Ureshino Onsen — Skin-Softening Miracle Waters

Ureshino Onsen is called 'bijin no yu' (beautiful woman's water) — the sodium bicarbonate-rich water has a slippery, silky quality that leaves skin noticeably softer within 20 minutes of soaking. The town has been a bathing destination for over 1,300 years; historical records indicate Empress Jingu bathed here on a military campaign in 200 AD. The onsen town is small (population 27,000) with 30 ryokan concentrated in a single riverside valley, making it feel intimate rather than sprawling.