa Onsen Kamakura Festival tourism website.
I’d say it’s best to try and make the reservation in Japanese, but perhaps, you could try in English! If you need help making reservations, please drop me a comment and I’ll try to help you figure it out!
Soba Gaki
Aside from the Kamakura BBQ, you can also eat different types of local food in Yunishigawa Onsen. One of the traditional local foods that I was most excited to try was soba gaki.
You may have heard of soba, which is a type of Japanese noodle made from buckwheat flour. Soba gaki is also made from buckwheat flour, and it is known as the purest distillation of enjoying the taste and aroma of the buckwheat. Instead of stretching, kneading, and forming the buckwheat into noodles, soba gaki is the buckwheat flour mixed in with a bit of water to form an elasticy paste which is then boiled in a whole clump.
By eating it in this pure form, it is said that one can truly enjoy how the buckwheat tastes.
You eat it simply with soy sauce and a bit of wasabi. It’s a heavy load of carbohydrate, but it is a unique experience that feels almost primal in it’s simplicity.
The taste might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you are interested in local Japanese food, give soba gaki a try.
Ryokan Meals
We were lucky enough to stay at a really affordable ryokan that also provided dinner and breakfast with the accommodation fee.
The feast that we were given for each meal was beyond my wildest dreams of local kaiseki cuisine. The ingredients used were seasonal, but as the hotel was affordable, it was removed from a realm of pretentiousness. It tasted like a home-cooked feast, sparking a memory of a down-home celebration. Like a birthday, gradution, promotion at work.
Try to grab a ryokan that provides both dinner and breakfast while at Yunishigawa Onsen. I have no doubt that no matter where you stay the food will be amazing.
Stay
If you are going for the Yunishigawa Kamakura Festival which occurs usually from the last weekend in January to late February (the dates change from year to year according to the temperature), you need to book your accommodation in advance.
There are around 20 accommodations in Yunishigawa Onsen town ranging from luxury ryokan, commercial hotels to cozy and down-home minshuku, which is the Japanese equivalent of a family-owned BnB.
I ended up booking a room at 高房ホテル, Takafusa Hotel, which was a wildly affordable ryokan that was also really close to the kamakura event venue. For 7000 yen per person, we were given a spacious Japanese style room overlooking the river. A lavish dinner and breakfast were also included in the fee and they were brought directly to our room. We were also able to use their hot spring bath without any restrictions.
If you are on a budget, I’d recommend Takafusa Hotel. The elderly owners and their family members are really hospitable and kind, but this isn’t a luxury ryokan experience where you are waited on every second. It is a very DIY experience in which you will be left on your own to set up your futon or set up your meal in your room, but there is a sense of freedom in that! You aren’t required to keep a strict ryokan schedule, you’re allowed to relax in your own pace.
If you’ll be in the Tokyo area around late January – late February, consider taking a trip to Yunishigawa Onsen to experience local tourism.
You’ll be able to grab a beer from a stall that’s been kept cool in a mini handmade kamakura cooler.
You’ll see shopkeepers and ryokan staff making often ridiculous snow sculptures in front of you. Some of the snow sculptures aren’t even ridiculous – they are art!
You’ll hear cheesy 1980s Japanese pop music being piped throughout the entire town’s audio system to harken back to some pre-bubble era that is although having never experienced it, infectiously nostalgic!
You’ll be able to experience warm tourism in the deep of winter.
