No trip to Japan is complete without a rejuvenating bath in an onsen, a hot spring coming from the Earth usually in a resort setting. Warming your body in the onsen can help moisturize your skin, diminish fatigue, and relax your muscles.
For those longing for a soak in Japan’s hot springs, but who cannot travel due to the COVID-19 border restrictions, you can still enjoy a good bath in nature at Vietnam’s first Japanese-styled hot springs right in Cam Pha City, Quang Ninh Province.
Opened on 23rd May, Yoko Onsen is Vietnam’s first Japanese-style hot springs resort located 15KM west of Cam Pha’s city center.
Image credit: YOKO ONSEN QUANG HANH
Surrounded by lush forests and vast ranges of mountains, Yoko Onsen Quang Hanh looks like a peaceful Japanese village from a bird’s eye view.
The resort is primarily built from wood and bamboo, harmoniously linking the structure with the surrounding landscape. The wood-clad villas are connected with an engawa, which is a walkway running around the houses, with a view of Japanese-themed gardens filled with bonsai plants, pond bridges, and gravel patterns.
Yoko Onsen Quang Hanh is developed by Vietnam’s Sun Group and designed by Nippon Koei, an engineering consulting company from Japan.
Image credit: YOKO ONSEN QUANG HANH
Yoko Onsen has 27 mineral hot springs in total, such as a carbonate onsen, an onsen in a cave, and an onsen with powerful jets. There is also an onsen for children, which is perfect for families coming over with little kids.
The onsen water here starts at 40°C, perfect for a thorough 20-minute soak.
Apart from bathing in hot springs, visitors can enjoy a variety of sauna services, including sauna with Himalayan salt as well as hot and cold saunas.
There’s nothing more comfortable and private than shutting the rest of the world out and having your onsen all to yourself or your family, which you can do here by booking a private session in advance.
Image credit: YOKO ONSEN QUANG HANH
For a Japanese snack to munch on after your hot bath, order some onsen buns steamed with hot spring water and filled with bean paste, a specialty in onsen resorts.
Red bean onsen buns
Image credit: YOKO ONSEN QUANG HANH
Those who want to spend the night here can choose from a wide array of villas inside the resort and start the next morning with a good selection of Vietnamese, Japanese, and European dishes.
Yoko Onsen makes a soothing weekend retreat that is only a few hours’ drive away from Hanoi. It’s a great place to spend some quality time connecting with nature, catching up on life, and cracking jokes with your family and friends.
Image credit: YOKO ONSEN QUANG HANH
Thanks to Yoko Onsen, local residents in Vietnam no longer have to travel all the way to Japan to bathe in a natural Japanese-style hot spring. All you have to do is to make a booking in advance with the resort, book a flight or bus ticket to Yoko Onsen resort in Quang Ninh Province, and you’re there.
According to its management, Yoko Onsen is already fully booked until the end of May. To provide customers with the most satisfactory services, Yoko Onsen limits the number of customers it takes in per day.
Bookings will reopen on 1st June, so interested visitors can mark their calendars and register with the customer service staff in advance then.
Address: Unit 5, 9B Zone, Quang Hanh Ward, Cam Pha City, Quang Ninh Province
Opening hours: 24 hours, Daily
Telephone: 0333 668 777
Website
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Cover image adapted from: YOKO ONSEN QUANG HANH
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