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September 12, 2025
 

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ONSEN

Redevelopment plans for Kawayu Onsen have hit some snags — an example of how bringing tourists back to declining rural communities is far from easy work.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Sep 6, 2025
In rural Hokkaido, the stops and starts of tourism revival on full display
A new luxury resort might halt the decline of Kawayu, but only if locals and businesses can agree on how to move forward.
With graffiti now covering the crumbling walls of the main thermal baths in one of Europe's oldest spa towns, a group of young architects hopes to restore the picturesque Romanian resort.
WORLD / Society
Aug 19, 2025
The volunteers battling to save Romania's famed thermal baths
The picturesque Baile Herculane spa town's baths have fallen into an advanced state of decay.
Local authorities in Tokyo are resorting to unconventional measures to raise voter turnout, including partnering with public bathhouses amid Japan’s ongoing sauna boom and collaborating with high school students to create promotional materials.
JAPAN / Society
Jun 16, 2025
Tokyo teams up with bathhouses to boost voter turnout for assembly election
The previous election in 2021 showed a much lower turnout rate among younger demographics.
While Unzen Onsen's "hells" can be visually striking, locals describe them and their effects as "a source of emotional healing."
LIFE / Travel
Apr 12, 2025
Heaven from hells: The sulfuric pleasure of Unzen Onsen
Located deep within Kyushu’s Shimabara Peninsula, this hot spring town offers dramatic scenery worth the effort it takes to get there.
Local authorities on Tuesday confirmed the deaths of three hotel staff members who went missing in the city of Fukushima on Monday.
JAPAN
Feb 18, 2025
Three hotel staffers found dead after going missing in Fukushima mountains
The three men were found collapsed in the snow near the hot spring source at around noon on Tuesday.
Ginzan Onsen hot springs in Obanazawa, Yamagata Prefecture
JAPAN / Society
Dec 23, 2024
Picturesque Japan hot spring town limits day trippers
Authorities in Ginzan Onsen have become fed up with a rise in road problems, quarrels and other nuisances.
Totopa in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward was picked by consultants TTNE as the best sauna of the year.
LIFE / Lifestyle / Longform
Nov 25, 2024
Japan’s sauna movement: Relax, refresh, repeat
The modern sauna experience is more than just taking a seat in some steam — whisking, aufguss shows and spectacle all play a part.
Washing stations at a hot spring bath at Hoshinoya Tokyo, operated by Hoshino Resorts, in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 18, 2024
Luxury Japan hot springs brand to open first U.S. location in New York state
The president of Hoshino Resorts had made it his personal goal to bring Japanese hot spring resorts to North America.
A total of 65 stores in Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai offer various food and drinks, with many that incorporate fresh ingredients from the Toyosu market.
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2024
New Edo-inspired venue near Toyosu market offers more than fish
Toyosu Senkyaku Banrai hosts restaurants and an onsen area that uses water sourced from popular hot spring towns in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Single-use bathing wear that comes in the form of a blouse or a dress
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Nov 6, 2023
Breast cancer survivors face tough time at public baths
It is customary in Japan not to take clothing or towels into the water at public baths, and some facilities make it a rule for hygienic reasons.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 16, 2023
Struggling hot spring resorts get boost from Chinese investors
Many Chinese buyers of inns and hotels are willing to pay twice the market price to take them over, according to sellers and industry sources.
Japan Times
LIFE / Travel
Apr 8, 2023
A long and winding visit to 'secret' Ubayu Onsen
Secluded and remote hot springs are yet another example of Japan's deep bathing culture.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2023
Hot springs block Japan's geothermal potential
Geothermal is a renewable resource that harnesses heat from deep below the Earth's crust — a seemingly attractive option for energy resource-poor Japan.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Feb 16, 2023
'Yudo': A heartwarming ode to a good, old-fashioned soak
Masayuki Suzuki’s film pays tribute to the neighborhood public bath with a rush of nostalgia and feel-good laughs.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 13, 2023
When a hot spring is no longer hot
Inns and resorts in Aomori Prefecture have seen their waters turn lukewarm, with the amount of hot water suitable for bathing decreasing significantly since late December.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Music / Sound Off
Jan 8, 2023
A love letter to hot springs at music festivals
Getting covered in grime, mud and sweat is an expected part of attending a multiday outdoor festival, but in Japan, hot springs provide a surprisingly liberating dimension to the weekend.
Japan Times
CARTOONS / ZERO GRAVITY
Dec 17, 2022
A Christmas gathering in one of Japan's hot springs
Japan Times
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Nov 18, 2022
Warming up to onsen: The quirks and customs of public baths
Japan's hot spring baths are often on the to-do list of many tourists, just make sure you know the rules before heading inside.
Japan Times
LIFE
Aug 6, 2022
Sentō Samaritans: The fight to save urban bathhouses
Were public bathhouses to vanish from Tokyo, Osaka and other cities across Japan, much more than hot water would be lost.
Japan Times
LIFE / Food & Drink
Apr 24, 2022
Mushi Charo: From hellish waters, heavenly flavors
With thousands of hot-spring sources in Beppu, it's no wonder the town's chefs have started putting geothermals to good use in the kitchen.
Workers say corporate South Korea was warned about questionable U.S. visas before Hyundai raid
Activists holding signs that reads "No one is illegal!" protest against a huge immigration raid last week in the U.S. state of Georgia, in front of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul on Tuesday.
As Manila modernizes its military, new opportunities emerge for Tokyo
A Brahmos missile system is displayed during a rehearsal for a military parade in New Delhi in January. The Philippines will soon receive its second batch of the supersonic cruise missiles from India.
Thousands without power in Tokyo as heavy rain batters Kanto region
Heavy rain hit Tokyo and surrounding areas Thursday afternoon, causing thousands to lose power, prompting flood warnings, grounding flights and causing transportation issues.
Why more hotels in Japan are offering room-only service
Nipponia Hotel Ise Kawasaki Merchant Town in Ise, Mie Prefecture
Japan's cutting-edge railgun successfully strikes target vessel
The Defense Ministry’s Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) conducted a ship-board railgun shooting test from June to early July this year with the support of the Maritime Self-Defense Force.
Niinami’s ouster quick but not unusual as corporations protect reputation
Takeshi Niinami resigns as chairman and CEO of Suntory Holdings.
As Manila modernizes its military, new opportunities emerge for Tokyo
A Brahmos missile system is displayed during a rehearsal for a military parade in New Delhi in January. The Philippines will soon receive its second batch of the supersonic cruise missiles from India.
Shizuoka farmers fight to preserve sustainable tea method that’s steeped in tradition
As of August 2024, the number of confirmed chagusaba farmers had fallen to 302, just over half the 582 reported in 2015, according to the Shizuoka Chagusaba Farming Method Promotion Council.
Search is on for loopholes in Japan’s $550 billion investment pledge
U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick argues that U.S. President Donald Trump has sole authority to invest Japan's promised $550 billion.
In rural Hokkaido, the stops and starts of tourism revival on full display
Redevelopment plans for Kawayu Onsen have hit some snags — an example of how bringing tourists back to declining rural communities is far from easy work.

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