Nasu Highlands (Imperial Villa Resort, Ancient Onsen & Sessho-seki Killing Stone)

Category: Alpine Plateau Resort, Historic Onsen & Mythology | Location: Yumoto, Nasu-machi, Nasu-gun, Tochigi 325-0301 (JR Nasushiobara Station)

Sprawling across the slopes of active volcanic Mount Chausu at an altitude of 1,000 meters in northern Tochigi, the Nasu Highlands (Nasu Kogen) has served as Japan’s preeminent mountain sanctuary since the establishment of the Nasu Imperial Villa in 1926. The alpine region pairs crisp pine air and artisanal dairy pastures with high-end bakeries, boutique craft breweries, and the sweeping 130-meter Tsutsuji Suspension Bridge spanning a vibrant gorge. At the historic heart of the hot springs lies "Shika no Yu" ("Deer Bath"), Tochigi’s oldest onsen discovered in 630 AD when a hunter witnessed an injured deer healing its wounds in the milky-white sulfur waters. The atmospheric all-wooden Edo-style bathhouse preserves traditional "Kaburi-yu" ladle splashing rituals and features six stepped wooden tubs calibrated at precise temperatures ranging from a soothing 41°C to an intensely scorching 48°C. Just uphill from the bathhouse rests "Sessho-seki" (The Killing Stone), a desolate volcanic crag shrouded in toxic sulfur vapors where mythology holds the transformed spirit of the deceitful Nine-Tailed Fox (Kyubi no Kitsune) was imprisoned, guarded by thousands of stone Jizo statues wearing red woolen caps. Nasu is reached in just 70 minutes from Tokyo via the Tohoku Shinkansen to Nasushiobara Station.