Do you want to see the beautiful autumn colors while you are in a footbath? Moreover, not in a facility, in a forest with colorful leaves and a natural river! Oyunuma Natural Footbath in Noboribetsu Onsen is a place to dip your toes into the gray onsen river.
 
Noboribetsu Onsen area gets colored in mid-October normally. When you visit the area around this time, you will get to see the beautiful colored outdoor bath and hike in natural woods. Of all the activities, my recommendation is visiting Oyunuma Natural Footbath. 

 

The water of Oyunuma Natural Footbath is a naturally blended onsen

Oyunuma Natural Footbath is a place where you can put your feet in a natural river, Oyunuma River. The name describes it; the water of this river flows from Oyunuma, where the high-temperature onsen wells up.

 
▲Oyunuma, located at the foot of Mt. Hiyori with volcanic smoke. Hot water, the temperature is as high as 130 degrees, wells up from the bottom and hot gray water makes a pond. 


The area contains active volcanoes. Onsen springs are everywhere; that water makes ponds and those water which overflowed become rivers. 
Oyunuma consists of merged waters from other ponds with onsen and Okunonuma. Oyunuma River also contains hot water overflowed from other onsen pond called Taisho Jigoku, another onsen pond.

 
▲Hot water overflowed from Oyunuma becomes a river.


The onsen river consists of many kinds of hot water. The temperature goes down as the water flows in the forest, and people can enjoy the footbath with the comfortable temperature at Oyunuma Natural Footbath. 

 
▲People enjoy footbath, taking seats along the river


The water from Oyunuma and Okunoyu is sulfur spring, but water from Taisho Jigoku contains other components irregularly, so the spring quality is unstable. 
Although sulfur is the strongest part in Oyunuma Natural Footbath, the quality is not stable. Since this is the naturally blended spring, you can expect multiple effects? Who knows?

 
▲Some of the rock surface colored yellow by sulfur others are green by microscopic organism got active by spring quality.

 

Enjoy the beautiful autumn colors at Oyunuma Natural Footbath!

There is a trail along Oyunuma River called “Oyunuma Gawa Tansho Yuhodo”. The entrance of this trail is about 20 minutes by foot from Noboritbetsu Onsen resort. This distance is just right for a short walk in nature. 
The trail gets beautiful especially in autumn, with red and yellow colored Yamaurushi, Nanakamado, and Dakekanba trees. 

 
▲The picture of the forest in late autumn. The trail continues to the bridge on Oyunuma River.

 
▲The trail goes along the hot spring river. There is a gray hot spring water under the yellow colored trees. 


There is only one point where you can reach by the river from the trail. This point is Oyunuma Natural Footbath. Of course, the fee is free. Everyone is welcomed to enjoy the bath. 
The gap between the trail and the riverside is about  2nd floor and 1st floor of buildings. Wood decks are constructed along the riverside, and there are simple benches where people sit to enjoy the footbath. 

 
▲Some aluminum sheets are prepared for rental to avoid your clothes getting wet. 


The temperature is about 40 some degrees. I could feel an appropriate stimulus; the water felt so nice. I could feel my blood circulating and body getting warm from my feet, even though the day was chilly. 




Enjoying this location is fun enough but the colors get beautiful in autumn and attractions gets greater! 

 
▲A small hot waterfall on the left of the footbath. Withered leaves fall on the rocks, making beautiful and complicated colors. 

 
▲I could see the beautiful clear blue sky and yellow leaves when I looked up from the footbath. 


I got warm from the body core on a chilly autumn day as I dipped my feet in natural hot spring water. I felt like could spend as much time as possible when I was watching the colorful trees and falling leaves from the footbath. 

Oyunuma Natural Footbath is the best spot to enjoy the beautiful autumn colors and natural hot spring footbath at the same time. This is definitely a rare experience you cannot have commonly.
 
▲The hot spring river between colored trees. I could feel the spiritual power of nature. 

Text, photo / Hokkaido Likers photo-writer nobu Kawashima
https://no-1-travel.com