Japan's Hidden Hot Springs (Paperback)

~ Robert Neff (Author) "What ever happened to the "real" Japan?..." (more)
Key Phrases: indoor baths, outdoor bath, bus bound, Tohoku Shinkansen, Kurokawa Onsen, Matsukawa Onsen (more...)

Product Details

• Paperback: 196 pages
• Publisher: Charles E. Tuttle Co.; illustrated edition edition (April 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804819491
• ISBN-13: 978-0804819497
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 4.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,029,655 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Full of 'Hidden' treasures, June 10, 2000

By	"matttatami" (Tokyo) - See all my reviews

I say hidden as books in English on traditional Japanese hot springs (onsens) are rare. Neff is a real traditioalist at heart and refuses to recommend any onsen that has tried to fit in with the modern city-driven development of Japan. His enthusiasm for finding peaceful, beautiful locations, with onsens set in natural locations knows no bounds! Locations given in the book live up to their expectations. This is certainly the best onsen guide showing a side of Japan that has resisted change, and will hopefully continue to do so - see it before it does!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best sources on Japanese Onsen, March 24, 2006

By	rumirose (NY) - See all my reviews

After reading almost every book that is out there on Japanese onsen, I always come back to this one. It's a very concise collection of the "true and traditional" Japanese onsen ryokan. It is for anyone who seeks a traditional experience of what onsen used to be before modernisation set in. His selection stays away from the modern, overpriced, and ugly. Of course you have to be willing to do the extra work to find these onsen, but what the other review says that these are "impossible" to find places, is simply not true, you just have to be willing to look at a map. The book also includes one. Some onsen are in fact very close to Tokyo. My only negative: the rating system is a bit confusing. Overall I highly recommend this book. It's a jem.

6 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Good luck finding any of these places, May 18, 2004

By	shelly simonds (Newport News, Va United States) - See all my reviews

"Hidden" is the opperative word here. Unless you're a backpacker with lots of time to take local buses AND are able to speak Japanese, I don't think your average tourist could find any of these places. They seemed really off the beaten track, many in the mountains or up in northern Japan.
The book (I had the 1995 edition) didn't even have a good map of the country! I found the organization very confusing with little guidence as to good hot springs visits outside the major tourist cities.
A British friend and hot spring enthusiast who spent six months in Japan also said this book was too difficult to use.
If you're a backpacker get the Lonely Planet and if you can afford a few $300 nights in an Onsen (it's worth it), get the Price book "Classic Japanese Inns.
If you actually live in Japan, with a car and some language skills, you might like this book.