Bessho Onsen

An old hot spring resort south of Nagano, Bessho Onsen is a quiet mountain town with a handful of public baths, old temples, and a small shopping street shaded by large red umbrellas. Apparently girls in traditional dresses are supposed to greet you at the train station, but the Internet clearly lied to us. Anyway, it was a picturesque station and the train was nice and old-looking, too.

When we got into town, we first stopped at a nice cafe with a wood-burning stove. We both got coffee, but I got the last slice of toast.

Then we wandered around, eventually reaching Anrakuiji, which has an interesting octagonal pagoda (and yes, we counted up the sides to confirm). Next, we stopped by main Aisome no Yu public bath, and Anastasha also visited Oyu, a large traditional neighborhood bath, while I took some photos around town.Read more