What Is Ginzan Onsen, and How Do You Walk the Town?
This guide is for visitors who want to understand what Ginzan Onsen is and how to walk around it. It covers the town's history, the four walking routes the tourism association suggests, and the seasons. Ginzan Onsen is a small hot spring street along a river in Obanazawa City, Yamagata Prefecture.
We used the Obanazawa tourism association's guide and the history and walking pages on the hot spring town's own site. All pages were read on 2026-10-04. Distances and times come from the sources, which do not always agree. We note the differences below.
Why it is called Ginzan, "silver mountain"
The name comes from the Nobesawa silver mine, which flourished in the early Edo period. The town's site says the mine ruins were designated a national historic site in 1985. After the mine declined, the population fell sharply, and people lived by running simple inns for hot spring visitors.
The town's site gives this later history:
- In 1913 a great flood of the Ginzan River washed away most of the inns.
- In 1921 a hydroelectric plant using river water was built, which helped the recovery.
- In 1926 drilling at the source struck hot water in large amounts. The inns were rebuilt as wooden buildings of three or four floors in a Western style.
- In 1986 the town passed an ordinance to preserve the townscape.
The wooden inns that line both banks of the river today date from that rebuilding in the late Taisho and early Showa periods. They are the reason visitors come.
Four walking routes
The tourism association lists four model routes. It says all of them work for day visitors and overnight guests, and that some places close in winter.
- Town only: about 40 minutes. It starts at the bridge at the town entrance and passes the inns, a small museum with a viewing deck, and ends at Shirogane Falls.
- Full nature walk: about 4 km and 1 hour 40 minutes. It goes past the falls and a red bridge to the old mine tunnel, shrines and back to the town. The path is a maintained trail but has mountain sections.
- Straight to the mine tunnel: about 2 km and 50 minutes, out and back from the town.
- Falls and shrine: about 0.8 km and 20 minutes.
The hot spring town's own site gives slightly different figures for three routes: 1.9 km in 90 minutes, 1.4 km in 60 minutes and 0.8 km in 20 minutes. Allow extra time if you stop to take photos.
Places along the way
Shirogane Falls is 22 metres high, according to the town's site, and stands at the far end of the street. The association says the falls are lit up at night. Nearby are small shrines, a Jizo statue and a short drainage tunnel you can look into for a few metres.
The town's site notes that from the first snow until the mountain-opening day around Greenery Day on 4 May, the footing is poor and the paths toward the mine tunnels are closed.
A foot bath near the town entrance is open to anyone and uses water straight from the source. Public toilets are covered in our day-trip guide.
Small stops that are easy to miss
On the town side of the bridge at the entrance there is a rest space where you can sit down before you start. Further along the nature route, the town's site lists the Kishimojin, a deity said to protect children, enshrined in a cave. It says a man who helped develop the hot spring is said to have moved it there. The Yamanokami shrine is known as a shrine for safe childbirth. Neither stop takes more than a few minutes.
Gas lamps in the evening
The association says the gas lamps come on around 16:30 in winter, from November to May. In summer, from May to October, they come on around 17:00. The lamps and the lit falls are the main reason people stay into the evening.
The seasons
The town's site describes the seasons in short lines. Spring brings mountain cherry blossom and wild mountain vegetables. Summer is cool, with the sound of the falls and stream. Autumn brings red leaves and mushroom dishes. Winter brings snow and the lamps against the snow. We did not find a leaf-colour forecast for this year.
What we could not verify, and therefore left out
- Current snow and trail conditions.
- Which routes are open this week.
- This year's leaf colour.
Related guides
- How do you get to Ginzan Onsen by shuttle bus, train and car?
- Can you visit Ginzan Onsen as a day trip? Baths, lamps and closures
Sources
All URLs retrieved 2026-10-04.
- Ginzan Onsen sightseeing information (Obanazawa City Tourism and Products Association, in Japanese) — (routes, lamp times)
- History and hot spring (Ginzan Onsen official site, in Japanese) — (history, ordinance)
- Walking (Ginzan Onsen official site, in Japanese) — (routes, spots, trail closure)
- The four seasons (Ginzan Onsen official site, in Japanese) — (seasons)