Hakone most popular hot spring for revisits for 7th year: survey

Kamis, 03 Januari 2013 13:39

(TOKYO-Kyodo) The Hakone hot spring resort area near Tokyo ranked first in 2012 for the seventh year in a row as the destination survey respondents said they want to visit again among all the spa resorts in Japan, according to the operator of the hotel reservation portal site Jalan net.

The Yufuin hot spring resort in Oita Prefecture in southern Japan ranked second, followed by Kusatsu in Gunma Prefecture, Noboribetsu in Hokkaido and Beppu in Oita, all unchanged from the previous year, according to the survey conducted by Recruit Lifestyle Co.

In the survey conducted in September and released in December that collected 8,721 valid answers, Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture proved most popular with many respondents citing easy access, the atmosphere of the area and the nature surrounding the resort.

Respondents also pointed to the atmosphere and the natural environment for selecting Yufuin, while the effects and quality of the hot spring water were cited for Kusatsu in addition to the atmosphere, it said.

A Recruit Lifestyle officials said most resorts that rank highly are unchanged every year but resorts in the Kyushu region made a significant showing this time thanks to the opening of all the Shinkansen bullet train lines there.

In the Kyushu region, the Kurokawa hot spring resort in Kumamoto Prefecture ranked sixth, up from seventh a year earlier, while the Kirishima spa resort in Kagoshima Prefecture came in 14th compared to 16th last year.