Hijiori Onsen
📍 Yamagata, Okura
A hot-spring village hidden in the crater of an ancient volcano, with one of Japan's oldest springs, a lantern-lit street of wooden inns, and a daily morning market where local grandmothers sell mountain vegetables straight off the ground.
Deep in the mountains of central Yamagata, in the crater of an ancient volcano, hides one of the country’s oldest and most atmospheric hot springs: Hijiori Onsen, said to have been discovered some 1,200 years ago.
Why It’s Interesting
The village is a single, lantern-lined street of weathered wooden inns, with hot, mineral-rich water so plentiful it bubbles up all over the crater floor. But the thing that sets Hijiori apart is its daily morning market: from late spring to late autumn, local grandmothers line the street at dawn, selling mountain vegetables, pickles, and wild plants they gathered that morning, often laid out right on the ground. Wandering the market in your inn’s yukata, fresh from a bath, is a slice of rural Japan that’s almost vanished elsewhere — slow, warm, and genuine.
Best Time to Visit
Year-round for the onsen; come between late April and November to catch the morning market, the village’s signature experience. Best as an overnight stay.
Getting There
Remote: a winding bus or drive from Shinjo Station up into the mountains. The journey in is part of the spell.
🐿️ Cinnamon was here
Field report
Hijiori Onsen sits inside the crater of an ancient volcano, which is the kind of address I'd brag about too. One lantern-lit street of wooden inns, snow walls in winter taller than the buildings, and a morning market where farm grandmothers sell mountain vegetables with intimidating expertise.
I attended the market at opening (05:30, a squirrel hour) and was assessed, approved, and gifted half a pickled plum by a woman who has clearly run this crater for fifty years. The public bath is one of Japan's oldest springs; I soaked a paw ceremonially.
This is deep Yamagata — no performance, no gift-shop version of itself. The humans who make it here look pleased with themselves at breakfast, and they should. Come for the crater, stay for the grandmothers.
— Cinnamon 🐿️
📸 Cinnamon's camera roll
Snapshots from our very good boy on the road.
Where it is
You might also like
Ginzan Onsen
Mogami River Boat Ride
Mount Haguro Five-Story Pagoda
Cherryland Sagae
Nearby discoveries
Akagawa Fireworks Festival
Lina World
Tendo, the Shogi-Piece Town
Yamadera (Risshaku-ji)
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