It was a cold February day in northern Japan, snow piled high outside the onsen locker room windows as I slipped out of my clothes. Nervously, I stepped into the plumes of steam wafting from the next ...

Soak in the three-Michelin-starred baths of Hyotan Onsen. Learn more about the craft of traditional bamboo weaving by taking a class at the Bamboo Cultural Center. Take a thermal sand bath while ...

We love uncovering hidden travel sites around Japan that take us away from the crowds and lead us to discovering a myriad of culturally rich places. Shimane Prefecture has proven to be a veritable ...

Soak in the three-Michelin-starred baths of Hyotan Onsen. Learn more about the craft of traditional bamboo weaving by taking a class at the Bamboo Cultural Center. Take a thermal sand bath while ...

Tucked into the forested hills of Kumamoto Prefecture is Kurokawa Onsen, a small hot spring village that feels like it’s been preserved in time. Compared to more well-known Kyushu onsen towns like ...

I wrapped my yukata, a cloth kimono, around my naked body, pulling the left side of the fabric over the right, as instructed, and tied the obi sash securely at my waist. The hotel provided these robes ...

Billions of years ago, Earth’s atmosphere was hostile, with barely any oxygen and toxic conditions for life. Researchers from the Earth-Life Science Institute studied Japan’s iron-rich hot springs, ...

New research from Japan's iron-rich hot springs shows how early microbes may have harnessed iron and oxygen during the Great Oxygenation Event. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn ...