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 44 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.
based on many many years of our original “kyoto, kyushu & the kumano kodo” tour, we have sinced discovered so many more gorgeous baths that we decided to make two separate tours in order to spread the joy!
the “kyoto & kyushu” trip visits the ancient bathing island of kyushu and the ancient capitol of japan, kyoto. from tokyo we fly south to kyushu for 9 days in the volcanic mountains that run through the center of the island—-as well as the southernmost volcanic bathing area of ibusuki. 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 northern tour. the food, culture, crafts and hospitality are different in each of the regions we travel to, with kyushu being no exception. to end, we have three days in magical kyoto: always a highlight.
kyoto & kyushu tour:
ancient mountain & ocean baths
to the ancient capitol of kyoto
the “sacred seasides” tour features a new-to-us onsen called kinosaki, high on the northern edge of hyogo’s rugged seacoast. known as japan’s only “tattoo friendly” onsen, this ancient bathing town has a gorgeous temple dedicated to the onsen gods and is aptly where we begin our pilgrimage. this village is famous for its seven ancient public baths, and the atmosphere is old school romantic: canals, everyone wandering in their yukatas, gorgeous architecture––you’ll feel as if you time-traveled back to a more leisurely era.
from kinosaki we move to the ancient capital of kyoto, featuring all that this amazing town had to offer with its temples, architecture & culture. most of the time spent in kyoto is independent: you can visit what you choose and fill your days as you like. we will take you to meet our favorite chef in japan one evening for dinner, though!
following 3 days in kyoto we travel south 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. truly a delight. we’ll spend 6 days in this area before returning to narita.
sacred seasides tour:
a pilgrimage of bathing from
kinosaki & kyoto to the kumano kodo
we have been refining this tour for 20 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!
mountains & monkeys tour:
secret baths of tohoku & the alps
“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