Awazu Onsen Awazu Onsen Away Onsen claims to have been founded by the shugendō monk Taichō in the Nara period. Taichō was a native of neighbouring Echizen Province and is said to have been the first person to have claimed Mount Hakusan, from which the hot springs at Awazu Onsen have their source. Although it is a small resort with few more than ten "ryokan", each inn has its own well, rather than using a common source. The Hōshi Ryokan, founded in 718 AD was recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s oldest hot spring innfounded in 705.
Yamanashi Prefecture the area's volcanic activity, natural hot springs, or onsens, are found in abundance. Some of the more well known are Shimobe Onsen, Isawa Onsen and Yamanami Onsen. Ventforet Kōfu the J. League Division 1 association football (soccer) team is based in Kōfu. The team's home ground is the Yamanashi Chuo Bank Stadium. Since 2005 the Fujizakura Country Club in Fujikawaguchiko has also hosted the Fujisankei Classic golf tournament, an annual event on the Japan Golf Tour. Yamanashi Prefecture The prefecture is landlocked, featuring a fertile central valley, the Kōfu Basin, surrounded by many of the highest mountains in Japan including