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Onsen (or hot springs) are incredibly relaxing and a favorite destination of choice in Japan, and Beppu, Oita happens to be among the most famous cities in Japan when it comes to hot springs. It has eight geothermal hotspots which have resulted in incredible hot springs, but apparently this city and its mayor are ready to take their hot spring fame to the next level.
A YouTube video was posted on Nov. 20 which teases the idea of a hot spring amusement park (or spamusement park). It shows merry-go-rounds with water-filled mini pools, roller coasters with water-filled seats, and all sorts of other ideas that are better seen than explained. Watch it below and see for yourself!
The mayor Yasuhiro Nagano explains at the end that if the video gets over 1 million views, this amazing spamusement park will become a reality, and as of the time this article was published, the video has already gotten 1 million views so it looks Beppu is indeed getting an onsen amusement park!
I don’t know about riding a rollercoaster in a towel (and a lot of the comments share that sentiment, saying things like “well, if I can at least wear a swimsuit...” and “isn’t just a towel cold…?”), but if this works out, this sounds like too much fun to miss out on!