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It was designated a National Health Resort in 1959. The waters from the spring have traditionally been touted as a cure for hypertension, arteriosclerosis, gynecological diseases, neuralgia, skin diseases, asthma, and especially for malignant tumors (cancer).
There are two lodging facilities available in the area, Tamagawa Onsen, an inn located near the spring (opens from mid April to December, and closed for winter since 2012 due to the
hot spring
A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a spring produced by the emergence of geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow bodies of magma (molten rock) or by c ...
located in the city of Semboku, Akita in northern Japan.
Water profile
The spring has a flow of 9000 liters/minute and feeds a 3-meter wide stream with a temperature of 98 °C. The water from Tamagawa Hot Spring is extremely acidic, with a pH of about 1.2, making it one of the most acidic hot springs in Japan.Spring overview
The spring containshydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride. It is a colorless solution with a distinctive pungent smell. It is classified as a strong acid. It is a component of the gastric acid in the dig ...
as a main component, along with carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a chemical compound made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in the gas state at room temperature. In the air, carbon dioxide is t ...
, iron
Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in ...
, and aluminum-chloride. Due to deposits of radioactive hokutolite
Hokutolite is the only mineral named after a Taiwanese place (Hokuto is the Japanese name for Beitou) among the more than 4,000 naturally occurring minerals in the world. Hokutolite is a rare mineral containing radioactive radium elements generate ...
near the spring, the water is also slightly radioactive, with a level of 15-20 mSv / year. Hokutolite is composed of a type of barite (barium sulfate), including lead and traces of strontium and calcium, and is about ten times as radioactive as the standard background radiation. Radium also exists in the hot springs water.
History
The springs were discovered by a local ''matagi
The are traditional winter hunters of the Tōhoku region of northern Japan, most famously today in the Ani area in Akita Prefecture, which is known for the Akita dogs. Afterwards, it spread to the Shirakami-Sanchi forest between Akita and Aomor ...
'' hunter in 1680, but the area was used primarily as a sulfur mine and it was not until 1885 that the first lodging was erected.
Initially called the Kanoyu Onsen, it was renamed to Tamagawa Onsen by an Asahi Shimbun
is one of the four largest newspapers in Japan. Founded in 1879, it is also one of the oldest newspapers in Japan and Asia, and is considered a newspaper of record for Japan. Its circulation, which was 4.57 million for its morning edition an ...
reporter, who praised its effectiveness against many diseases. Due to the isolation of the site, it could only be reached on horseback with some difficulty until after World War II.
It was designated a National Health Resort in 1959. The waters from the spring have traditionally been touted as a cure for hypertension, arteriosclerosis, gynecological diseases, neuralgia, skin diseases, asthma, and especially for malignant tumors (cancer).
There are two lodging facilities available in the area, Tamagawa Onsen, an inn located near the spring (opens from mid April to December, and closed for winter since 2012 due to the avalanche
An avalanche is a rapid flow of snow down a slope, such as a hill or mountain.
Avalanches can be set off spontaneously, by such factors as increased precipitation or snowpack weakening, or by external means such as humans, animals, and ear ...
on February 1, 2012, which killed 3 people), and Shin-Tamagawa Onsen, a hotel about a kilometer down from the spring which opens year-round, run by the same owner of Tamagawa Onsen inn. Tamagawa Onsen inn and the spring area are only accessible by a snowcat in December after the road is closed for the traffic by the end of November due to the heavy snowfall in the area.
References