Gensenfuro 13 ✦ Fast

In the 1980s, a small minshuku (family-run inn) in the Tohoku region operated a bath they called "Gensen 13." According to local legend, the inn was built on the site of a 13th-century battlefield. The owner drilled a well and struck a geothermal vein at exactly 13 meters.

Why?

The "13" represents the outsider. In a world of homogeneous, comfortable onsen (#1, #2, #3 are easy to manage), #13 is the wild card. To bathe in Gensenfuro 13 is to accept nature on nature's terms. Gensenfuro 13

If you are planning a trip to Japan and you want an experience that 99% of tourists – and even 80% of locals – will never have, skip Disneyland. Skip Mount Fuji’s crowded viewpoints. Buy a train ticket to Yugawara or Hakone. Find the locked cedar door. Ask for . In the 1980s, a small minshuku (family-run inn)