Photo by さかおり (Sakaori), via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
🇯🇵 Japan · Yamagata
♨ Temperature
48°C
⛰ Altitude
550 m
⚗ pH
6.9
💧 TDS
580 mg/L
🌊 Flow rate
12 L/s
📅 Established
1600
✓ Verified on 2026-07-22
Ginzan Onsen occupies a narrow river gorge in Yamagata Prefecture, its multi-storey wooden ryokan rising directly from the stream banks in a configuration unchanged since the Taisho period (1912–1926). Gas lanterns illuminate the facades at night, and in winter the deep mountain snowfall transforms the village into a scene that appears to belong to another century. The springs are moderate in temperature, allowing longer immersion, and their sodium chloride and bicarbonate composition produces water with a silky quality on the skin.
| Sodium Chloride | 420 mg/L |
| Sulphur | 38 mg/L |
| Calcium | 65 mg/L |
| Bicarbonate | 180 mg/L |
Ginzan developed as a silver-mining settlement in the early Edo period — the name means silver mountain — and the hot springs were used by miners. When the silver mines closed, the village transformed into a spa resort.
Ginzan Onsen is widely believed to have inspired the animated film Spirited Away (2001), specifically the bathhouse setting. Whether or not the connection is direct, the visual similarities have made Ginzan a pilgrimage site for animation fans worldwide.
The Ginzan valley is part of the Mogami Dewa Nature Park. The community has voluntarily limited the number of guest rooms and requires all buildings to conform to traditional Taisho-era architectural standards.
Phone+81 237-28-3933
Websitewww.ginzanonsen.jp
AddressGinzanshinpata, Obanazawa, Yamagata 999-4333, Japan