Okukuji Onsen Hot Spring Area

Daigo Town in northwestern Ibaraki is located at the foot of Mt. Yamizo (1022 m), Ibaraki's highest mountain. Oku Kuji refers to the upper reaches of the Kuji River, which runs through the town center and is popular for ayu (sweetfish) fishing. This beautiful area with mountains and valleys is home to the Okukuji Onsen area, which includes Fukuroda Onsen, Tsukiori Onsen, and Daigo Onsen.

Fukuroda Onsen is located along the Taki River, a tributary of the Kuji River, and Fukuroda Falls, one of Japan's three most famous waterfalls, is a short distance upstream. The hot spring is a simple alkaline spring that is said to help with neuralgia and muscular pain. Tetsunosuke Seki, a Mito domain samurai and the ringleader of the Sakuradamon Incident of 1860, is said to have recovered from his illness while being sheltered by the Sakuraoka family, a prominent samurai family in Fukuroda.

Tsukiori Onsen, upstream from Fukuroda Onsen, has a cozy hot spring bath run by the locals. The simple alkaline hot spring is said to relieve neuralgia and back pain. At Daigo Onsen, hot spring inns dot the center of Daigo Town and along the Kuji River. The sodium sulfate spring is known as the “hot spring of beauty" because it is said to make the skin beautiful. It also attracts many women because of the benefits it offers, such as relief from gastrointestinal disorders and neuralgia.