Unzen Onsen is a geothermally heated volcanic hot spring field in the
Unzen Mountains in
Nagasaki prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Nagasaki Prefecture has a population of 1,314,078 (1 June 2020) and has a geographic area of 4,130 Square kilometre, km2 (1,594 sq mi). Nagasaki Prefecture borders ...
in Japan.
It was known of for many years, and in the 1910s was developed into a hot spring community because of its many springs. In 1934 the area was designated as the first national park in Japan.
The hot springs are surrounded by an area known as the Hells (jigoku). These barren fields of hot springs contain many steam vents,
bubbling mud pits and fumaroles. After the
Shimabara Rebellion
The , also known as the or , was an uprising that occurred in the Shimabara Domain of the Tokugawa Shogunate in Japan from 17 December 1637 to 15 April 1638.
Matsukura Katsuie, the ''daimyō'' of the Shimabara Domain, enforced unpopular polic ...
the Hells were used to execute Christian rebels. Today, paved trails lead visitors through the Hells.
In an older, now dormant hot springs field, paths lead to the
Manmyoji Temple and to the Unzen Disaster Museum, that commemorates the eruptions that occurred in the 1990s in which 12,000 people were evacuated and over 40 people perished.
Gallery
140322 Unzen Onsen Jigoku Unzen Nagasaki pref Japan02o.JPG, Unzen Onsen Hells
140322 Unzen Onsen Jigoku Unzen Nagasaki pref Japan05s3.jpg, Unzen Onsen Hells
140322_Unzen_Onsen_Jigoku_Unzen_Nagasaki_pref_Japan10s5.jpg, sulphurous hot spring
Nagasaki Unzen (234555569).jpeg, bubbling mud pits (mud volcanoes)
Unzenhell4.jpg, steam vent
140322 Unzen Onsen Jigoku Unzen Nagasaki pref Japan13o.JPG, Unzen Onsen Hells
Water profile
The hot mineral water has a high sulfur content, and strong levels of acidity.
In addition to sulfur, the mineral content includes aluminum, iron, and sulfate. The water temperature is 98 °C, and the hot carbonate and hydrogen sulfide gasses that erupt from the springs can be as high as 120 °C.
See also
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Mount Unzen
is an active volcanic group of several overlapping stratovolcanoes, near the city of Shimabara, Nagasaki on the island of Kyushu, Japan's southernmost main island.
In 1792, the collapse of one of its several lava domes triggered a megatsunam ...
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List of hot springs in Japan
This is a dynamic list of geothermal hot springs ( onsen) as geological phenomena in Japan. This list is not for listing commercial establishments such as spa hotels, onsen ryokan, healing centers or other commercial establishments.
Japan h ...
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List of hot springs in the world
References
{{reflist
Hot springs of Nagasaki Prefecture
Nagasaki Prefecture
Geothermal areas