I’m a big fan of rotemburo (露天風呂) outdoor hot springs in Japan, and warmly recommend them especially after hiking or cycling. Rotemburo views vary with:
- Place: Siberia & Taiwan border Japan, cave, rooftop…
- Time: sunrise, sunset, stars…
- Day: fruit in water (e.g. yuzu nationwide on the day of the winter solstice), male/female swap…
- Season: flowers, coloured leaves, snow & stalactites…
Some rotemburo are just “ponds in nature” but those part of facilities are typically partly roofed and thus suitable during rain & snow. In Kurokawa-onsen village, I even discovered an outdoor hot spring whose colour changes with the time of the day.
Indoor or outdoor, onsen (温泉) hot springs are one of the greatest gifts of Japanese nature: land & body warmth, cooking, health, relaxation & wellbeing, sustainable lifestyles, sustainable hospitality (e.g. onsen-ryokan), sustainable tourism… I’m not aware of any rotemburo being designed for wheelchair users but the Japanese hotel Naniwa Issui got a Best Accessible Travel award for its indoor hot spring designed for wheelchair users.
Photos on Bluesky taken in Hokkaido (brown water surrounded by mountains), Kochi (sunrise over the sea), Shizuoka (tiny seaside rotemburo with a cliff beyond the fence), and Nara (modern on the roof of a hotel):
I warmly recommend #rotemburo outdoor hot springs, especially after hiking or cycling. Views vary with places (Siberia & Taiwan border #Japan, cave, rooftop), time (sunrise, sunset, stars), day (fruit in water, male/female swap), season (flowers, coloured leaves, snow, stalactites)… #onsen #温泉 #露天風呂
— Sébastien Duval (@sebastienplus.bsky.social) 9 February 2025 at 11:58
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