Gero



Gero (下呂市 Gero-shi), also known as Gero Onsen (下呂温泉), is a hot spring town in Gifu Prefecture, Japan.

Understand
One of Japan's Three Famous Springs (日本三名泉 Nihon Sanmeisen) — not to be confused with Japan's Three Great Springs and several other competing variants — the town's hot springs made their first appearance in print in the Engi Era (901-923). While there are many concrete hotels, the hot spring town has a retro atmosphere and to this day, it continually ranks among the top onsen in the nation year after year in numerous hot spring ranking websites and publications. The scenery in the valley is quite picturesque, particularly in autumn.

Gero's small tourist office, next to the station, can help you book if you arrive with no reservation.

Tourist information sites

 * The onsen area's tourist association has a Japanese-only guide site. Clicking on "English" leads to the Chubu region's multilingual site.


 * The city has an official Japanese-only tourism site.

By train
is on the JR Takayama Line, which has spectacular views of the valley and the Hida River below. The Wide View Hida (ワイドビューひだ) limited express from Nagoya takes about 1½ hours (¥4,620). If you're coming from the Sea of Japan side, from Takayama it takes 45 minutes (¥2,240), and from Toyama there are 4 daily runs taking 2½ hours (¥4,940); local trains from Toyama take 2½-3½ hours, with a transfer in Inotani, and another in Takayama if you want to take the faster Wide View Express for the last segment.

From Tokyo, take the Tokaido Shinkansen to Nagoya and then the Wide View Hida. On a Nozomi, this takes about 3½ hours and costs ¥13,880; by Hikari it takes 4 hours, but is free with the Japan Rail Pass.

From the Kansai region, Gero is around 2¼ hours from Kyoto (¥9,130) and around 2½ hours from Osaka (¥9,780), also using the Nozomi or Hikari and changing in Nagoya. There is also a daily round-trip of the Wide View Hida leaving Kansai in the morning (#25 at 07:58 from Osaka Station) and returning in the evening (#36 at 16:24 from Gero) using conventional lines. While it's slightly more convenient, this service is slower, taking 3 hours from Kyoto (¥6,570) and 3½ hours from Osaka (¥7,330), and there are no food and drink sales.

If you take local trains from Nagoya, the ride will take at least 2½ hours at a cost of ¥2,270, with several transfers required on the way. From Takayama, it's 65 minutes and costs ¥970, and from Toyama it's 3-4 hours (or more) and ¥2,590.

By bus
There are daily buses to Gero from Nagoya, Takayama, Toyama, and Osaka.

By car
Gero is accessible from national highways 41 and 257, about 2 hours' drive from Nagoya; take the Chuo Expressway E19 to Ena or Nakatsugawa, then 257, or take 41 the whole way.

Get around
Gero Onsen can be covered on foot, although if you have much luggage you'll want to get a taxi or arrange a pickup with your lodgings &mdash; the train station lies on the south side of the river, while most hotels are across the long bridge to the north.

See
There's one noteworthy attraction in Gero.

The remaining sites include temples, which are nice to look at and also allow one to take in some beautiful mountain views.



Do


As you'd expect in a hot spring town, the major attraction in Gero is to soak in hot springs. An easy way to sample a number of them is to buy the Yu-meguri Tegata (湯めぐり手形, "onsen-touring pass"), a wooden amulet sold all over Gero. This will get you into 3 hot springs of your choice from a choice of about 30 for the flat price of ¥1,300, which can be used up at your own pace as you'll get a stamp each time you visit; you can keep the amulet as a souvenir, too.

Foot baths (足湯 ashiyu) are popular in Gero, as the waters are reputed to have curative properties. True to the name, you just take off your shoes and sit down with your feet in the water. A number of free foot baths can be found around town, including the decidedly tacky in front of the Shirasagi Hotel &mdash; no prizes for guessing what the statue in the middle is doing.

Gero is also quite popular for sightseeing of seasonal cherry blossoms and fall leave colors due to its mountainous location.



Festivals
Some amateur kabuki performances are held in May and November. Fireworks can be seen in August and December.

Buy
The most popular souvenir from Gero (and the Hida region in general) is a sarubobo (lit. "baby monkey"), a small faceless doll amulet.



Eat
The tomato bowl is a known favorite in several eating establishments throughout the town.

Drink
There's a local beer, Gero Gensen Beer, and two sake breweries. Gero is also famous for tomato juice, which you drink after a bath to detox.

Sleep
Gero has a number of high-class inns where you can soak in luxury on a mountainside without ever trudging through town going from bath to bath.



Go next

 * Takayama, with its preserved Edo architecture is just a short ride away down the JR Takayama line.
 * Shirakawa-go
 * Gujo
 * Seki
 * Gifu
 * Hachiso
 * Nakatsugawa
 * Kiso