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Fukushima and Gunma Hot Spring Tour Preparation

At the end of July, I went on a 7-night, 8-day moped tour to Bandai-Azuma, Fukushima and Gunma.
The trigger for this was the open-air bath at Adachiya in Takayu Onsen , Fukushima Prefecture.

This milky white open-air bath, reminiscent of Tsuru no Yu in Nyuto Onsen, is going to be renovated on a large scale from August , so I planned a tour with Adachiya as the main attraction, knowing that this will be the last chance to see the atmospheric open-air scenery. Since Adachiya does not allow overnight stays, I decided to visit the hot springs a few times as a day trip.

In addition to Adachiya, there are several other milky hot springs along the Bandai-Azuma Skyline, and as a hot spring lover, I would like to visit as many of these as possible.

We made reservations at Sagamiya Ryokan in Shinnoji Onsen , Nakamura in Iizaka Onsen , and Chojukan in Hoshi Onsen , and our 7-night, 8-day tour of hot springs was complete.

This will be my first time driving on the Bandai Azuma Skyline, one of Japan's 100 Best Roads, so I'm looking forward to seeing what it's like...

Also, I have noticed that many inbound tourists have been visiting Takaragawa Onsen in Gunma Prefecture for about 10 years, but the purpose of this tour is to investigate whether foreign tourists are also visiting hot springs in Fukushima Prefecture.

Japan Secret Hot Springs Preservation Society Shinnoji Onsen Sagamiya Ryokan

Nationally registered tangible cultural property Iizaka Onsen Nakamuraya

Japan Secret Hot Springs Preservation Society Hoshi Onsen Chojukan

I am often asked how I plan long-term touring trips, but I don't do it on impulse, I plan everything in advance. There is not even a single day when I have free time (laughs).

Using Google Maps, you can easily search for the route to your next destination and the time it will take, so you can plan your daily schedule in hours, taking into account the time you will spend sightseeing at your destination. If you are planning a 7-night, 8-day trip, this will be the 8-day plan.

I put my touring plans into a Google spreadsheet so that I can check them on my smartphone while I'm traveling, and my family and I can see them too.

Once I set off on a trip, I feel like I'm silently following the itinerary written in a Google spreadsheet, and I never have to wonder, "Where should I go next?"

Not having to think about where to go when traveling allows you to use your time more efficiently and is also mentally relaxing.

However, there are times when I find myself talking at length with local people at my travel destination, or when they recommend places to me that I had not known about in my prior research. In those cases, I adjust my trip flexibly, such as by saying, "I'll skip visiting this place tomorrow and make more time."

The touring schedule is decided by the hour, so it takes time to do advance research and planning, but that's also the fun part!

As for accommodation, because of the nature of my job, it is important for me to stay at well-established inns, but it is difficult to stay at all high-end inns due to my budget, so if there is an inn I want to stay at (or should stay at), I will stay there even if it is a little expensive, and otherwise I stay at internet cafes to cut costs. (laughs)

One difficulty with this Fukushima Gunma hot spring tour was that some of the hot spring inns only had a limited number of days on which they were closed or open for day use.

Unlike business hotels that are open 365 days a year, hot spring inns in Fukushima Prefecture are often closed about two days a week, and when it comes to day trips to hot springs, there are even more restrictions on opening days and opening hours, so it was difficult to make a schedule...💦

This is also one of the joys of traveling.

*The outdoor bath photo in this blog was borrowed from the Adachiya official website.