January/21/2023
In Awara Onsen (芦原温泉、あわら温泉) there are 74 hot springs and about 30 hotels. In 2018 about 800,000 people stayed there. The town has a 140-year history, and the Showa emperor (1901–1989) stayed there several times.
In my opinion, Awara Onsen has three good points:
- Each hotel in the town has unique hot springs.
- A lot of the hotels have beautiful gardens.
- You can get meals made with seasonal ingredients.
All of the hot springs are unique, so the water quality, composition, and physical effects are different among all of them.
There are some beautiful Japanese gardens inside a lot of the hotels at Awara Onsen, and you can look at these while soaking in the hot springs.
Seasonal cuisine is served at a lot of hotels in the town. Some hotels offer Echizen gani (crab) in winter.
The effects of the hot-spring baths in Awara Onsen differ, but most of them assist recovery from rheumatism, chronic dermatitis, atopic dermatitis, and nerve pain. A lot of people bathe in the hot springs simply because they make them feel good. Others do so to cure diseases or ailments that they have.
A big competitive karuta tournament was once held at Seifuso, one of the hotels in town.
Sightseeing spots near Awara Onsen are Maruoka Castle, the Tojinbo Cliffs, and Eiheiji.
I found some hotels in town on an English website, and those can be seen in the list below.
https://matuyasensen.co.jp/lg_en/
https://www.g-housen.co.jp/lg_en/
https://hpdsp.jp/awara-seiryu/en/
http://www.hakuwaso.com/english.html
If you come to Fukui, be sure to come to Awara Onsen for pleasant hot springs and great food.
–Access—
It takes about 40 minutes on the Echizen Railway to get from Fukui Station (福井駅) to Awarayunomachi Station (あわら湯のまち駅). (Echizen Railway Fukui Station is near JR Fukui Station.) Awara Onsen is walking distance from Awarayunomachi Station.
(References)
「あわら市おもてなしハンドブック」（あわら市観光協会）
「芦原温泉ものがたり」（読売新聞福井支局）（（株）旅行読売出版社）