Greetings to everyone!
Today we`ll like to introduce another popular tourist spot in northern part of Aso region, Minamioguni.
If you are a great fan of onsen, then this is a spot that you should not miss!
Kurokawa onsen, a hot spring resort town well known for their open-air bath onsen and are surrounded by great nature of greeneries and mountains. There are up to 30 ryokans gathered here in Kurokawa onsen, each has its own unique look and feel. The town is quite compact and easy to stroll around, you can enjoy walking around the onsen streets, enjoy their local delights while enjoying onsen hopping.
In fact, Kurokawa onsen was the first place I covered when I came to travel in Aso region and besides the onsen hopping, I really enjoy the atmosphere of the onsen streets and the walking course too despite traveling alone.
So what must you do when travelling down to Kurokawa onsen on a day trip?
On arrival, I recommend that you should go to the reception desk at tourist visitor counter to purchase an onsen hopping pass (nyuuto tegata-入湯手形) and request for English map guide. It cost ￥1300 for an adult pass and ￥700 for children pass and is valid for six months. I would say it will be more cost saving to purchase that if you intend to hop on a few onsen as each onsen entry fee cost ranging from ￥500-￥600. With the pass, you can try up to 3 different outdoor hot spring bath of your choice. There are more than 20 onsen selection with mostly walkable distance from the Visitor center, bathing time is allow from 8.30 a.m to 9 p.m with no time limit. Take this opportunity to enjoy a good onsen time to rejuvenate yourself!
Then start to pick your choice of onsen! Each outdoor bath is unique on it’s own, all you need to do is just to pick one from the given list and enjoy dipping yourself in the onsen!
Apart from onsen hopping, there are also walking course for you to enjoy the beautiful scenery and nature of Aso. You can keep a lookout of such signboard indicated which looks something like this ⇩
There are other walking path map available too with link shared below ⇩
https://www.kurokawaonsen.or.jp/up_data/image/inglish/leaf/walking_map.pdf
Take your time to enjoy the nostalgic scenery!
And during certain season from winter time till end of March, they usually have the light-up event which is really beautiful and here’s picture of how it looks like ⇩
You may wish to check their homepage to find out the dates in detail. ⇩
https://www.kurokawaonsen.or.jp/eng_new/
Besides onsen hopping and walking pathway, how can we miss out delicious gourmet food and sweets? Souvenir shops and restaurants are available along onsen street too. I strongly recommended you to visit Pâtissier Roku! Their choux cream which contains Oguni jersey milk and custard cream and its one of the best I have tasted so far! And this award-winning shop “Dora Dora” selling lots of Dorayaki choice, simply mouth-watering and so spoiled by the availability of choices. And there are many other choices of delicacy available too.
Why don`t you take a side trip to Minamioguni when you come by Aso?
And that ends my last blog with Michi No Eki、 I hope you enjoy all the sharing and enjoy your travel journey in Aso!
☆～Yoshimi
