220428 ZaoOnsen Yamagata Yamagata pref Japan06s3

is a famous

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

area on Mount Zaō in the northern part of

Honshū , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the seventh-largest island in the world, and the second-most populous after the Indonesian ...

, the main island of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

History

Records of the onsen date back as far as 110 AD. A wounded warrior is said to have drawn an arrow out of his body and cleaned the wound at a spring only to find that the injury healed miraculously quickly and well. It is known locally as "Springs of Beauty."

Location

Zaō Onsen is located in the Mount Zaō stratovolcanic range. Although Mount Zaō stretches between Yamagata and

Miyagi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,265,724 (1 August 2023) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akit ...

s, the town where Zaō Onsen is located was recently merged into Yamagata City. The hot spring is accessible via the Tōhoku Expressway.

Water profile

The hot mineral water has a high acid and sulfur content, giving it the characteristic smell of rotten eggs from the sulphur. Other minerals include iron, aluminum, sulfate and chloride. The water temperature at the open air public bathhouse is 113 °F/45 °C.

Snow monster phenomenon

The Zao Mountain is known for its conifer trees which become encrusted and solidified by January due to the hard rime phenomenon, which is caused by heavy snow and winds of freezing temperatures. These formations are known as "snow monsters" or ''juhyo'' in Japanese. They are caused by the frigid storm winds of the Siberian

jet stream Jet streams are fast flowing, narrow thermal wind, air currents in the Earth's Atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere. The main jet streams are located near the altitude of the tropopause and are westerly winds, flowing west to east around the gl ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zao Onsen Hot springs of Yamagata Prefecture Tourist attractions in Yamagata Prefecture Landforms of Yamagata Prefecture