Nyuto Onsen (乳頭温泉) is located in Senboku, which is
in the Towada Hachimantai National Park. Nyuto Onsen
is actually a collection of several hot springs in an
unspoiled beech forest at the foot of Mount Nyuto. The
name Nyuto literally translates to nipple and the rulers
prior to World War II called it that because the mountain
itself resembles a woman’s breast. The Nyuto Onsen
Village consists of Tsurunoyu, Ganiba, Taenoyu, Ogama,
Magoroku, Kuronoyu and Kyukamura. Tsurunoyu is the
oldest and most famous of the hot springs in the area. Its
origins dates back to the Edo period starting from 1638
and was used by government officials, which earned
them the title of honjin (an inn for government officials
only).
In 1661, the second lord of Akita, Yoshitaka Satake, and
Iwashiro Kameda went to Tsurunoyu for therapeutic
purposes. The name of the Tsurunoyu comes from the
story of a local hunter witnessing a wounded crane
(Tsuru in Japanese) heal its injuries in the water. Ganiba
was first established in 1846 and has two spring sources.
The name derives from crab in Japanese, which is kani
or gani because of the many crabs in river by the open
air baths. On the path that leads to the entrance of
Ganiba Onsen is a small torii shrine where many locals
go to pray and thank the gods for the food, wood and
abundant hot spring water
Taenoyu was first established in 1952 and received the
designation of National Health Hot Spring in 1967. It has
two types of onsen called gold and silver. At specific
times of the day one will be dedicated to females and
vice versa. There are also two large outdoor mix baths,
where one of them overlooks a waterfall surrounded by
beautiful foliage. Ogama Onsen was built using an old
wooden school building. They remodeled the classrooms
to be changing rooms and dining rooms. It is a known
symbol representing the virtues of hard physical labor
and study. At the entrance of Ogama onsen is a toad
statue since the “gama” in the name translates to toad.
Magoroku Onsen is named after its founder and is known
as “mountain water of the medicine.” There are four
different sources of hot spring water that the inn uses.
These varied sources carry several ingredients that are
known for helping with healing processes. Kuronoyu
Onsen was established over 300 years ago during the
Edo period. The name Kuronoyu translates to “black
bath,” but it is said that the name is a mispronunciation in
the Akita prefecture dialect of “kuruyu,” which means to
come. It is also the only onsen in the Nyuto bunch to be
closed during the winter time. Kyukamura is the most
modern onsen in the Nyuto village and was first
established by the government in order to promote health
and tourism.
