Soaking in a Slower Pace of Life at Gero Onsen
This is part of Uncovering Japan, a collection of stories that spotlight the lesser known gems that belong on your Japan itinerary, offering everything from a wellspring of local craft and a vibrant street-food culture to traditional wellness. Read more here.
From the perennially roiling waves of Kanagawa's seas to Mount Fuji's snow-capped seat in the sky, some of Japan's most iconic natural sights claim their status through their striking appearances. But peer past those wonders, since immortalized odes and ukiyo-e woodblock prints, to find Gero, a quiet onsen town in Gifu prefecture with the placid, pastoral charm of a Studio Ghibli movie. Though the town may not seem like much upon first look, it's part of a celebrated trinity of hot springs dating back to the 17th-century Edo period, when prominent poet Hayashi Razan first dubbed Kusatsu, Arima, and Gero's hot springs the best in the country. Ever since, generations of locals have sought to experience the legendary waters for themselves.
Tokyo-based chef, sommelier, and writer Yukari Sakamoto has been making the four-and-a-half hour journey to Gero every year since the '80s. Below, she shares why she comes back time after time to soak in the waters, plus her favorite things to do in Gero, and how she makes the most of her time at the onsen town.
Gero Onsen's mountain-nestled main town lights up at night. The town's 13 locally maintained public baths source their water from volcanic origin, particularly from Mount Kusatsu-Shirane.
Gifu Prefecture Tourism Federation
Gero, the Goldilocks onsen
Kusatu, Arima, and Gero all possess distinctive charms that make for three unique onsen experiences. Kusatsu sits in a remote region of Gunma prefecture, a little over 100 miles north of Tokyo. 'It's like, once you're there, you're there, you're in the middle of the wilderness,' says Sakamoto.
The town's 13 locally maintained public baths source their water from volcanic origin, particularly from Mount Kusatsu-Shirane. As a result, the springs range from cloudy to clear depending on their acidity and mineral composition, properties which were championed by 19th-century physician to the imperial family Erwin Bälz for their seeming health benefits, ushering in a new wave of popularity for the onsen during the 1800s.
Located about an hour's drive to the southeast of Kusatsu, Arima has a far less demanding transit. The onsen is known for its famous duo of golden (kinsen—named after the sienna hue of the iron-rich water) and silver (ginsen—which is actually colorless) waters and being one of the oldest known onsens in the country with a history tracing back at least 1,300 years. 'The onsen is nice, but it's in quite an urban area, so the surroundings aren't quite as bucolic,' says Sakamoto.
For an onsen that is conveniently located and immersed in natural scenery, Sakamoto finds that Gero strikes the just-right balance. 'What I love about Gero is that you're in the Japanese Alps,' she says. 'You're located inside a valley with mountains on both sides and a river running between them.' From Tokyo, Gero is just two trains away, with the passage after Nagoya being Sakamoto's particular favorite as rolling hills gradually transition into the mountainside and the river runs parallel.
Gero Onsen's public foot bath, right next to the city's main bridge, sees locals stopping daily to soak their feet in the healing waters.
Gero's waters leave an inimitable impression. 'We say in Japanese, tsuru tsuru,' Sakamoto says, 'You sit in the water, and after two or three minutes, you start rubbing your skin, and you feel silky. Even after you've gotten out of the onsen and you're dried up, you still feel that silkiness.' The characteristic custard-smooth feeling the water leaves visitors with is owed to its high alkalinity. Sitting around 9.2 on the pH scale, the water takes on a gently exfoliative, soap-like property.
Gero's waters leave an inimitable impression. 'We say in Japanese, tsuru tsuru. You sit in the water, and after two or three minutes, you start rubbing your skin, and you feel silky. Even after you've gotten out of the onsen and you're dried up, you still feel [it].'
Tokyo-based chef, sommelier, and writer Yukari Sakamoto
The joys of taking things slow in Gero
The onsen is a nearly year-round destination, though Sakamoto cautions against visiting in the summertime as it gets a bit too hot to fully immerse in a warm onsen experience. 'Once you get to the city, there are many baths where you can take your shoes off, soak your feet,' Sakamoto says, "and there are always the onsens, the hot springs at the ryokan or the hotel that you're staying at, but there's also a public foot bath that's on the river.' Sitting right next to the city's main bridge, she says its part of the area's everyday life to see somebody stop to soak their feet in the waters.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Forbes
3 hours ago
- Forbes
The Second Most Important Thing A Writer Must Do
College student, asian man and studying on laptop at campus, research and education test, exam books ... More and course project. Happy Japanese university student, knowledge and learning online technology Let's get the remarkable grasp of the obvious out of the way. The most important thing a writer must do is generate content. Runing a close second, though, is one of the most overlooked or taken-for-granted functions in all of communications: Revision. Other than the Ten Commandments – all 70 simple words – hardly a document has ever been written that either needed revision or already got it. Thomas Jefferson's draft of the Declaration of Independence went through a round of revision, mostly with Benjamin Franklin and John Adams. Abraham Lincoln was busy revising his Gettysburg Address on the train ride from Washington, DC, only an hour or so before delivering his speech. JFK was revising his inaugural address in the limo on the way to the ceremony. Mark Twain was a stickler for revision: 'It usually takes me three weeks to write a good impromptu speech.' And if those four masters of the word needed to revise their works, so do you and I. Full stop. Here, then, are some of the major considerations for good revising that will help your writing become more clear, informative, persuasive, interesting, and lively – whatever your purpose is. There's an old saying among writers: 'Whatever you write is your baby. You have to learn to kill your babies.' No one is certain who first said it, but it most often gets attributed to William Faulkner. Generally, there are five steps in the writing process: prewriting (organization of thought, amassing data or other sources), drafting, revising, editing and proofreading, publishing or presenting. Know where you are and the purpose of each. For instance, editing and revising are two different things. The prefix – re – means again or over, and the root – vision – comes from the Latin – visus – to see. Revision means to see again. The document. What's your purpose and focus? Who's your audience? How will you structure and organize this? The paragraph. Paragraphs must have relevance (support the main idea), unity (among all sentences), and coherence (logical connection between preceding and following paragraphs). The sentence. Vary sentence lengths and beginnings. Run-on sentences are almost always sloppy. Incomplete sentences are usually disjointed, unless style matters and you really know what you're doing. The word(s) Write like you talk. Don't try to be someone else. Natural is best – and it shows. Use strong verbs, vivid adjectives, and specific nouns. Avoid unnecessary words or phrases, such as qualifiers (very, quite, somewhat), or empty phrases (as I said before, needless to say). Your first draft is never your final. But don't go directly from writing to revising. Put it away for a while, read it out loud, have a trusted colleague look it over. It's striking how new and different your document can be.
CNN
4 hours ago
- CNN
Mount Etna eruption, resurgence of a slur, mites come out at night: Catch up on the day's stories
👋 Welcome to 5 Things PM! File this under mite-y creepy: As you fall asleep each night, dozens of eight-legged creatures are crawling out of your pores. You have these nocturnal mites all over your body, but their favorite spot to hang out? Your face. Here's what else you might have missed during your busy day: 1️⃣ Massive eruption: Tourists at Mount Etna were forced to flee after a huge plume of high-temperature gases, ash and rock billowed into the air. About 1.5 million people visit the Italian volcano each year, and the last eruption of this magnitude occurred in 2014. 2️⃣ Manhunt update: A police chief-turned-murderer-and-rapist, a repeat escapee and a double murderer — all three are still nowhere to be found after two high-profile jailbreaks in Arkansas and Louisiana. Here's what we know about the circumstances of each case. 3️⃣ The R-word: A slur used to denigrate people with disabilities is surging in popularity among some influential public figures like Joe Rogan and Elon Musk. Experts say the implications of its resurgence are bigger than just one word. 4️⃣ 'Toxic Nation': A new 'Make America Healthy Again' documentary claims four things are making us sick: ultraprocessed foods, seed oils, herbicides and pesticides, and fluoride. Health specialists break it down and explain what the research says. 5️⃣ Clean streets: Travelers who visit Japan wonder how the country can be so tidy and organized when there doesn't seem to be a way to dispose of garbage in public places. So where are all the trash cans? GET '5 THINGS' IN YOUR INBOX CNN's 5 Things newsletter is your one-stop shop for the latest headlines and fascinating stories to start and end your busy day. Sign up here. 🚘 Wild crash: A car ran off the road and through the roof of a veterans hall in Missouri, but police said the driver only suffered minor injuries. This is the second time in three months a vehicle crashed into the same building. • Colorado suspect charged with federal hate crime, had planned antisemitic attack for a year, FBI says• Trump returns to Supreme Court with emergency appeal over mass firings• Second round of Russia-Ukraine peace talks ends swiftly with no major breakthrough 🏡 That's how many prospective buyers are reportedly waiting for home prices and interest rates to drop before jumping into the real estate market. 🤖 Smart art: Victor Wong put his degree in electrical engineering to good use by creating AI Gemini, a robotic arm that produces traditional Chinese landscape paintings. See how it works. 🎧 'We're burnt out': After nearly 16 years and countless hours of conversations, comedian Marc Maron will end his groundbreaking podcast 'WTF' this fall. The host said he and producer Brendan McDonald made the decision together. 🍬 Haribo is recalling some bags of candy in the Netherlands because what was found in them?A. WoodB. CannabisC. MetalD. Fungi⬇️ Scroll down for the answer. 👘 Crafty creations: Kimonos are deeply woven into the fabric of Japan's cultural identity, but not many people wear them anymore. Entrepreneur Shotaro Kawamura is working with craftspeople to upcycle unwanted robes into new products such as sneakers. 👋 We'll see you tomorrow.🧠 Quiz answer: B. Haribo is recalling bags of fizzy cola bottles after cannabis was found in some of them.📧 Check out all of CNN's newsletters. 5 Things PM is produced by CNN's Chris Good, Meghan Pryce, Kimberly Richardson and Morgan Severson.
Health Line
4 hours ago
- Health Line
15 Health and Nutrition Benefits of Sesame Seeds
Sesame seeds have many potential health benefits. For instance, they may protect against heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis. But you may need to eat significant amounts — a small handful per day — to gain health benefits. Sesame seeds are tiny, oil-rich seeds that grow in pods on the Sesamum indicum plant. They have been used in folk medicine for thousands of years. Unhulled seeds have the outer, edible husk intact, while hulled seeds come without the husk. The hull gives the seeds a golden-brown hue. Hulled seeds have an off-white color but turn brown when roasted. Here are 15 health benefits of sesame seeds. Good source of fiber Three tablespoons (27 grams) of unhulled sesame seeds provide 3 grams of fiber, which is 11% of the Daily Value (DV). Fiber is well known for supporting digestive health. Additionally, growing evidence suggests that fiber may play a role in reducing your risk of heart disease, certain cancers, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. May lower cholesterol and triglycerides Some studies suggest that regularly eating sesame seeds may help decrease high cholesterol and triglycerides, which are risk factors for heart disease. Sesame seeds consist of 14% saturated fat, 44% polyunsaturated fat, and 38% monounsaturated fat. Research indicates that eating more polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat relative to saturated fat may help lower your cholesterol and reduce heart disease risk. What's more, sesame seeds contain two types of plant compounds — lignans and phytosterols — that may also have cholesterol-lowering effects. In a 2012 study, when 38 people with high blood lipids ate 5 tablespoons (40 grams) of hulled sesame seeds daily for 2 months, they experienced a 10% reduction in 'bad' LDL cholesterol and an 8% reduction in triglycerides compared to the placebo group. Nutritious source of plant protein Sesame seeds supply 4.77 grams of protein per 3-tablespoon (27-gram) serving. To maximize protein availability, opt for hulled, roasted sesame seeds. The hulling and roasting processes reduce oxalates and phytates, compounds that hamper protein digestion and absorption. Protein is essential for your health, as it helps build everything from muscles to hormones. Notably, sesame seeds are low in lysine, an essential amino acid more abundant in animal products. However, vegans and vegetarians can compensate by consuming high-lysine plant proteins — particularly legumes, such as kidney beans and chickpeas. On the other hand, sesame seeds are high in methionine and cysteine, two amino acids that legumes don't provide in large amounts. May help lower blood pressure High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Sesame seeds are high in magnesium, which may help lower blood pressure. Additionally, lignans, vitamin E, and other antioxidants in sesame seeds may help prevent plaque buildup in your arteries, potentially maintaining healthy blood pressure. In one 2011 study, people with high blood pressure consumed 2.5 grams of powdered black sesame seeds — a less common variety — in capsule form every day. A 2020 review confirmed that sesamin, a compound found in sesame seeds and their oil, lowered systolic ventricular blood pressure in both human and animal studies. At the end of one month, they experienced a 6% decrease in systolic blood pressure—the top number on a blood pressure reading—compared to the placebo group. May support healthy bones Sesame seeds — both unhulled and hulled — are rich in several nutrients that boost bone health, though the calcium is mainly in the hull. Three tablespoons of sesame seeds boast: Unhulled Hulled Calcium 20% of the DV 1% of the DV Magnesium 23% of the DV 20% of the DV Manganese 29% of the DV 15% of the DV Zinc 19% of the DV 15% of the DV However, sesame seeds contain natural compounds called oxalates and phytates, antinutrients that reduce the absorption of these minerals. Try soaking, roasting, or sprouting the seeds to limit these compounds' impact. One study found that sprouting reduced the concentration of phytate and oxalate by about 50% in both hulled and unhulled sesame seeds. May reduce inflammation Sesame seeds may fight inflammation. Long term, low-level inflammation may play a role in many chronic conditions, including obesity and cancer, as well as heart and kidney disease. A 2014 study found that when people with kidney disease ate a mixture of 18 grams of flax seeds and 6 grams each of sesame and pumpkin seeds daily for 3 months, their inflammatory markers dropped 51‒79%. A 2020 review of clinical trials found that sesame consumption reduced the amount of interleukin-6 (IL-6), an inflammatory protein, but did not affect the level of other inflammatory markers like C-reactive protein (CRP) or tumor necrosis factor- α (TNF- α). A 2023 literature review found that sesamol, a lignan in sesame, effectively targets several inflammatory proteins, including IL-6 and TNF- α. More research is needed. May aid blood cell formation To make red blood cells, your body needs several nutrients, including those in sesame seeds. Three tablespoons of sesame seeds give: Unhulled Hulled Function Iron 22% of the DV 9% of the DV An essential component of hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in your red blood cells Copper 122% of the DV 37% of the DV Helps make hemoglobin Vitamin B6 13% of the DV 6% of the DV Helps make hemoglobin Soaked, roasted, or sprouted sesame seeds may increase the absorption of these minerals. May aid blood sugar management Sesame seeds are low in carbohydrates while high in protein and healthy fats, all of which may support blood sugar control. Additionally, these seeds contain pinoresinol, a compound that may help regulate blood sugar by inhibiting the action of the digestive enzyme maltase. Maltase breaks down the sugar maltose, which is used as a sweetener for some food products. It's also produced in your gut from the digestion of starchy foods like bread and pasta. If pinoresinol inhibits your digestion of maltose, this may result in lower blood sugar levels. However, human studies are needed. Rich in antioxidants Animal and human studies suggest that consuming sesame seeds may increase your blood's overall amount of antioxidant activity. The lignans in sesame seeds function as antioxidants, which help fight oxidative stress — a chemical reaction that may damage your cells and increase your risk of many chronic diseases. Additionally, sesame seeds contain a form of vitamin E called gamma-tocopherol, an antioxidant that may be especially protective against heart disease. May support your immune system Sesame seeds are a good source of several nutrients crucial for your immune system, including zinc, selenium, copper, iron, vitamin B6, and vitamin E. For example, your body needs zinc to develop and activate certain white blood cells that recognize and attack invading microbes. Keep in mind that even mild to moderate zinc deficiency can impair immune system activity. Whole sesame seeds supply about 19% of the DV for zinc in a 3-tablespoon (27-gram) serving. May soothe arthritic knee pain Osteoarthritis is the most common cause of joint pain and frequently affects the knees. Several factors may contribute to arthritis, including inflammation and oxidative damage to the cartilage that cushions joints. Research shows that sesamin, a compound in sesame seeds, has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects that may protect your cartilage. In a 2-month study, people with knee arthritis ate 5 tablespoons (40 grams) of sesame seed powder daily alongside drug therapy. They experienced a 63% decrease in knee pain compared to only a 22% decrease for the group on drug therapy alone. Additionally, the sesame seed group showed greater improvement in a simple mobility test and larger reductions in certain inflammatory markers compared to the control group. May support thyroid health Sesame seeds are a good source of selenium, supplying 188% of the DV in a 3 tablespoon serving. Your thyroid gland contains the highest selenium concentration of any organ in your body. This mineral plays a vital role in making thyroid hormones. In addition, sesame seeds are a good source of iron, copper, zinc, and vitamin B6, which also support the production of thyroid hormones and aid thyroid health. May aid hormone balance during menopause Sesame seeds contain phytoestrogens, plant compounds that are similar to the hormone estrogen. Therefore, sesame seeds might be beneficial for women when estrogen levels drop during menopause. For example, phytoestrogens may help counteract hot flashes and other symptoms of low estrogen. What's more, these compounds may decrease your risk of certain diseases — such as breast cancer — during menopause. However, further research is needed. Easy to add to your diet Sesame seeds can give a nutty flavor and subtle crunch to many dishes. To enhance the flavor and nutrient availability of sesame seeds, roast them at 350℉ (180℃) for a few minutes, stirring periodically, until they reach a light, golden brown. Try adding sesame seeds to: stir-fries steamed broccoli hot or cold cereal granola and granola bars bread and muffins crackers yogurt smoothies salads salad dressing hummus garnishes You can also use sesame seed butter or tahini instead of peanut butter or hummus. Ground sesame seeds — called sesame flour or sesame seed meal — can be used in baking, smoothies, fish batter, and more. However, sesame allergies have become more prevalent, so you may need to take caution when cooking for groups. The bottom line Sesame seeds are a good source of healthy fats, protein, B vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants, and other beneficial plant compounds.
