sharing our love of bathing,
one onsen at a time!
learn more about how we travel
in search of the perfect bath
we love to take baths---especially the way they do it in japan! over the last 43 years since the spa was founded, so many people have asked us at ten thousand waves about our favorite japanese hot springs and places to go in japan that we decided to venture forth with our own tour company.
our goal is to share our love of rural japan and its bathing culture with small groups of like-minded bathing afficionados. our specialty is to focus on smaller villages in areas most tourists never venture. we call them “tours for non-tour travelers”: independent and adventurous people only need apply! we escort you to our favorite rural areas, recommend our favorite baths and activities, then let you loose to enjoy. plenty of free time for solo exploring and, of course, multiple daily baths! no lectures on endless bus rides or a daily schedule planned for you each and every minute.
mountains & monkeys tour
we have been refining this tour for 19 years, with many of our guests returning again and again to experience the unique charms of the northern region of mainland japan. our focus is on the rare, hard-to-reach rural hot springs (onsen) of the northern mountains, the tohoku region’s akita and yamagata prefectures, as well as the japan alps region of nagano prefecture. we stay in famous old-style inns, simple country inns, and modern takes on both. aside from many fabulous baths, we have befriended local farmers that invite us to pound rice with them, we always sample the very special local mountain cuisine, and each village greets us with an unforgettable and heartwarming northern welcome. oh, and yes: we visit the famous bathing snow monkeys, too!
kyoto, kyushu &
the kumano kodo tour
from tokyo we fly south to kyushu for 6 days in the volcanic mountains that run through the center of the island. we stay in villages small enough to have no convenience stores (a true rarity in japan!) to a small, arty town with horse-drawn and rickshaw carriages as a primary mode of transport. the lodging and baths on this tour are super refined and elegant modern takes on traditional japanese design, making this tour a great finale after our other, more rustic tour. the food, culture, crafts and hospitality are different in each of the regions we travel to, with kyushu being no exception. then, due to popular demand, we have three days in magical kyoto, followed by 6-7 days along wakayama prefecture’s rugged coastline. home of the famous kumano kodo pilgrimage route, this part of the tour features rare seaside bathing and small fishing villages as well as sacred forests and pilgrimage paths.
“ten thousand memories gathered two weeks at a time. I wish I could say I was satisfied with each of the ten thousand waves tours, but all three have left me wanting to return again and again.”
— martha cook, professional bather
contact
feel free to contact us with any questions.
Email
deborah@tenthousandwaves.com