I took a walk around Iizaka Onsen last night to shoot some of the landmarks at night. Starting at the train station, I shot the Totsuna Bridge. Ryokans line the river here, and the Iizaka Tourist Association has an office right across from the station, with maps and pamphlets in English.

The Totsuna Bridge next to the train station in iizaka Onsen

Atago Shrine – Iizaka Onsen

After the bridge I made my way up to Atago Jinja (shrine). Atago jinja sits atop Mt Atago and allows for views over Iizaka towards Fukushima City. I timed my visit very well (unintentionally!) as the shrine grounds were well lit while I was shooting the shrine, but turned off just as I was starting to shoot out over the city lights – very handy 🙂

Atago Shrine sits atop Mt Atago, just a short walk from Iizaka Onsen station. Some very steep stone steps takes you to the top.

The shrine on Mt Atago, in the shadows of the torii (gate). HDR processing.

Another view of the Atago shrine at night

Atago Shrine at night (HDR processing)

The view over Iizaka from the Atago Shrine grounds at night.

Sabakoyu – Iizaka Onsen

After the shrine I wandered around the main part of town, and shot the famous bathhouse Sabakoyu, which is apparently the oldest bathhouse in the Iizaka area. Iizaka itself is one of the oldest hot spring regions of Japan, and it is said to have first been discovered 2000 years ago!

The sabakoyu bathhouse in Iizaka

Sabakoyu even has its own shrine and torii. This part of the town is particularly nice, with a lot of care taken with the presentation of the street. The massively popular Terui Gyoza is right around the corner too 😉

More pics to come from this years travels in Fukushima…