Ever heard of the Spirited Away film from Ghibli? Apparently, this place served as an inspiration for the film. If you remember the bathhouses from the film, you'll see the resemblance when walking around Ginzan Onsen.
Ginzan Onsen (銀山温泉) means Silver Mountain Hot Spring if you translate it into English. True enough, this place was once a silver mine. Later on, hot spring was discovered and then, Ginzan Onsen came to fruition. Today, there are few ryokans in this small town and because of its picture-perfect view, this place is booming with visitors from all over the world especially during the Winter season when the place is covered with snow.
source: Wikipedia: Ginzan Onsen history
Ryokans in Ginzan Onsen are usually fully booked 6 months before, especially during winter. There are only a few ryokans, maybe 3 to 5, in the town, so most people just come here for a day tour. We tried to get a reservation in all the ryokans in the town but we were too late, we tried looking from November and everything was already fully booked for January.
So we had to avail of accommodation in another town. Ginzan Onsen is in Yamagata Prefecture, and I don't really know what's famous in this prefecture except for this town so at first, we thought of getting a hotel near Murayama Station, suggested by my friend because the bullet train passes there and commuting to Ginzan Onsen would take us around 1 hour. It's impossible to go back to Tokyo on the same day so we're getting a hotel nearby.
Getting to Ginzan Onsen is quite tough, especially during winter. Because its location is secluded in the mountains, there were only a few buses that go to this place. The last bus departs around 6 or 7 PM and after that, you'll be left to walk to the nearby town. Sure taxis are present in Japan but with the competition, it's highly unlikely you'll be able to get one.
My friend told me when they visited Ginzan Onsen, they were not able to ride the last bus so along with many Japanese who also came to visit the place, they walked in the middle of the night, braving the snow storm, just to get home. So if you're planning to come, make sure to plan ahead if you're going to commute.
Luckily, we found accommodation and a tour package from Tendo Onsen, still in Yamagata Prefecture. The tour package is a simple one, there's just a bus that will take us to Ginzan Onsen from Tendo, and will also fetch us after an hour's stay in Ginzan. It's called Twilight Tour so we would be able to enjoy Ginzan Onsen around sunset. The tour package doesn't include accommodation in Tendo and it doesn't matter where in Tendo you'll be staying, as long as you get to the meetup area.
From the drop-off point, we had to walk for around 10-15 minutes in the snowy road and in the snowstorm. People were walking with us too because the parking is still far from the town proper. Only vehicles registered to the people living here are able to enter the town.
We only have an hour to explore the town so without further ado, we took turns snapping a lot of our portraits.
After we were satisfied, we moved on to other areas. We're still in the entrance. LOL
We found a good spot to take photos in one of the many bridges so we had to snap portraits again. The place is just too perfect for self portraits!
My Canadian friend was so bothered by my outfit in this snowy area but oh well, I truly enjoyed the snow because I don't get to see this often and I wanted to show off my inner clothes for a contrast of color for my portraits. 😂 And I really wanted to know how cold it is too! So sorry not sorry guys if you'll also be bothered by my outfit. 😂 Don't worry, I didn't catch a cold after this stunt.
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We were freezing so after the photo shoot, we had to look for a cafe to stay warm.
We found a restaurant that's open til 7PM. At 5PM they were already serving dinner but we came here for a hot drink and dessert.
There were only 2 desserts, the strawberry shortcake which I ordered and the maroon mousse cake. I ordered cafe latte too to make me warm but I barely enjoyed it because we had to hurry or else we would be left behind, and the coffee was still bitter for me even after putting sugar.
My friend wanted to take another round of portraits, just a quick one before we leave Ginzan Onsen. He wasn't satisfied by our photos of him. 😂 So we were on a rush.
There was a footbath with the hot spring water but no one dared to use it.
I was really wondering what this small indoor space was. Turns out, it was a small coffee area. You can get hot coffee and keep yourself warm inside sitting in the chairs. I think the hot coffee was from the vending machine if my memory serves me right.
The Twilight Tour was a huge help for us because when we were going back, we saw a lot of people falling in line to get to the bus, probably the last for the day, and not all would be accommodated.
By the way, I made a super short video clip. Music by 30186563 from Pixabay.
Our call time was 6 PM and I reached the bus at 5:59 PM, being the last one to get on. We call that giri-giri (ギリギリ) in Japanese which means barely made it in time. 😅 My friends were walking so fast, and I was like a snowman walking in the snow, with almost nothing to see but only white. The snowstorm was too heavy and the snow was blocking my eyes. My eyelashes were full of snow too! The mask helped but my face was still so numb from the cold. At that time, I just wished I would reach the bus sooner to take shelter from the heavy snow.
But this adventure in Ginzan Onsen, even for just an hour, was definitely the highlight of our weekend. It was so magical and majestic and all the positive adjectives in the dictionary could not contain how beautiful this place is!
If you ask me if I'd come again, I would. There are still so many areas left to explore there for sure! They say Ginzan Onsen is best in all seasons so who knows, maybe I'll come back in the future.
Thanks for reading!
See you around! じゃあ、またね！
All photos are taken using my phone unless stated otherwise.
Oh wow 🤩 It looks so picturesque there 😍
I can’t wait to visit Japan one day 💙
!QUEEN
It's so nice, right!? I hope you could visit Japan and this place someday!
Me too sis, me too 💙
OMG, that place looks so cold! 😰 But your fabulous smile warms the whole scene! 😊
Weeee thank you for the sweet words @thekittygirl! It really looks cold, plus I tried to open my jacket. 😅 But I like to feel how cold it was for a limited time. After taking photos, I closed my jacket again hahaha
wow!!! The snowwy village is so beautiful. Perhaps you'd better start booking accommodation for winter this year now to make sure you get the full experience!
It was the beautiful snowy town I’ve been to! That’s too early hahaha The reservation websites for the ryokans aren’t available yet 🤣
Oh my this snow. I'd be shivering too much to take any photos. 🤣 Well, I'll finally be visiting Japan again somewhere in Spring. I prefer a cooling (instead of freezing) weather. 😁
!PIZZA !KING
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Oh the cherry blossoms time.. I bet your wife likes that 😅
Cold is great when you get used to it. I mean not too much, super negatives are too much 😅
Maganda yung place Witz, love the sceneries. Pa tour naman sa future dyan pag may time :>
Tara, mag date tayo dito.. este mag tour tayo dito
Wow! Quite a memorable experience Witty! For someone who grew up in a tropical county even I who had a low tolerance in cold might to same stunts too 🤣.
Minsan lng kaya dapat Todo na!
Yan talaga motto namin lhes kaya bahala na ung lamig dyan hahaha
Parang ang sarap gumawa ng halo halo dyan🤣
itatanung ko pa lang sana kung sinipon ka, nauna ka na😏
!PIZZA
Advance ako mag isip eh hahaha
Sayang di ako nakapagdala ng container ng halo2x hahaha
Wow I love these photos 🤍
They look Amazing just like you 🫶🏻
Thank you for the kind words! Love these photos too! Can't get enough of them~
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Omigosh these images are sooo stunning❤️😍❤️
Amazing views, it's like I'm there with you, bring me with me uWu. Deserves to be on the Hive map🗺️❤️
The dessert🍰😋 Ahhh you sure had fun, sweet memories.
See how cute you look covered in the snow🌨️😘
Am I a snowman covered in snow? 😂
😂You're impossible
Hahahaha! Okay, snowwoman it is hahahah
😂
Oh my, ang ganda talaga sa Japan at ang sarap pa ng pagkain. Mapa sana all ka nalang talaga.
Hindi ba tumagos ang lamig sa balat? Hehe
I like cold weather than hot so even when it's so cold, I still like it. The only thing bothering me the whole time was the snow on my eyelashes. hahaha
Haha.. Unta naay umbrella for eyelashes. 😂
HAHAHAHA! Imagine if naa!
Ahahahahaha
Wow! Please take me there witz! What a beautiful place with the pretty model. I love your smiles. Best regards and have safe travels. Lablab. !PIZZA
Thank you pinkchic! Nisamot ka gwapa kay gwapa ang lugar! hahaha
Lablab!
Ayieee. Best regards beautiful friend. Happy Valentines Day. I love you always. Big virtual hug from me.
happy valentines day too @pinkchic!
It's so beautiful. Kakaiba ung charm ng ng snowy JP.
Super! Nice noh? 😉
Wow what a magical snowy place! I just book marked it. If I go to Japan in the winter I am going to look back and find this post and go here. Thanks for sharing!
You should definitely visit this place! This is one of the best places to go to during Winter~
Waahhh witty ang ganda!!! 😭 damn! Inspired pa ng spirited away.. Ramdam ko yong lamig ah.. Grabeh.. Nakailang clothes ba underneath just to be warm witty..
I love all your pictures witty you are so cute!!!! And that beautiful smile.. Yieee... And the plating of the desserts tho 🥹🥹 So gandaaa
Super beautiful place, right?! Spirited Away is my fave film from Ghibli so ayown, special na special tong place na to in my heart charot hhaha
Hmm, just a heattech long sleeve under my brown sweater, then tong jacket na black lang. Ok lang naman ung lamig hehe
Cute ko ba jude? Binobola mo naman ata ako eh hhaha
The desserts! Aaahhhh sayang we didn’t spend a lot of time in the restaurant. We were in a hurry and my desserts were served late. Grabe para kaming nasa Amazing Race LOL
Never heard of that movie but I played a video game that had a part of the action in a very similar location so perhaps it's the same one because it seems so familiar to me. It's funny how even though my country has plenty of this season, is not even close to how magical the tiny village looks like. :)
I guess that's the charm of Japan. 😁
I'm wondering what video game that was. You should watch Spirited Away from Ghibli, it's really a nice film!
I will definitely add the movie on my 'must-watch' list 😁
The game is called Red Dead Redemption 2 and a similar village was shown at the end of the game but not during the winter though. However, everything was very similar!
Ohhh I’ve played Red Dead Redemption but haven’t finished the game, maybe that’s why I’m not familiar. 😅
Yay! I hope you will like the film!
I've always wanted to touch the snow. But imagining the coldness in that town.. shivers.. 😁
When I was still in the Philippines, I always wanted to do that too. Ibang level ung snow on the floor at ung falling snow. Grabeeee ang nice talaga!
Es un lugar verdaderamente hermoso, si es de película, yo amo mi pais pero un sitio como ese nunca podre ver en mi pais, es fantástico, gracias por tus fotos me gustaron mucho, un sitio muy romántico, como para estar con tu pareja.
Thank you! It's really a beautiful place. It's not easy going there but it's worth the trip.
Gracias. Es realmente un lugar hermoso. No es fácil ir allí, pero vale la pena el viaje.
Wow, what a beautiful view. The best thing is how you can enjoy the experience, and the captivating moment, it must be very exciting to be out in the snow with friends.
It was! The lights from the surrounding establishments were the making the photos the best! Even though we stayed only for an hour, it felt like we stayed longer.
your writing is amazing, the pictures are fascinating, i love it
Thank you! Appreciate it!
Please I can't be indifferent to beautiful things
your writing is amazing, the pictures are fascinating, i love it
Thank you!! Appreciate it!
Gosh, so pretty. Ka pretty din nong model ee yiehhh. But seriously, the snow my goodness ang kapal. Pag ako wari ee anjan ee kaligkig na ako sa ginaw 😲.
HAHAHA Ayeeee thank you! Ako lang to, charot hahaha
Malamig nga, pero di mo na mapapansin yan pag nag eenjoy ka. hahaha after picture taking, ayown naka zipper na ung jacket ko hahahaa pero grabe talaga ung snow
Hahahahaha Witty The Great yarn, yiehhh bahaha.
Pag sakin wari diko ma eenjoy lalo mahina ako sa lamiggff haha
Naaaa ma eenjoy mo to, tamang damit lang~
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Thank you so much!
Awesome you went there and perfect timing with the snowfall! I still haven't been after all these years. I definitely blame my wife for that one.
How was the town you stayed in? Anything there?
There were so many uncertainties in going there so we almost wouldn't be able to go.
Tendo? Actually, it's a quiet town, with almost nothing to see except for Shogi stuff. I think we were the only foreigners walking around the town. 😂
I'll probably post about it soon.
Good
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All pictures are beautiful and cool with cool weather
Wow - what a place, and the snow just makes it look even more awesome. I'm so disappointed you didnt try the hot spa !! That would have been epic !
And look how much snow you all caught in that last picture !!
What a great place
!LUV