Earth's Steaming Breath

The hot spring hotspots of Japan, Taiwan and Korea shed light on this classic way to relax

- Sophie Ibbotson

The hot tears of dragons who have crawled into caves beneath the earth seep through cracks in the rock. A beautiful Japanese woman whose husband has betrayed her boils the water with her jealous rage. The spilt blood of Indian warriors angers the mountain, and she protests with searing jets. Every hot spring has its story.

The geological explanation of what’s happening is no less impressive. Hot springs occur naturally when geo thermally heated water rises through a fault in the Earth’s crust. They are found predominantly in active volcanic zones, where magma has heated the groundwater enough to build up pressure beneath the surface. Sometimes hot springs erupt with a super heated jet of steam known as a geyser; in other places the temperature has cooled sufficiently by the time the water breaks through the rock and it materialises as a pool.

Many ancient societies had little or no comprehension that the Earth’s core was as hot as the surface of the Sun. Instead, they used miracles and dragons to explain the hot spring phenomenon. People were drawn to the pools to bathe and to pray, because they believed the mineral-rich – perhaps even sacred – water might heal their aches and pains.

Taiwan’s Beitou Hot Spring Museum contains a brief history of hot springs. Built as a public bathhouse between 1911 and 1913, it was once the largest public bathhouse in East Asia. Inside its impressive red brick Victorian exterior (a Class 3 Historical Site) are airy wooden galleries, balconies, and a vast communal bath lined with arched colonnades.