Photo by Qurren, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
🇯🇵 Japan · Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture
Photo by Qurren, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
🇯🇵 Japan · Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture
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📅 Established
685 CE (earliest documented reference, an imperial order to build a villa on the site)
✓ Verified on 2026-07-28
Asama Onsen is a hot spring town on the outskirts of Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, about 10 minutes from Matsumoto Castle. An ancient document dated 685 CE records an imperial order to build a villa on the site, one of the earliest documented references to any Japanese onsen. The springs prospered during the Edo period after the first lord of Matsumoto established a bathhouse there, becoming known as 'the Inner Parlor of Matsumoto,' and were later visited by Meiji-era literary figures including Masaoka Shiki and Takehisa Yumeji. The water is classified as an alkaline simple thermal spring, with a source temperature in the 42-47°C range.
An ancient document dated 685 CE records an imperial order to build a villa at the site of present-day Asama Onsen. During the Edo period, the first lord of Matsumoto established a bathhouse there, and the town became known as the 'Inner Parlor of Matsumoto'; Meiji-era writers Masaoka Shiki and Takehisa Yumeji later visited.
Websiteasamaonsen.com/en/
AddressAsama Onsen, Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Japan