Because it was the tourist season, visitors who were temporarily unable to leave Japan streamed out of the crowded, rebuilding Tokyo and dispersed into picturesque small towns in all directions.
As a town adjacent to Mount Omuro, a renowned hot spring retreat, and situated in Shizuoka Prefecture just south of Tokyo, Atami drew away a massive share of Tokyo's tourists.
In fact, Atami's fame dated back to the Edo period. Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the Edo shogunate, had a major habit: after every major battle, he would soak his entire body in a hot spring to wash away the stench of blood. His chosen location was Atami, not far from Edo—now known as Tokyo. Legend had it that one day, after Tokugawa Ieyasu achieved a hard-fought victory by slaying a hundred men, he was utterly exhausted. Troops on fast horses galloped nonstop for half a day to deliver him to Atami to bathe in the hot spring. By the next day, all his injuries had miraculously healed, and he was full of vitality, which made Atami famous.
Chapter 813