Yamashiro Onsen

Yamashiro Onsen is one of the four celebrated Kaga Onsen of Ishikawa Prefecture, located in Kaga City on Japan's Sea of Japan coast. The spring has been in use since approximately 689 CE, making it among the oldest onsen in Japan. The water is a sodium chloride and sodium sulfate type, emerging at around 61°C — colourless, slightly salty, and notably warming on the skin. The historic heart of the town is the Yuno-gawa district, a pedestrian stone-paved area centred on the Ko-Soyu (Ancient Public Bath), a reconstructed Meiji-era wooden bathhouse that serves as both a bathing facility and a living museum of onsen culture. The modern Soyu public bath stands adjacent. Yamashiro holds a singular place in Japanese cultural history: it is said to be where the court poet Ki no Tsurayuki refined the hiragana phonetic script in the 10th century, earning the town the title 'birthplace of hiragana.' The artist, potter, and legendary chef Kitaoji Rosanjin spent formative years in Yamashiro, and his influence on Kutani pottery — the bold, multicoloured ceramic tradition of the Kaga region — is celebrated at the Rosanjin Kiln Site museum in the town. The broader Kaga Onsen zone, which includes Yamanaka, Katayamazu, and Awazu, is a major wellness destination on the Hokuriku Shinkansen route.