is an

onsen In Japan, are the country's hot springs and the bathing facilities and traditional inns around them. As a volcanically active country, Japan has many onsens scattered throughout all of its major islands. There are approximately 25,000 hot ...

(hot spring resort) in Obama,

Unzen is an active volcanic group of several overlapping stratovolcanoes, near the city of Shimabara, Nagasaki on the island of Kyushu, Japan's southernmost main island. In 1792, the collapse of one of its several lava domes triggered a megatsu ...

Nagasaki Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Nagasaki Prefecture has a population of 1,314,078 (1 June 2020) and has a geographic area of 4,130 Square kilometre, km2 (1,594 sq mi). Nagasaki Prefecture borders ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The hot springs system is located in the foothills of Mount

Unzen Volcano is an active volcanic group of several overlapping stratovolcanoes, near the city of Shimabara, Nagasaki on the island of Kyushu, Japan's southernmost main island. In 1792, the collapse of one of its several lava domes triggered a megatsu ...

. In Japanese, the word, "obama" means "little beach" or "little island". Although at least since 2008, the town's tourism office has been greeting visitors with a life-sized statue of the former American president,

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

, and vendors in town sell Barack Obama-themed towels.

Water Profile

The hot spring system known for having the hottest and most active springs in Japan, with some of them reaching 80-105 °C and producing over 15,000 tons of hot water daily. The hot spring system consists of 30 individual springs.

Environs

Its location near the seashore allows one to see the sun setting, which makes it a popular place to visit in the evenings. The poet Saito Mokichi wrote about Obama Onsen in his poem , and a monument with the words of the poem was erected near the onsen. The area was formerly part of

Hizen Province was an old province of Japan in the area of the Saga and Nagasaki prefectures. It was sometimes called , with Higo Province. Hizen bordered on the provinces of Chikuzen and Chikugo. The province was included in Saikaidō. It did not incl ...

. The onsen was designated as a National Recreation Onsen in 1962, and was first recorded in a in 713 AD. A fireworks show is held annually in December.

Cuisine

Obama Onsen is famous for its ''Obama

Chanpon , also known as ''Chanpon'', is a noodle dish that is a regional cuisine of Nagasaki, Japan. There are different versions in Japan, Korea and China. The dish was inspired by Chinese cuisine. ''Champon'' is made by frying pork, seafood and ve ...

'' a dish made of noodles, seafood, and vegetables. The onsen has about 20 stores and restaurants nearby, serving everything from Western style food to

sushi is a Japanese cuisine, Japanese dish of prepared , usually with some sugar and salt, accompanied by a variety of , such as seafood, often raw, and vegetables. Styles of sushi and its presentation vary widely, but the one key ingredient is " ...

, alcoholic beverages, and interpretations of the Obama Chanpon. Shrimp are found in abundance along the beaches near the onsen, and a special soup is made from them.

Access

The onsen is accessible by bus from

Isahaya Station is a railway station in Eishō-chō, Isahaya, Nagasaki, Japan. It is owned by Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu), and is the junction between three lines: the Nagasaki Main Line, Ōmura Line and the private Shimabara Railway Line. Lines The ...

on the

Nagasaki Main Line The , or simply Nagasaki Line, is a railway line owned by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) connecting Tosu Station in Saga Prefecture to Nagasaki Station in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. There is a separate branch of this line from Kikitsu S ...

and

Ōmura Line is a railway line in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, operated by the Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu). It connects Haiki Station in Sasebo to Isahaya Station in Isahaya. From 1898 the line was part of the Nagasaki Main Line until the Hizen Yamaguch ...

s run by

JR Kyushu The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan and the JR Kyushu Jet Ferry Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait ...

, as well as the Shimabara Railway Line. The ride is about 60 minutes.

References

Hot springs of Nagasaki Prefecture Landforms of Nagasaki Prefecture 710s establishments Tourist attractions in Nagasaki Prefecture 8th-century establishments in Japan {{nagasaki-geo-stub