Nyuto Onsen/Nyuto hot spring
The next day we headed for Nyuto Onsen, which was located in Akita prefecture and it is one of the most famous hot springs in Japan. Nyuto Onsen was located behind Tazawako Onsen, about 15 minutes drive away from Tazawako Onsen, and there were 6 hot-springs hotels. It was about one-hour drive to get there from Morioka.

We went to Tsurunoyu, which has a history of more than 300 years and it is the oldest hot spring in Nyuto Onsen. There were some ancient black wooden buildings and they created an antique atmosphere. It was like a scene from a Japanese historical drama.

left, right: The left side building behind the gate was built 350 years ago. I heard that the lord of Akita domain had visited here with his personal protections and the left one had been used as the guard box. It is now used as a part of the hot-spring hotel.

There were three big open-air hot springs and small three hot springs. The bath water in Tsurunoyu was creamy white and it was warm enough for taking a long bath. The bottom of the open-air hot spring was covered with gravel and the hot springs bubbled up in spots. It was a really strange feeling to feel it.

right: Shiro-yu for women('shiro' means 'white', 'yu' means 'hot water') . It is one of the inside hot springs and the bathtub was very small enough for a few people to take. The temperature of the bath water was much hotter than the outside hot springs!

We were on a short break surrounded by the ancient building, after taking a hot spring. I just felt like I was slipping back in time to the Edo Period.

Wood waterwheel
Tsurunoyu is an old style hot-spring with no electricity. So it uses a private power generator. Even wood waterwheels can still work to generate electricity.

Local sweet
The ingredients were 'roasted ground beans' and 'suger'. A tsuru('tsuru' means 'crane') was an embossed decoration on top and it looked very cute. The taste was really simple with a fragrant flavor.

Tsurunoyu in winter season
Visit to Tsurunoyu was like these pictures. I could watch the snow fall while taking an outdoor hot spring and it was great. However, it is quite hard to access because of its location in heavy snow!