Hot Springs and Kokeshi in Naruko Onsen

Naruko Onsen Town

Naruko Onsen is a quaint little town surrounded by nature, and is known for its natural onsen (hot springs) and kokeshi craftsmen studios. Its not a super popular spot for foreign tourists so its somewhat of an "off-the-beaten-track" location although it can get pretty popular here with domestic tourism during the fall. Its great for a two day trip all year round, and can be accessed by public transit.

How to Get There

From Tokyo Station you take the Yamabiko Tohoku-Hokkaido Shinkansen to Furukawa Station which takes about 2 hours and 15 minutes. From Furukawa Station, you take the local Rikuuto Line to Naruko Onsen Station which takes around 43 minutes.

As soon as you reach Naruko Onsen Station you will be hit with the smell of sulfur from its natural hot spring water resources. All around the town there are many pipes with hot water streaming out of them which provide the natural hot water to the various types of onsen in the area. Since the town is also known for its Naruko kokeshi and handful of kokeshi craftsmen studios, you will find kokeshi in many different forms everywhere you go. Below are some photos of the kokeshi that we found!

Kokeshi Sightings Around Naruko Onsen Town

1.

Kokeshi fence poles in front of Naruko Onsen Station

2.

Kokeshi Sewer Grates

3.

Kokeshi "fire prevention water tank" signs used to cover manholes to water resources used when there is a fire. (There are a few of these around the town)

4.

Kokeshi Japan Post mailbox outside of Naruko Post Office

〒989-6899 宮城県大崎市鳴子温泉新屋敷124-5

5.

Kokeshi Signboard

6.

Kokeshi phone booth outside of the Osaki City Hall Naruko General Branch

(I couldn't find an exact address for this and when I searched for the address of Naruko City Hall it was in the wrong area so I dropped a pin on Google Maps of where its located): Shinyashiki-65 Narukoonsen, Ōsaki, Miyagi 989-6822

Kokeshi Museums

There are two museums dedicated to kokeshi in Naruko Onsen that you can get to by bus from Naruko Onsen Station. At these museums you will be able to see a whole variety of kokeshi by tons of different kokeshi craftsmen from Miyagi and Tohoku.

1.

Japan Kokeshi Museum (日本こけし館)

Address: Shitomae-74-2 Narukoonsen, Ōsaki, Miyagi 989-6827

A short bus ride from Naruko Onsen Station will take you to the Japan Kokeshi Museum which is home to approximately 5000 kokeshi dolls from Naruko and all around the Tohoku region. There is an area in the back where you can participate in a kokeshi painting workshop for around 1000 JPY. You can learn about the history of different kokeshi craftsmen and also see some kokeshi painted by famous manga artists and locals.

** Please note that the bus is not very frequent, so you should try to plan what time you will take the bus back before you go unless you want to walk back (its about a 30 minute walk).

2.

Iwashita Kokeshi Museum

Address: Furutomae-80 Narukoonsen, Ōsaki, Miyagi 989-6826

This museum is small and more like a shop than a museum, but it has a good sized collection of kokeshi to look at. You can also do a kokeshi painting workshop here for around 1000 JPY. The building itself is quite interesting with an old traditional-style roof and large tree trunks in the front as pillars. There are two giant kokeshis, one to the right of the entrance, and one in the parking lot that are great to take photos with. We actually walked here from the Japan Kokeshi Museum (about 15-20 minutes) because the next bus to Naruko Onsen Station would have been a 30 minute wait.

**Please note that you are not allowed to take any photos inside (there are signs in the entrance).

Kokeshi Craftsmen Shops/Studios

1.

Okazaki Hitoshi's Kokeshi Shop 岡崎斉の店

Address: Yumoto-96 Narukoonsen, Ōsaki, Miyagi 989-6823

Here you can watch kokeshi craftsman Okazaki Seiichi 岡崎 斉一 work on his latest project through the window at the front of this shop. Inside there are a variety of souvenirs handmade by Okazaki Seiichi, his son, and other artists/craftsmen. Like many of the other locations there is a small space where you can paint your own kokeshi for around 1000 JPY. On the wall to the right of the entrance are photos of his predecessors which started with Okazaki Nisaburo 岡崎仁三郎 (1868~1937) so you can get a real sense of the long lineage of this craft.

2.

Kokeshi no Oka Hitoshi こけしの岡仁

Address: 51 鳴子温泉新屋敷 Ōsaki, Miyagi 989-6100

Website (Japanese): http://w01.tp1.jp/~a510276881/

Just up the street from the kokeshi phone booth is Kokeshi no Oka Hitoshi, a kokeshi shop/studio currently used by kokeshi craftsman Yasuo Okazaki 岡崎靖男. He works on his kokeshi in the studio in the front which can be seen by visitors passing by through the large window. Yasuo Okazaki was actually interviewed by the Japan Woodcraft Association and you can see their video playing on the TV in his studio, or here:

https://japanwoodcraftassociation.com/makers/yasuo-okazaki/

There appears to be a kokeshi painting workshop here for around 1000 JPY.

3.

Sakurai Kokeshi 桜井こけし店

Address: Yumoto 26, Naruko-onsen, Osaki, Miyagi Prefecture, 989-6823, Japan

Website: https://en.sakuraikokeshiten.com/

This is a more trendy kokeshi shop where you can also catch the current kokeshi craftsman Sakurai Akihiro 櫻井昭寛 (the 5th-generation Kokeshi craftsman of the Sakurai family) working on his latest kokeshi in his studio in the front of the shop! Here's a little history of their family (via their website): "The history of Sakurai family as kokeshi makers dates back to Matagoro Onuma iin Edo period, who is believed to have been the founder of Naruko style kokeshi. In the course of its five-generation history, the family has produced several diverse and very important kokeshi craftspersons, such as Iwazo Onuma, Mannojo Sakurai, Kenzaburo Onuma, to name a few. "

They have their own kokeshi painting workshop which costs 1500 JPY.

4.

Kokeshido こけし堂

Address: Yumoto-26-9 Narukoonsen, Ōsaki, Miyagi 989-6823

This spot is only open on weekends and appears to serve kokeshi themed wagashi that you can enjoy with a gorgeous view of the mountains since they are located up on top of the edge of a hill (as you can see in the first photo below). Unfortunately we were there on a weekday so we could only see what its like from the outside. From the front window you can see a small workshop space where it appears that the owner makes their kokeshi.

5.

Hayasaka Kokeshi store 早坂こけし店

Address: 26-18 Yumoto, Naruko Onsen, Osaki City, 989-6823

Kokeshi craftsman Masahiro Hayasaka 早坂政弘 currently works out of this studio and creates kokeshi based on the style of Yoshisuke Gazuma 我妻吉助. They currently also sell "Amabie アマビエ" kokeshi dolls which is a Japanese yokai with the body of a mermaid/merman and a bird-beak like mouth who has been used as a symbol to ward off illness.

6.

Kokeshi Sugawara こけしの菅原屋

Address: Kaminaruko-135 Narukoonsen, Ōsaki, Miyagi 989-6825

Website: http://www.vega.ne.jp/~kokeshi/

Working out of Kokeshi Sugawara is kokeshi craftsman Sugawara Wahei 菅原 和平 who sells his own kokeshi, and has a kokeshi painting workshop slightly unique to the others as he makes the kokeshi doll in front of you and varnishes it after you are done painting it. The workshop takes around 1 hour and costs around 1000 JPY.

Foot/Hand Hot Springs

1.

Jigoku Gensen Foot Hot Spring 足湯下地獄源泉

Address: Shinyashiki-72 Narukoonsen, Ōsaki, Miyagi 989-6100

This is a free foot onsen where you can relax and dip your feet in after a long day of walking around. The water comes from a reservoir just up the hill and makes its way down a wooden slide into the communal tub. There's an area where you are supposedly allowed to put eggs into to cook "onsen tamago" but it was covered up and there was a sign saying not to use it. Perhaps it's a seasonal thing.

2.

Yumeguri Kairō Hand Hot Spring 湯めぐり回廊 手湯

Address: Yumoto-94 Narukoonsen, Ōsaki, Miyagi 989-6100

Up the pathway from the two kokeshi you will find a small area to sit and read manga on the right, and then a water basin with warm water heated naturally by the spring water to dip your hands into. It is free to use.

3.

Goriyaki Ashiyu Foot Onsen ご利益足湯

Address: Shinyashiki-91-2 Narukoonsen, Ōsaki, Miyagi 989-6822

This foot bath is very small and only for one person at a time. It can also get very hot and sometimes is unusable, but it's a fun and cute little spot that's conveniently on the way to the kokeshi phone booth. It is also free to use.

4.

Naruko Onsen Station Foot Onsen

Address: Located just out front of Naruko Onsen Station

A simple foot onsen just out front of Naruko Onsen Station, and its free to use!

Naruko Onsen Shrine

Address: Yumoto-31-1 Narukoonsen, Ōsaki, Miyagi 989-6823

A shrine with 1000 years of history located near the Naruko Onsen Hotel. It is famous for its large wooden Naruko-style kokeshi that stands to the right of the entrance of the shrine. You can also get goshuin (御朱印) here, which is a seal stamp collected by visitors and worshippers of shinto shrines in special books called goshuincho (御朱印帳).

Souvenir Shops

1.

Maruyoshi まるよし

Address: Shinyashiki-136-1 Narukoonsen, Ōsaki, Miyagi 989-6822

This is my favorite souvenir shop in the town as it has a lot of fun vintage toys and souvenirs not seen in the other shops along with new and vintage Naruko kokeshi. The owner is also very kind and welcoming and we talked about vintage Japanese toys and some of the non-traditional kokeshi he had on display that was painted by friends and other artists.

2.

Maruzen お土産と食堂喫茶のまるぜん

Address: Yumoto-109 Narukoonsen, Ōsaki, Miyagi 989-6100

Right out in front of Naruko Onsen Station is Maruzen, which is a souvenir shop on the first floor and a restaurant/cafe on the second floor. They have a large storefront with a great selection of new and old Naruko themed souvenirs, as well as a picture board out front with their Naruko kokeshi match to take photos with.

Naruko Gorge

Address: Narukoonsen, Ōsaki, Miyagi 989-6100

A popular destination in Naruko during the autumn season is Naruko Gorge, which is a short bus ride from Naruko Onsen Station. We were a bit too early to see the autumn leaves in full effect but it was beautiful nonetheless. There is a large building that sells food, drinks, and souvenirs as well as a lookout where you can see Obukasawa Bridge. Closer to the bus stop there is a path that leads down to an approximately 30 minute (one way) hike to the water which also has some scenic spots, and you can see the bridge from below.

Food in Naruko Onsen Town

1.

Takahashi-tei たかはし亭

Address: Shinyashiki-121-1 Narukoonsen, Ōsaki, Miyagi 989-6822

A family-run restaurant with a cosy atmosphere in an old traditional Japnese house. You can sit in the "engawa" part of the building which is a corridor that wraps around the building with sliding glass doors that look out to the Japanese garden. We tried their original take on Miyagi prefecture's regional dish "okuzugake" which is a soba dish with vegetables and a soy sauce-flavored soup thickened with potato starch. At Takahashi-tei the soba is first fried so it has a crunchy texture which is perfect in combination with the thick soup and it comes with tons of mushrooms! On top is radish and a cute flower-shaped pickled carrot. For the sides they had Japanese-style pickles (pickled by obachan), salt-tofu (which is fermented and tastes kind of like cream cheese), an egg cooked in Naruko hot spring water, a simple but delicious kombu based soup, and a cup of coffee.

The dish is called: Naruko Yakibanmoto Okuzugake (鳴子焼番素おくずがけ)

2.

Okashi to Kissa Tamagoya おかしときっさ たまごや 玉子屋本店

Address: Yumoto-102-1 Narukoonsen, Ōsaki, Miyagi 989-6823

A kissaten serving typical kissaten fare as well as wagashi made in-house with a cup of matcha. It has a charming retro interior with the walls covered in various kokeshi themed art.