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Yamashiro Onsen Hot Spring Kosoyu

Experience the culture of Yamashiro Onsen at this Experience-oriented hot spring museum.

This hot spring Property is a restored hot spring community bathhouse from the Meiji era. The floor and walls of the bathroom are decorated with Kutani Yaki tiles, each hand-painted by a local artist, faithfully reproducing the original patterns. The combination of wiped lacquer walls and stained glass is also retro-modern, and visitors can enjoy bathing in a space filled with brightly colored light. The hot spring water is hot, as it is made from the same source as in the past. There is no washing area in the bathroom, and the proper way to bathe is to pour hot water over yourself and soak in the bathtub.

Rest area with a great view to relax after taking a bath

Yamashiro Hot Spring boasts a history of approximately 1,300 years, and the townscape called "Yunogawa," where ryokans and stores are lined up around the "Ko-so-yu" still remains today. On the second floor of the Ko-so-yu is a rest area with tatami mats, where visitors can relax and enjoy the view of the hot spring townscape. The exterior of the building also recreates the atmosphere of those days, and is lit up at night to create a fantastic atmosphere. Just across the street is So-yu, a public bathhouse that has long been a favorite of the locals.

Yamashiro hot spring Kosoyu

• 18-128 Yamashiroonsen, Kaga, Ishikawa MAP
• 12 minutes by car from JR Kaga Onsen Station
• Take a bus from JR Kaga Onsen Station, get off at Yamashiro Onsen Bus Stop, and walk about 3 minutes.
• 6:00-22:00, from 12:00 on the 4th Wed.
• 6:00-12:00 on the 4th Wed.
• Adults (12 years old and up) 500 yen, 6 to 12 years old 200 yen, 3 to 6 years old 100 yen, under 3 years old free *Free for guests of Hoshino Resorts KAI Kaga
• 0761-76-0144
• Free of charge

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Ishikawa Kutani Pottery Museum

Kutani ware appreciation in a space where aesthetics come alive

The museum exhibits works of "Ko-Kutani," colored porcelain with a tradition of about 360 years, and other works by potters and other artisans who have inherited the style. The permanent exhibition rooms are divided by overglaze enameling style, such as "Aote no Ma," "Iroe/Gosai no Ma," and "Akae/Kinran no Ma," allowing visitors to enjoy the different world of Kutani-yaki painting. In addition, works by contemporary Kutani-yaki artists are also worth seeing.
In addition, natural materials such as wood, earth, and stone are used in the museum, and the building itself is like an art space, with clay walls by plasterers and lacquered wood.

A relaxing museum with a garden and teahouse

The museum is located in the "Old Kutani Woods Water Park," a garden museum where visitors can take a stroll, and on the second floor there is a teahouse where visitors can enjoy tea in Kutani ware and a gallery featuring Kaga artists. The museum store sells original goods as well as pottery created by contemporary Kutani artists.
The museum also offers guided tours by curators and interpreters. The tours take 30-60 minutes and can be taken by one person or more. A stop at the museum at the beginning of your trip will deepen your knowledge and make your meals at restaurants and inns that use Kutani ware even more enjoyable.

Ishikawa Kutani Pottery Museum

• 1-10-13 Daishojijikata-cho, Kaga City, Ishikawa Prefecture MAP
• 8 min. walk from JR Daishoji Station
• 9:00-17:00 (last admission at 16:30)
• Mondays (open if Monday is a national holiday)
• Adults 560 yen, seniors 75 and over 280 yen, high school students and younger free
• 0761-72-7466
• Free of charge
• Guided tours are free, advance reservations required

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Tsurusenkei (Kakusenkei)

A scenic valley representing Hokuriku

Yamanaka Hot Spring boasts a history of approximately 1,300 years. In the middle of the Daishoji River that runs alongside the hot spring resort is the beautiful, nature-rich valley of "Tsurusenkei. The 1.3-km section from the Korogibashi Bridge upstream to the Kurotani Bridge offers seasonal views as you walk along the promenade.
It is also famous for its autumn foliage, which begins to change color in early November and is at its best in mid-November. The autumn leaves and the "Korogibashi Bridge," which is made entirely of cypress, are especially worth seeing.

Spend a relaxing time at a riverside restaurant

From April 1 to November 30 every year, "Kawadoko" (riverbeds) open at the foot of "Ayatohashi" bridge. Visitors can enjoy elegant sweet treats in a tasteful tatami room space with red umbrellas. In addition, restaurants in Yamanaka hot spring resort offer kawadoko lunch boxes upon reservation, so we recommend taking them out and enjoying them on the kawadoko (seating fee required) or anywhere else you like.
In addition, there are many other attractions along the valley, such as "MUGEN-AN," a samurai residence where Kutani ware and works by Korin Ogata are displayed, and "Basho-do," a temple dedicated to Matsuo Basho. This is a spot where you can spend half a day to take a leisurely stroll.

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Yuge Kaido (Yuge Road)

The main street of Yamanaka hot spring where you can find local gourmet foods and specialties.

This is the main street of Yamanaka Hot Spring, a 600-meter-long street connecting So-yu "Kiku-no-yu" and the "Koorogibashi Bridge" area. There are many Dining Areas and cafes, as well as gallery stores selling Yamanaka lacquerware and Kutani ware, where visitors can enjoy shopping and eating. In front of "Kiku-no-yu," there is a "boiling place" where the hot spring water of Yamanaka Onsen flows into, and visitors can Experience making hot spring eggs. It is recommended to take a footbath while waiting for the eggs to boil. In the center of the street is the Hasebe Shrine, dedicated to the founder of Yamanaka Hot Spring, with its atmospheric shrine pavilions set amidst the greenery.

Crab soup in a large pot" is available only in winter!

Every year from November 1 to March 31, a special winter event at Yamanaka Onsen is held: the serving of a large pot of crab soup, a specialty of Yamanaka Onsen. The "crab soup cauldron" supervised by a famous Japanese chef from Yamanaka Hot Spring appears in front of the Yamanaka-za Restaurant near Kikuno-yu. The crab soup is served in Yamanaka lacquerware and includes local vegetables and sweet shrimp to warm your body and soul. Hours are from 10:00 to 13:00, and it ends when it is sold out, so getting there early is recommended.

Yuge Road

• Yamanaka Onsen Minami-cho, Kaga City, Ishikawa Prefecture MAP
• Approximately 20 minutes from JR Kaga Onsen Station by car.
• Take a bus from JR Kaga Onsen Station, get off at Yamanaka Onsen Bus Terminal and walk about 8 minutes.
• Varies depending on the store.
• Varies depending on the store
• 0761-78-0330（Yamanaka Onsen Tourist Association)
• Free (Free Parking for tourists, Korogibashi Parking Lot, etc.)

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Kayano Oosugi

The natural monument "Oosugi" cedar boasts an overwhelming presence.

Kayano Osugi, a sacred cedar, is 2,300 years old and is designated as a national natural monument. The trunk is 11.5 m in circumference and 54.8 m in height, and when viewed from directly below, the cedar fills the entire field of vision with greenery and is a powerful sight to behold.
The other three cedars in the precincts are also huge trees designated as natural monuments by Ishikawa Prefecture under the name "Sugawara Shrine's Big Cedar. The precincts of the shrine are shrouded in a dense atmosphere. A cypress floating bridge connects the approach between the torii gate and the main shrine building, allowing visitors to view the cedars up close without damaging them.
After visiting the shrine, it is recommended to taste the famous Kayano Osugi Tea House (closed from December 11 to mid-April) across the street from the shrine for its specialty, Kusadango (grass dumplings).

Kayano Oosugi

• 10-1 Kayano-cho, Yamanaka Onsen hot spring, Kaga City, Ishikawa Prefecture MAP
• Approximately 20 minutes from JR Kaga Onsen Station by car.
• Take a bus from JR Kaga Onsen Station, get off at "Kayano" bus stop, and walk about 2 minutes.
• 0761-78-0330（Yamanaka Onsen Tourist Association)
• Free of charge

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Iroha Souan, the fabled residence of Rosanjin

Visit the precious building where Rosanjin lived for six months

Kitaoji Rosanjin was an artist who mastered a wide range of fields, from calligraphy to seal engraving, painting, ceramics, and cooking. This is where he lived for about six months from the fall of 1915, when he visited Yamashiro Hot Spring under the name of Taikan Fukuda. The atmospheric building is a former villa of "Yoshinoya Ryokan," and the two-story wooden main building with tiled roof was built in the early Meiji period. The main building and storehouse were connected by a lobby to create the present form.
The lobby with large windows provides a space to view the garden. Visitors can spend a relaxing time while enjoying Kaga stick tea.

Highlights include exhibits and spaces that give a glimpse of life in those days

The villa was a kind of cultural salon, and the sunken hearth room and tea ceremony room that served as its setting have been preserved as they were in those days. In the workroom, a writing desk and a celadon brazier that Rosanjin actually used are on display, giving visitors a sense of his daily life. The storehouse is open to the public as an exhibition room, where a number of works, including an engraved signboard of "Yoshinoya" carved by Rosanjin, are on permanent display. In addition, visitors can enjoy Rosanjin's view of the world outside the building as well, such as the stone-paved approach to the "Hoshioka Saryo" restaurant that Rosanjin opened in Kitakamakura, and the stone monument.

Rozanjin Foyu Ato Iroha Souan (Aloe Hermitage)

• 18-5 Yamashiro Onsen, Kaga City, Ishikawa Prefecture MAP
• Approximately 14 minutes from JR Kaga Onsen Station by car.
• Take a bus from JR Kaga Onsen Station, get off at Yamashiro Onsen West Exit, and walk about 3 minutes.
• 9ː00～17:00 (last admission at 16:30)
• Wednesdays (open if Wednesday is a national holiday)
• Adults 560 yen, seniors 75 and over 280 yen, high school students and younger free
• 0761-77-7111
• Free of charge

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Natadera Temple

Take a stroll in the rich natural surroundings dotted with nationally important cultural properties

The temple was founded in 717 by Taicho, a monk from Echizen. After passing through the temple gate, an approach straight ahead, surrounded by a forest of cedar and camellia trees, leads to a spacious precinct dotted with seven buildings designated as National Important Cultural Properties and a garden designated as a place of scenic beauty. The main shrine is located in a rock cave and enshrines the main deity, the eleven-faced thousand-armed Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva. This is because of the teachings of Jnenchi, which is to worship the sacred mountain Hakusan and pay respect to nature. It has been believed that by walking through the "iwaya-tainai-kuguri," which is a passage around the rock cave in the main shrine, one can be reborn anew and purify one's sins.

Enjoy the magnificent scenery of oddly shaped rocks

Nayanji Temple is listed in the "Michelin Green Guide Japon," which rates tourist destinations with rich nature and diverse culture, and its dynamic scenery is also a highlight. Visitors can experience the mystery of nature at "Kiiwa Yusenkyo," where an Inari shrine is enshrined halfway up a strange rocky hillside, and "Sansonseki," a rock formation divided into three parts that resemble the three Amitabha deities. In autumn, it is a popular spot for viewing the autumn leaves. The Fumonkaku (temple building) near the temple gate houses a museum of treasures and a store where you can buy sesame tofu, a specialty of Naya-dera Temple.

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Kaga Traditional Craft Village Yunokuni no Mori

A theme park of traditional crafts where you can have a variety of Experiences

The Traditional Craft Village offers more than 50 different Experiences in 11 pavilions from several old minka buildings that have been relocated. Visitors can create their own unique works of art, such as Wajima lacquerware, Kaga yuzen, Kutani ware, and gold leaf, while being taught by expert craftsmen and Staff/staff members. Another attraction is the opportunity to experience authentic traditional techniques, such as chinkin (gold leaf and gold powder embedded in chopsticks and soup bowls). For women, the Fragrance Bag Experience, in which visitors mix fragrances by combining fragrant woods, is very popular. Visitors can take home all the pieces they make, and those that take longer to finish can have them sent to them (postage not included).

Stroll through a peaceful village of old houses

The Yunokuni Forest boasts an area of 130,000 tsubo (about 1.5 acres), and old thatched houses from the Edo and Meiji periods have been relocated to this lush forest. The village also has a wide variety of restaurants where visitors can enjoy Hokuriku specialties such as seafood, Echizen soba noodles, and Komatsu udon noodles. Visitors can enjoy matcha (powdered green tea) and sweet dishes at Hojoan, a tea house built in the middle of the Edo period. In addition, visitors can enjoy the atmosphere of the "Kutani Ware Tea Bowl Festival" at the store, where a wide variety of ceramics are displayed. Just walking around the village, where seasonal flowers and plants are in full bloom, is a relaxing experience. Small dogs are allowed in the village, making it an ideal spot for an outing with your pet.

Kaga Traditional Craft Village Yunokuni no Mori

• Nah-3-3, Awazu hot spring, Komatsu City, Ishikawa Prefecture MAP
• 10 min. by car from JR Awazu Station
• From JR Awazu Station, take a excursion bus. 2 min. walk from Baba bus stop.
• 9:00-16:30 (last admission at 15:30)
• Temporary closing is available (see website for details)
• Adults 550 yen, junior high and high school students 440 yen, 4 years old and up 330 yen
• 0761-65-3456
• Free of charge

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Hoshino Resorts KAI Kaga

Immerse yourself in Kaga culture at a historic hot spring resort

Located in Yamashiro-onsen, a hot spring ryokan with a 1,300-year history, about 30 minutes from Kanazawa by express train, this inn has inherited the history of the long-established Shiroganeya ryokan, which has welcomed many cultural figures since its establishment in 1624, while bringing new sensibilities to life. All Guest rooms are decorated with traditional Kaga crafts (Kaga yuzen, Kaga mizuhiki, Kutani ware, and Yamanaka lacquerware) to add elegance and color to your relaxing time. The cuisine is inspired by the ideas of Kitaoji Rosanjin, a gourmet, and the powerful Kaga Lion Dance will allow you to enjoy the culture of Kaga throughout your stay.

Hoshino Resorts KAI Kaga

• 18-47 Yamashiroonsen, Kaga, Ishikawa MAP
• Approximately 10 minutes from Kaga Onsen Station by car.
• Available
• Click here for reservations
  Hoshino Resorts KAI Kaga Reservation site
  Hoshino Resorts KAI Kaga Accommodation plan with air ticket reservation site