[Zao Town, Miyagi Prefecture] Miyagi Zao Eboshi Daffodil Festival and Togatta Onsen Drive

The Miyagi Zao Eboshi Daffodil Festival is a spot that heralds the arrival of spring in the Zao Mountain Range, a sacred mountain in Tohoku.

There are many ways to enjoy the area, including Togatta Onsen, a famous hot spring crowded with tourists and spa visitors, as well as many sightseeing, experience, and gourmet spots.

This time, we will also tell you about sightseeing spots around Togatta Onsen that can only be enjoyed in spring. Please watch till the end!

600,000 daffodils fill the slopes　

Miyagi Zao Eboshi Resort is located in Zao National Park and is visited by many skiers in the winter as a silver ski slope.

As the snow melts and the end of April arrives, a wide variety of daffodils bloom, filling the ski slopes.

More than 600,000 daffodils of over 30 different species decorate the ski slopes, making for an impressive sight.
How about taking a gondola to the top and enjoying the cherry blossom viewing while walking around?

[2023 Information] Daffodils have started blooming as of April 5th!

• Press daffodil viewing: April 8th, April 9th　
• Daffodil viewing: April 14th~
• Admission fee: 700 yen (free for elementary school students and younger)
• An observation ropeway is also scheduled to operate at the same time.
  Adults 1,500 yen Seniors 1,200 yen Elementary and junior high school students 800 yen

Miyagi Zao Eboshi Resort <Information>

• Name Miyagi Zao Eboshi Resort
• Address Togatta Onsen Kuraishitake National Forest, Zao Town, Katta District　
• TEL 0224-34-4001
• Parking lot Free parking lot (3800 spaces) available
• Time 9:00-16:00
• Admission fee: 700 yen (free for elementary school students and under)
• Official URL: https://www.eboshi.co.jp/

Google Map

Recommended sightseeing spots around Togatta Onsen　

Togatta Onsen, located near Miyagi Zao Eboshi Resort, is one of Miyagi Prefecture's most representative hot springs, having been open for 400 years.

It is about an hour's drive from Sendai city, and there are many tourist spots where you can enjoy nature and history as well as hot springs.

Zao Echo Line’s impressive snow corridor　

The 26km Zao Echo Line crosses the Zao Mountain Range from east to west, connecting Miyagi Prefecture and Yamagata Prefecture.

On both sides of the road are walls of snow that are 9 meters high at their highest point and continue like a corridor.

Before the Echo Line opens, a ``Snow Wall Walk'' will be held where you can admire the snow corridor, and the key point is that you can fully enjoy the impressive snow wall up close!

[2023 information]

• "Snow Wall Walk 2023" April 7th - April 10th Advance reservation required
• "Zao Echo Line" scheduled to open April 21st (Friday) 11:00

Unfortunately, the snow wall walk has ended this year, but many of the snow walls remain even after the Echo Line opens, so you can enjoy the impressive snow wall while driving.

Echo Line <Information>

• Name: Zao Echo Line
• Address: Zao Town, Katta District, Miyagi Prefecture, Shichikashuku Town, Kaminoyama City, Yamagata Prefecture
• Access: Approximately 25 minutes by car from Tohoku Expressway “Murata IC” or “Shiraishi IC” to Zao Echo Line Miyagi Prefecture side entrance “Otorii”
• For inquiries: Zao Town Agriculture, Forestry and Tourism Division TEL 0224-33-2215
  Zao Town Tourist Information Center TEL 0224-34-2725
• *Winter road closure from early November to late April
• Official URL: Zao Town Tourism and Products Association

Google Map

Miyagi Zao Kokeshi Museum　

"Miyagi Zao Kokeshi Museum" located near Togatta Onsen

Kokeshi dolls are toys made for children at hot spring spas in Tohoku, and there are 11 types of traditional kokeshi dolls in total. There are five of these in Miyagi Prefecture, and Togatta is one of them.

The first floor of the Miyagi Zao Kokeshi Museum is an exhibition corner where 5,500 traditional kokeshi dolls and wooden toys from all over the country are displayed in an easy-to-understand manner, sorted by lineage. Kokeshi dolls may look the same, but the shapes and designs vary from region to region, so it would be interesting to compare them.

At the painting class on the second floor, you can create your own one-of-a-kind Kokeshi doll in your own world. Kokeshi dolls have a gentle and adorable expression. It's a valuable experience to make your own kokeshi dolls, so why not try painting your own kokeshi dolls as a souvenir of your trip?

Kokeshi Museum＜Information＞

• Name: Miyagi Zao Kokeshi Museum
• Address: 36-135 Shinchi Nishiurayama, Togatta Onsen, Zao Town, Katta District, Miyagi Prefecture
• Phone number: 0224-34-2385
• Opening hours: 9:00-17:00 (last entry 16:30)
• Admission fee: 300 yen for adults, 150 yen for children (elementary and junior high school students) *Free for preschoolers
• Kokeshi doll painting experience (reservation required) Painting fee: 850 yen
• Official URL: http://www.kokeshizao.com/

Google Map

Togatta Onsen public bath “Kami-no-Yu/Hisano-Yu”

Much of the hot water at Togatta Onsen is mainly made of saline and sodium sulfate, and the soft quality of the water is said to be effective against neuralgia, rheumatism, and women's diseases.

There are two public baths where you can easily enjoy the hot water of Togatta Onsen. They are ``Kaminoyu'' and ``Kotobukinoyu''.

``Kami no Yu'' has both women's and men's baths, a gentle bath and a hot bath.

``Ju no Yu'', which is characterized by its quaint exterior, is a recreation of an Edo-era bathhouse built by a shrine carpenter. The hot spring water that can be accessed from 6 a.m. has a source temperature of 68 degrees Celsius.

*Kami-no-Yu and Kotobuki-no-Yu are public baths, so soap, shampoo, etc. are not provided. please note. 　

God's hot spring/Hisanoyu ＜Information＞

Official URL: http://toogattaspa.jp/

[Kami no Yu]

• Address 32 Togatta Onsen Nakamachi, Zao-machi, Katta-gun
• Business hours 10:00-13:30 (Reception closed) 15:00-19:30 (Reception closed)
• Bathing fee: 400 yen for adults, 150 yen for elementary school students and younger　

[Shu no Yu]　

• Address: 5-1 Togatta Onsen Asahi-cho, Zao-cho, Katta-gun, Miyagi Prefecture
• Business hours 6:00-9:30 (Reception closed) 16:00-19:30 (Reception closed)
• Bathing fee: 400 yen for adults, 150 yen for elementary school students and younger　

Google Map

[Kami no Yu]

[Shu no Yu]　

Let's go to Miyagi Zao in spring

In spring in Zao, the contrast between the snow-covered Zao Mountain Range and the approximately 600,000 daffodils blooming along the slopes is beautiful.
You can enjoy driving on the Zao Echo Line while viewing walls of snow until mid-May every year.
After a drive, it would be nice to take a dip in Togatta Onsen or take a walk around the hot spring!

There are many lodging facilities around Togatta Onsen Town, where you can enjoy sightseeing at a leisurely pace, so why not enjoy an extraordinary experience that brings you into contact with nature and history while refreshing yourself in a hot spring?