Hot springs have a deep connection with modern Japanese literature. Ozaki Koyo's "Konjiki Yasha" features Atami Onsen and Shiobara Onsen, Natsume Soseki's "Botchan" features Dogo Onsen, Shiga Naoya's "At Kinosaki" features Kinosaki Onsen, and Kawabata Yasunari's "The Izu Dancer" features Yugashima Onsen. The great writers who wrote these works were of course hot spring lovers, traveling from place to place to soak in the hot springs and relax, savoring the local cuisine. They also stayed in inns to write.
This article follows the hot spring tours of famous writers, whose works have inspired not only novels but also travelogues. Written at the same time as "Konjiki Yasha" in the late 19th century, Tokutomi Roka's novel "Hototogisu" is set in Ikaho Onsen, Gunma Prefecture, a familiar location where his memorial museum stands. The area has also been beloved by many famous writers, and in the 1910s, the poet Hagiwara Sakutarō wrote about the compatibility between the dreary life of a hot spring resort and the meditative nature of drinking tea. He deeply appreciated the contrast between Western-style tea and the nostalgic atmosphere of a hot spring resort.
In the 1920s, Chiyo Uno visited Fukuichi in Ikaho Onsen and is said to have devoured a large bowl of butterbur and bracken for breakfast like a horse. Even today, they are sometimes eaten in early spring when they are in season.
While Uno was devouring himself like a horse, Kawabata was writing "The Dancing Girl of Izu." The location was Izu's Yugashima Onsen Yumotokan, the inn that inspired the novel. He praised Yugashima as the best mountain hot spring. The local specialties are wasabi and shiitake mushrooms, and he wrote that the wasabi pickles in particular tasted the best. Even today, these pickled wasabi are available for breakfast. The room where he stayed has been preserved as it was at the time. There is also an exhibition of materials on Kajii Motojiro, who proofread "The Dancing Girl of Izu" here.
Fast forward to the post-war period. Ibuse Masuji, who was also known for his love of fishing, went to Furuyubo Gensenkan in Yamanashi Prefecture. While visiting for post-operative recuperation, he discovered that he could catch yamame trout there, and began to frequent the inn. Even now, the owner of the inn fondly calls him "Ibuse Sensei." In addition to the food, his favorite drink is alcohol. The local sake brand "Tomisui" is no longer available, but today you can drink sake such as "Haruouizuru Junmai Ginjo Fujitake" from the local brewery, Yorozuya Brewery.
Since the 1950s, a succession of great writers have followed in the footsteps of other great writers. For example, Shusaku Endo visited the Seikinro inn in Tochigi Prefecture, where Koyo Ozaki drafted his novel "Konjiki Yasha," and stayed in the same room Koyo had stayed in. He looked at photographs and copies of manuscripts, and ate sashimi.
In the 1960s, Seiko Tanabe visited Kinosaki Onsen in Hyogo Prefecture. She reread her novel "At Kinosaki" and visited the monument to author Naoya Shiga. She ate the local specialty, Matsuba crab, and then went straight to Togo Onsen in Tottori. She embarked on a solo literary tour of the Kosenkaku Yojokan, where Katai Tayama and Rohan Koda had also stayed.
In the 1970s, poet Kusano Shinpei visited the Yamasa Ryokan in Ajimu Onsen, Oita, and sampled the local specialty, soft-shelled turtle. The purpose of his trip was to follow in the footsteps of Kinoshita Kenjiro, who was born in the area and wrote the classic textbook on Japanese cuisine, Bimikyushin. When he visited his nephew, he found a poem that Kenjiro had given him, which read, "I will spend the rest of my life reading books and holding a soft-shelled turtle." Learning about the deep connection between Kenjiro and soft-shelled turtles, Kusano's experience must have been even more captivating.
A slightly different story is Kita Morio's trip to Yamagata in the 1980s, a journey following in the footsteps of his late father, the poet Saito Mokichi. He stayed at the Notoya Ryokan in Ginzan Onsen, where he thoroughly enjoyed eating rock trout, abalone, chestnuts, and handmade soba noodles. He also stopped by the Mokichi monument (closed in winter) at Senshinkyo Gorge, deep in the hot spring area.
Many different hot springs have been written about, but the perspectives have gradually become more diverse. For example, from a current affairs perspective. Mizukami Tsutomu, who visited Yufuin Hot Springs (Kamenoi Besso) in Oita in the 1970s, commented that more and more people were attracted to Yufuin, which is like Atami in Tokyo and is the inner sanctum of Beppu in Kyushu. The wild vegetable dishes, wild boar meat hotpot, and local sake made with ingredients from this natural area are impeccable.
In the 1980s, Takeda Yuriko wrote essays about everyday life, rather than about special hot springs. She stopped by Asakusa Kannon Onsen near Sensoji Temple in Tokyo and ate a tempura bowl at Daikokuya. There's something very Tokyo-esque about this lighthearted experience.
Around the same time, Yamaguchi Hitomi wrote a book that was sort of a "collection." Persuaded by his editor that "the hot spring era is upon us," he traveled to 20 hot springs across Japan. He was particularly pleased with the food at Minamikan in Shimane. Located right next to Lake Shinjiko, Minamikan's food seemed fresher than ever, and he devoured the sea bream rice in one go. It was truly bubbly and luxurious.
