Among a lot of Buddhist temples in Japan, Osorezan, located in the northern tip of Honshu island, Aomori prefecture, is EXACTLY unique.

The landscape is like that of the Moon or the Mars and stink, sulfuric smell can be experienced when you visit the temple by bus or a rented car.

However, adding to its mystic and spiritual atmosphere, the temple has another feature, which can bring you immense advantage.

This time I’d like to talk about it, which maybe you should keep in mind.

How about taking a bath in a hot spring of the Buddhist temple?

About Osorezan, you can also be informed in another article below of this site.

Osorezan, a Buddha temple with amazing landscapes

As the artile above, Osorezan is located in the volcanic area and this means you have to get accustomed to sulfuric smell after entering the Osorezan’s main gate.

However, on the other hand, this temple is known for its hot spring.
Strangely, although Osorezan is very famous for its sacred status in Japan, one of Japan’s “Three greatest spiritual spots”, fewer people know that the hot spring in the temple’s precinct is excellent.

As the hot spring is called “Hito(秘湯)”, or “a secret hot spring”, it is even now hidden behind the image of “sacred Osorezan” despite its high quality.

But as well as many other hot springs in Japan, this hot spring is well worth bathing because it has long been admired as a good place for improving and keeping good health for us.

There are four bath houses in Osorezan’s precinct, which are small, wooden, and seemingly so old.
Of them, two are for women, one is for men, and the other is for mixed bathing.

As above, the bath houses are rather old and poor-looking appearance, but the spring’s good efficacy has long been considered steadfast.

A child’s atopic dermatitis was totally cured?

As described above, Osorezan’s hot spring is highly esteemed mainly because of its spring quality, of course many other hot springs having many different efficacies as well as Osorezan, though.

The efficacies of Osorezan’s hot spring are like this: it is said to have a good effect on neuralgic pains, rheumatism, and gastrointestinal disease.

In addition, I heard in the sermon at Osorezan when I went there and stayed at its shukubo(temple lodging) “Kisshokaku(吉祥閣)” the other day, Jikisai Minami(南直哉), who is Osorezan’s Indai(院代:degnitary or high-class monk), talked to many shukubo customers about one episode of a little boy as follows.

He was a little boy and his parents were believers in Osorezan.
But his mother worried he suffered from serious atopic dermatitis for a long time.

One day the mother heard of Osorezan’s spring and its good efficacy on various diseases.

From then on, she took him to Osorezan, making him bathe in the hot spring.

Surprisingly, his atopic dermatitis alleviated day by day, and ten days after that, his long-time disease was almost cured.

What do you think about this story?
You may not believe it quickly, but in Japan I have heard of some stories like this, many of which are not so dramatic as this, though.

However, if you have any chronic or difficult to cure disease, I believe you should once try and experience of taking a hot spring in Japan.
As you may know, Japan isles are a volcanic country and there are many and various hot springs whose efficacies are different in every region.
From the background people in this country have known the great merit of experiencing hot springs since ancient times.