called "Gomi Onsen" (五味温泉). It is located approximately a 5-minute car drive away from the city center. The onsen features a carbon dioxide-containing hydrogen carbonate spring that is rare in Japan. The site has indoor and outdoor onsen baths as well as a sauna. The main building has two western-style and 8 traditional-style hotel rooms. An adjacent annex has 7 traditional-style rooms. Around Gomi Onsen, there is a forest called "Experience Forest" where you can take a walk along the promenade. There are west forest, east forest, and north forest, and you can observe the characteristic trees, scenery, flora, and fauna of each. Other wooden paths and biotopes are available as well. Schools Shimokawa Town has one nursery school, one elementary school, one junior high school, and one commercial high school. Festivals and events Annually, Shimokawa has three main festivals, and several smaller festivals. The three main festivals are as follows: Ice Candle Museum: For a week near the end of February, Shimokawa's main park is filled with snow sculptures and decorated with thousands of ice candles. Events are held throughout the week, and kicked off with a large outdoor BBQ party on the first day. Udon Festival: The last weekend in August is a two-day festival filled with events such as races, baking contests, and traditional dances. Until 2005 it was called the Homecoming Festival. Great Wall Festival: One afternoon in early spring, a large BBQ party with events and carnival-style booths is held in Shimokawa's main park, which contains a small replica of the Great Wall of China. Below are some of the many other festivals held annually in Shimokawa (in rough order of size): Arts Weekend: A weekend of photo and craft exhibitions, concerts, and traditional arts (such as Tea Ceremony). Culture Weekend: A weekend where many companies, offices, and factories open their doors to the public for tours. Every school has their own sports festival weekend (where the students compete at different sports) and a separate school festival weekend (where the students organize activities and sales for themselves and the townspeople). Mikoshi Parade: A Mikoshi (portable shrine) is carried through the town to drive away evil spirits. This is no easy feat, as the shrine weighs over one tonne. Marching Band Parade: Held to coincide with Shimokawa's War Memorial Day, marching bands (one from each school) parade through town, led by war veterans. Mascot Shimokawa's mascot