Hanayama Onsen, located in the eastern part of Wakayama City, is a natural hot spring that everyone knows. The open of the hot spring is said to date back to the Heian period in 803. This is a hot spring where the successive Emperors stayed during the time of theirs visiting to the Kumano sacred places. Since some point, hot springs stopped running due to geological changes caused by natural disasters. Today’s hot springs sprung naturally after excavating 500 m in 1965, and are known as Japan’s leading hot springs with natural carbon dioxide as the main component. The hot water column in the photo is made by crystallizing hot spring ingredients.

和歌山市東部の街中にある花山温泉は知る人ぞ知る天然自然温泉です。開湯は遠く803年平安時代まで遡るといいます。歴代天皇が熊野行幸の際に逗留した温泉で、ある時天変地異による地質変動で湧出しなくなりました。現在の温泉は昭和40年に500m掘削したら自然湧出、天然二酸化炭素を主成分に、日本有数の薬効高い温泉として知られています。写真の湯柱は温泉の成分が結晶してできた物です。