Kinugawa Onsen
Kinugawa Onsen is a hot spring resort in the city of Nikkō, Tochigi, Japan. The place is named after the Kinugawa River, which flows through it.
History
Two hours by train from Tokyo, hot springs were first found in the area in the early Meiji period.The area was extensively developed for tourism in the 1970s, but has since experienced severe economic difficulties after a downturn caused by the 1990s recession, exacerbated by troubles at the insolvent Ashikaga Bank, a major local lender. In 2005, Waseda University urban planning professor Shigeru Itoh's Ugly Japan listed Kinugawa Onsen as the third-ugliest place in the country. Many of the resort buildings and homes are derelict and the area is being reclaimed by surrounding forest.
However, in 2008 the city's tourism industry received a boost as high car and airplane fuel costs have caused travelers to seek tourist destinations more easily reachable by train, such as the Kinugawa Onsen.