We at Tamatsukuri Onsen Tourism Association offer enjoyable memories of a hidden Japanese gem. Tamatsukuri Onsen is a part of Matsue City, the capital city of Shimane Prefecture, and it is located 90 minutes by air from Tokyo (Haneda), then a 30-minute drive from Izumo AP; eight hours by bullet train and local railway;12 hours by night sleeper train (Sun Rise Izumo). The town is known for its comma-shaped beads, known as magatama, and hot springs. The magatama culture has been deeply connected to the Imperial House and Izumo Grand Shrine since the Yayoi Period (4 BC to 3 AD).

Tamatsukuri Onsen boasts arguably Japan’s oldest hot spring and its efficacy in enhancing skin beauty, as described in Japan’s oldest ancient and local record, the Izumo Fudoki. The record states:

‘There is a hot spring on the river bank in this locality. The site is known for its scenic beauty. Men and women, old and young, visit this spot, coming by land and sea. They collect here as they collect at a market; they are noisy and joyful. One dip in the spring and their physical beauty is improved; two dips and all their ailments are healed. Since ancient times, the good effect of bathing here has never failed. Therefore, the people call it “the hot spring of the gods”’. Michiko Yamaguchi Aoki: “District of Ou.” Izumo Fudoki (Monumenta Nipponica Mono-graph Series), Tokyo: Sophia University, 1971, pp 87-88.

As mentioned above, the skin lotion-quality water a research institute warrants.