Hachimantai

Hachimantai (八幡平市) is a city in Iwate Prefecture.

The administrative city of Hachimantai is the product of numerous local council mergers, and today covers a large chunk of northwestern Iwate, all of it mountainous and thinly populated. The "actual" town center is known variously as Nishine (西根), one of the merged towns, and Ōbuke (大更), a village that was previously merged into Nishine.

• Hachimantai city Sightseeing Association (八幡平市観光協会), 1-28 Kashiwadai, ☏ +81 195-78-3500. 

Hachimantai is served by the JR Hanawa Line between Morioka and Odate. Counterintuitively, the station for Hachimantai town is 🌍 Ōbuke.

Hachimantai's top draws are skiing at Appi Kogen and hiking in Towada-Hachimantai National Park, both covered in separate articles. There are also numerous onsen hot springs, many of which accept day guests.

Hachimantai has several spectacular hot springs deep in the mountains.

• 🌍 Matsukawa Onsen Kyōunsō (松川温泉 峡雲荘), Matsukawa Onsen, Matsuoyoriki, ☏ +81-195-78-2256. Check-in: 14:00, check-out: 12:00. A traditional Japanese inn (ryokan) nestled in the Matsukawa Gorge, renowned for its milky-white, free-flowing sulfur hot spring baths. Both indoor and open-air baths (rotemburo). The inn serves meals featuring local Hachimantai ingredients, and a communal kitchen is available for guests who wish to cook for themselves (it's recommended to inquire in advance). ¥12,250 - ¥20,500 per person, per night with two meals. 

• 🌍 Tōshichi Onsen Saiunsō (藤七温泉 彩雲荘), Kitanomata, Matsuoyoriki, ☏ +81-90-1495-0950. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 10:00. One of the highest altitude hot spring inns in the Tohoku region, near the summit of Mt. Hachimantai, this very, very rustic inn has no less than six separate outdoor baths (rotenburo) connected with a spiderweb of walkways. The water is milky white and sulfuric, and you can scoop up mud straight from the pools to treat your skin. Accommodations are in basic Japanese-style rooms with buffet dinners. Due to the exceedingly remote location, the inn is closed during the long winter period (end-October and end-April), generates its own power, and has spotty to no mobile phone reception. ¥13,110 - ¥15,810 per person, per night with two meals.