Aomaki Sanjo

Aomaki Sanjo [碧岩南熱些; あおまき・さんじょ] is the site of a natural hot spring, located on the eastern edge of the city of Aoma in Aoma Prefecture. It was developed into a resort for locals and tourists and is especially popular during the winter months. There are about 25 hotels and traditional inns established in the area. Although the Standard Kantonese word for hot spring is reijo, the northern regions often use the vernacular word sanjo.
According to local legend, the hot spring was discovered by a wandering monk (chōsō) who visited what is now Aoma Prefecture in the late 1100s. It is said that he witnessed deer bathing in the water to heal their wounds. Since this incident it has been believed by locals that the hot spring has mild healing properties and can be beneficial to one's health. In the 1300s, Aomaki Sanjo was a site used for steaming hemp (cannabis, or tami) to be used in medicine, and was known as Tamisō Sanjo.
The hot spring resort, known as Aomaki Resort [碧岩南リゾート] started to be developed in the 1940s, and many of the facilities were built in such a way that they overlooked the Aomaki Hills which lay to the south. In the 1960s, hotels were built along the plateau of land where the resort stands, and soon a large community of retail establishments opened up in response to high numbers of visitors. Although popular for its time, Aomaki Resort attracted 30,000 visitors in 1977, compared to 166,000 in 2016.