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Tamatsukuri Onsen's 'Bihada'

©︎Shimane Prefecture

HOME > Japan’s Local Treasures > Tamatsukuri Onsen's 'Bihada'

A hot spring resort in Shimane renowned for promoting skin health

Shimane Prefecture

The ancient hot spring town of Tamatsukuri Onsen, in Shimane Prefecture, is one of Japan’s famous destinations for healthy skin, or “bihada”.

In the annual rankings of prefectures for bihada released by the Japanese cosmetics company Pola, Shimane has been awarded first place multiple times – with one of the secrets of its success being its famous hot springs.

It has natural minerals to smooth and moisturize your skin and has been used for more than a millennium to refresh the body and mind and to achieve healthy, glowing skin. A 1,300-year-old text which mentions Tamatsukuri Hot Springs, states: ‘If you bathe your body once in it, you’ll get more beautiful. If you bathe again, any disease will be healed.’ It is even said that the gods enjoyed bathing in Tamatsukuri.

To fully discover the secrets to bihada, we recommend an overnight stay in one of the town’s ryokans, traditional inns. If you don’t have time, you can walk around the town and visit the public footbaths, stop by a temple to wish for healthy skin, and pick up a bottle of the famous hot spring water so you can use it as a moisturizer in your usual skincare routine. Take the memories and the health benefits of your trip to Tamatsukuri Onsen back home with you.