A large day facility where you can try Kusatsu's traditional 'awase-yu' — a row of wooden tubs at rising temperatures, entered in order. Indoor baths, rotenburo, sauna, plus rest and dining areas make it good for half a day. About 10 minutes' walk from the Yubatake, or a short bus ride. Admission ¥1,200 (2026); three-bath pass with Gozanoyu and Sainokawara ¥2,100.
A public bath in the heart of Gero, one of Japan's three famous springs. The alkaline simple spring (pH over 9) leaves skin silky — the classic 'beauty bath' — for just ¥470. Indoor pool only, popular with locals. Combine it with the ¥1,500 'yumeguri' pass that admits you to three ryokan baths. 10 minutes on foot from Gero Station.
Right in front of the Yubatake, a wooden recreation of the Edo–Meiji communal baths. Wood and stone bath halls alternate between men and women daily, with two sources (Yubatake and Bandaiko). The upstairs hall looks down on the Yubatake.
A storehouse-style communal bath halfway up the 365-step stone stairway. Iron-rich brown 'golden water' in indoor tubs; rest hall upstairs. Cashless payment accepted.
Salty water rising from the Noto sea, for ¥500. The community anchor of the onsen town, still operating after the 2024 Noto earthquake. Open-air and indoor baths plus a rest area.
Tamatsukuri's day-use bath, famous for 'beautiful skin' water. A magatama-jewel-shaped building with a cascade bath, open-air tub and 1 m-deep standing bath. Often combined with Izumo Taisha.
Closest of Kinosaki's seven public baths to the station. A striking hexagonal lantern-motif window; indoor bath only, simple and quick.
The smallest and hottest of the seven baths — a little wooden bathhouse on the willow-lined canal, where you soak shoulder to shoulder with locals. Opens at 3 pm.
The bath tied to Kinosaki's founding legend. Popular for its cypress open-air tub and barrel baths facing the wooded hillside; at the quiet end of town. Opens at 3 pm.
A free communal bath right beside the Yubatake that welcomes visitors. Shirahata source water flows into two wooden tubs (hot and hotter). No soap, no showers — this is the locals' bath, so keep it quiet and quick.
A bathhouse-style onsen behind Gero Station with seven baths — waterfall, open-air, jets, sauna — for less than half a ryokan's day-use fee. Bring soap or buy it from the vending machine.
An inn famous for spring water that turns cobalt blue on certain days. A wide open-air bath with views of Mt. Yufu and silica-rich water that feels like lotion, for ¥800.
A communal bath 5 minutes from Yufuin Station. Drop ¥200 in the offering box by the Yakushi statue and walk in — open 6 am to 10 pm. A slice of everyday Yufuin away from the tourist street.
A tiny bath hut on the Tanohara River, rebuilt by donations in 2022 after the 2020 floods (now separate men's and women's rooms). Slide the shutters open and it becomes almost open-air. ¥200 in the box.
The oldest communal bath in town, next to the Jizō hall that gives Kurokawa its identity. Not covered by the bath-hopping pass, but only ¥200. No soap; the water runs hot.
Arima's biggest day-spa complex: gold spring, silver spring and (artificial) carbonated baths — 26 baths plus stone saunas, with loungewear and towels included. Free shuttle from Arima-Onsen Station.
A large day-spa 12 minutes from Hakone-Yumoto Station, open 23 hours (10 am to 9 am). A 17-metre rooftop open-air bath, garden waterfalls and private baths. Overnight stays cost extra.
A day-spa on the hillside above Yumoto with five private spring sources feeding open-air, lie-down and jet baths. The ¥1,000 early-morning session (6–9 am) is among the cheapest soaks in Hakone.
A large hotel whose top-floor 'sky' open-air baths look over the Noboribetsu hills. Day use in two windows — 5–9 am and 11 am–7 pm — for ¥1,200. A little away from the main strip, so quieter.
The signature of Beppu's giant hilltop hotel: a five-tiered open-air bath cascading toward Beppu Bay, spectacular at night and dawn. Day tickets include the swimsuit-friendly outdoor spa pool 'Aqua Garden'.
The onsen hall of Kusatsu Onsen Hotel Village. Free-flowing source water in warm, hot and lie-down baths plus sauna for ¥930; add the swimsuit spa pool for families. The classic Kusatsu choice with kids.
A long-established inn on the southern rim of the Yufuin basin. Its vast 'Gomusō-no-yu' open-air bath looks straight at Mt. Yufu across the valley. Day-use reception is short (10 am–2 pm), but on weekdays you may have it to yourself.
A 390-year-old inn where Sōseki and Shiki once stayed. Two large baths (cypress and granite) with open-air tubs and saunas, all pure Dōgo water. Day use is ¥1,800 with towels and amenities included — a calm alternative to the crowded Honkan.
A wooden pass good for three baths at participating ryokan, sold with a towel and pouch for ¥2,500 and valid for six months. Day-use hours differ by inn, so check the timetable when you buy.
A tiny communal bath from 1947, three minutes from Atami Station. Same salty source as the station foot bath, free-flowing and hot. The Atami ritual: one last soak before your Shinkansen home.
A family-run bathhouse from 1955 tucked into a residential block: a three-person tub, a Mt. Fuji tile mural and free-flowing water for ¥300. Bring soap and towel — this is a neighbourhood bath, not a tourist spot.
A resort hotel eight minutes downhill from Atami Station. Day bathing (1–9 pm) from ¥900 on weekdays and ¥1,300 on weekends — good value for Atami — with sea and Hatsushima views from the open-air bath. No loungewear; towels cost extra. Weekdays ¥1,600, weekends/holidays ¥2,000, peak days ¥2,200.
A Kengo Kuma-designed communal bath at the entrance to Ginzan's Taishō-era street. Hot water with drifting mineral flakes for ¥500. The one place day visitors can bathe in Ginzan's water — reception closes at 3:30 pm.
The 1,300-year-old birthplace of Nasu Onsen. Inside the wooden bathhouse, tubs are graded from 41 to 48°C, all fed with milky, strongly acidic sulfur water. No showers, no soap — start with the traditional head-dousing ritual.
A day-use facility on the same source as Shika-no-yu, open every day until 9 pm with an open-air bath and private rooms. Ideal for families or anyone daunted by Shika-no-yu's rituals — the milky water is identical.
A Gothic-style public bath recreating the Taishō-era 'Koyu Onsen'. Ureshino's silky bicarbonate water — one of Japan's 'three great skin-beautifying springs' — for ¥450, 6 am to 10 pm. Tatami rest room upstairs and private baths (¥2,500/50 min).
A historic cure-bath in the hills a short way from Unzen's main street, said to have hosted Siebold and Yoshida Shōin. An octagonal wooden bathhouse with milky sulfur water cooled from a 90°C source. No open-air bath, but Unzen's finest water.
Shuzenji's only day-use public bath, recreating the historic outer bath tied to shogun Minamoto no Yoriie. A cypress tub of soft, clear water; a watchtower next door overlooks the town. Perfect after the bamboo path.
The communal 'sōyu' of Yamanaka, praised by the poet Bashō as one of Japan's three finest baths. Men's and women's halls stand in separate buildings across the street; the deep, hot (~43°C) pool is the signature. 6:45 am to 10 pm, ¥500. Bring your own soap.
The innermost of Nyūtō's seven baths — a cluster of thatched bath huts. Two separate sources feed a mixed open-air pool and gender-separated indoor/outdoor baths of milky sulfur water. Day use 9 am–4 pm, the longest window of the seven; closed mid-November to mid-April.
The most polished of the seven Nyūtō inns, beside the Sendatsu stream and popular with women. Two sources — rusty 'gold' and clear 'silver' — in open-air baths above the rushing river. Day-use reception is short (10:30 am–2 pm), so come early.
A public bath from the early Shōwa era beside the ruins of the Shimazu lords' private bathhouse. The Shimazu crest decorates the tub; the salty water runs hot and free-flowing. Free drinking spring too — a local follow-up to the sand bath.
Shirahama's other classic public bath, on the Yuzaki seafront near Saki-no-yu. Its draw: two distinct springs — Mabuyu and Miyukiyu — under one roof. 7 am to 10 pm, ¥420.
One minute from the Yudanaka station gate: a free-flowing day bath with two bathrooms (each with an open-air tub) that swap monthly. The lounge overlooks the platform — perfect while waiting for the train back from the snow-monkey park.
Of Shibu's nine communal baths along the cobbled street, No. 9 'Ō-yu' is the only one open to non-guests. Hot rusty-brown water plus a steam room fed by the source; a footbath on the roof. Buy a ¥800 ticket at the tourist office or nearby inns and have the door unlocked for you.
A communal bath using a spring that Waseda University students struck during fieldwork in 1948. Architect Osamu Ishiyama's yellow avant-garde building is unmistakable; descend the stepped 'sajiki' gallery to the bathroom. The modern counterpart to Taki-no-yu.
About 8 minutes from Arima-Onsen Station, a hotel day-bath offering both the iron 'gold' and clear 'silver' springs. ¥1,360 includes free towels and drinks, so arrive empty-handed. Open 9 am–9 pm (cleaning 11–1), longer than the public baths.
About 5 minutes by car from Kirishima Shrine, a rare inn with a natural mud bath. Scoop the grey mineral mud from the milky sulfur pool and use it as a body mask in the open-air bath. Day use 11 am–8 pm, ¥900 — the classic stop after the shrine.
A large day-spa at the eastern edge of Jōzankei. Open-air baths facing the gorge, lie-down baths, sauna, a tatami lounge and a restaurant — a convenient finish to a day trip from Sapporo. One of the few pure day facilities in a town dominated by hotels.
One minute from the Ureshino bus centre, the only day-spa in town with its own source (formerly Motoyu Onsen). Silky bicarbonate water — one of Japan's 'three great beauty baths' — in a large indoor bath, open-air pool and sauna. Many family baths (from ¥1,800/50 min + entry). Open 9 am–10 pm.
A day-bath with a simple lodging near the entrance to Unzen Jigoku. Every tub is free-flowing milky sulfur water — indoor, open-air and four private outdoor baths. ¥500, 9 am to 9 pm; an easy stop before or after touring the 'hells'.
A log-cabin-style communal bath at the top of Takayu-dōri. Zao's three public baths (Kamiyu, Shimoyu, Kawarayu) all cost ¥200, paid into an honesty box. No washing stations — just rinse and sink into the strongly acidic milky sulfur water.
The onsen bathhouse of the Laforet resort on the hills above Shuzenji. A big indoor bath overlooking the Amagi range, an open-air bath among birdsong, and a sauna. Day use 12–9 pm, ¥940; free shuttle from Shuzenji Station.
The large ryokan at the entrance to Ginzan. Indoor, open-air and lie-down outdoor baths — far roomier than Shirogane-yu. Day use 11:30 am–2 pm (last 1:30), ¥1,500, closed Thursdays; day bathing has been suspended and resumed repeatedly, so check the website. Cash only.
Five minutes from Beppu Station, stop No. 4 on the 'Beppu Hattō Onsen-dō' trail. The building is new, but in true Beppu style there are no washing stations — you scoop water from the tub. Hot and mild pools, ¥250, from 6:30 am.
In Nozawa, where 13 outer baths are free (donation), this is the only paid day facility with showers, shampoo and an open-air bath. A handsome building with a curved gable, hot and mild indoor pools and a stone outdoor bath — the fallback when the outer baths are too hot or you want a proper wash.
A nine-room designer ryokan in the heart of Shuzenji. Indoor bath of Fuji lava stone and cypress, plus an Izu-stone garden rotenburo fed by three private springs. Day bathing is a 2.5-hour midday window, reservation only, with green tea and a sweet afterwards.
A long-established hotel with one of Jozankei's largest bathhouses: free-flowing private spring water in indoor pools, rotenburo and sauna. Day bathing runs 11:00–23:00, the longest hours in town, and the Sapporo bus stops right outside.
A large resort hotel above the gorge. The basement bathhouse Yusuikyo is open to day visitors on weekdays only, with a combined ticket for the indoor water park 'Lagoon' — handy for families on rainy days. Weekends and holidays are guests only.
A municipal public bath two minutes from Bandai-Atami Station. Two pools of free-flowing spring water — a lukewarm one at about 36°C and a hot one — with silky alkaline water made for long soaks. Unusually, admission is highest in the morning and drops to ¥400 from 14:00 and ¥300 from 16:00. No towels or soap; bring your own.
A town-run day bath in the middle of the Minakami hot-spring street. Just one small indoor pool per gender, but 100% spring-fed sulfate water — an easy stop while strolling the town. Rest room, small shop and coin laundry give it the feel of a tourist office with a bath. 15 minutes on foot from Minakami Station. No soap provided.
A town-run day spa named after Yugawara's ancient name. Set on a rise above the Fujiki River near Manyo Park, with a large indoor bath, a mountain-view rotenburo, sauna, tatami lounge and restaurant. Admission drops to ¥600 after 19:00, so locals stroll the onsen street first and bathe in the evening. 12 minutes by bus from Yugawara Station to the 'Kogome-no-yu' stop.
Eight minutes from Shimura-sakaue Station in Itabashi, one of Tokyo's most atmospheric super-sento, built around a Showa-era mansion and dry-landscape garden. Free-flowing olive-green spring water in the rotenburo, high-concentration carbonated bath, stone sauna and a soba restaurant. ¥970 weekdays, ¥1,300 weekends and holidays; open until midnight. No tattoos.
Four minutes from Hankyu Arashiyama Station and a short walk from Togetsukyo Bridge, Arashiyama's only dedicated day-use onsen. Mildly alkaline simple spring water in indoor, open-air, silky and sauna baths. Easy to slot between sights, with towel rental so you can come empty-handed. The changing room is small, so avoid peak hours. ¥1,200 weekdays, ¥1,400 weekends and holidays.
A locals' public bath three minutes from the east exit of Echigo-Yuzawa Station, tucked into the shopping street. Indoor pool only, but the slightly hot, soft water that clings to the skin gets praise. Shampoo is provided and a towel set costs ¥400, so you can drop in empty-handed while waiting for the shinkansen. ¥600 since December 2025.
The town bathhouse in front of Unazuki Onsen Station, gateway to the Kurobe Gorge Railway. A bright white bathroom with tubs of Kurobe granite holds crystal-clear, mildly alkaline water said to be Japan's most transparent. Just ¥510, with a free foot bath, drinking fountain and rooftop terrace. Easy to fit in before or after the gorge train.
Thirty minutes by train from Fukuoka, next to Dazaifu, this communal bath belongs to Futsukaichi Onsen, a spring with 1,300 years of history. A single tub in a wooden building, but 100% free-flowing alkaline water leaves skin slick and smooth, and locals keep coming. ¥350 weekdays, ¥450 weekends. Upstairs rest room, plus onsen coffee and hot-spring eggs. Increasingly paired with a visit to Dazaifu Tenmangu.
A wooden toji (therapeutic stay) inn over 200 years old on the Toyosawa River in the Hanamaki-Minami onsen area, once frequented by poet Kenji Miyazawa. Its signature is 'Osawa-no-yu', a mixed open-air bath jutting over the river, with women-only hours. Day bathing from 7 am; ¥700 covers three baths. Many linger for lunch and sake at the 'Yahagi' dining room. Free shuttle from Hanamaki Station.
Seven minutes from Yunoyama-Onsen Station at the foot of Mt. Gozaisho, the bath inside the 'healing and food' resort Aqua Ignis. Free-flowing alkaline water in a bamboo-view rotenburo, lie-down bath and cypress barrel tubs. Luxurious in feel yet only ¥600 weekdays / ¥800 weekends, open 6 am to midnight. Patisserie, Italian restaurant and strawberry picking on site.
A day spa perched on a bluff with the whole Pacific in front of it — both the rotenburo and the sauna face the sea, giving sunrises in the morning and fishing-boat lights at night. Carbonated bath, stone sauna and restaurant; open 9 am to 1 am. ¥950 on weekdays. About 10 minutes by car from Hitachi-Taga Station on the JR Joban Line, doable as a day trip from Tokyo.
In the hills of Tokigawa, Saitama, a popular day spa styled as a 1950s–60s Japanese town, complete with enamel signs and an old-fashioned sweet shop. Strongly alkaline (pH over 10) 'beauty' water that feels slippery on the skin, indoors and outdoors. Opens at 5 am on weekends for early bathers. ¥980 weekdays. About 1.5 hours from Ikebukuro by Tobu Tojo Line and town bus.
A day-use-only onsen on the Otaki side of Yoro Valley on the Boso Peninsula, near Awamata Falls. A rotenburo looking over wooded hills and a timber indoor bath hold the dark-tinted alkaline water typical of Boso. Popular after hikes and waterfall walks; towel and robe rental mean you can come empty-handed. Closes early at 18:00; Wednesdays off.
A city-run day bath in front of Awara-Yunomachi Station, two stops from the Hokuriku shinkansen at Awaraonsen. 'Heaven' and 'Earth' bathrooms alternate weekly between men and women, each with rotenburo and sauna. Chloride water keeps you warm long after. ¥600 and open until 23:00 — a rare walk-in option in a town dominated by ryokan. Try the hot-spring eggs. No tattoos.
At the southern tip of Nara, directly opposite the Totsukawa Onsen bus center where Japan's longest local bus route (Yagi–Shingu) stops. A small all-timber bathhouse looking down on the Futatsuno dam lake. The whole village has pledged 'free-flowing spring water only', so nothing is recirculated. Free foot bath, hand bath and drinking fountain. Combine with the Kumano Kodo and Tanize suspension bridge.
A ryokan in Ogoto Onsen on the shore of Lake Biwa below Mt. Hiei, 20 minutes by JR from Kyoto Station. Day bathing is accepted 11:30–20:00, with pH-9 alkaline water indoors and in the rotenburo. The free shuttle from Ogoto-Onsen and Hieizan-Sakamoto stations is open to day visitors too. Lunch plans with Omi beef are popular. ¥2,750 plus bathing tax — ryokan pricing.
The closest day onsen to World Heritage Miyajima, on the opposite shore. Every tub looks out over the Seto Inland Sea toward the island: rotenburo, cypress bath, rock bath, sauna and foot bath. Mildly radioactive (radon) simple spring. A natural stop on the way back from Miyajima, with a restaurant serving Seto fish. ¥800 weekdays, open until 22:00.
The source bath of Yamaguchi's oldest hot spring, opened some 600 years ago. Local volunteers rebuilt the aging public bath in 2020; the bathroom sits directly on the spring, so you stand chest-deep in a 1-m pool watching water seep from the bedrock. Around 39°C — made for long soaks. The riverside lounge doubles as a café open to non-bathers. Pair with a stroll through the town redeveloped around Hoshino Resorts' KAI Nagato.
The bath wing of a historic hotel built on the site of the Yamauchi lords' residence below Kochi Castle. A rare natural hot spring in central Kochi, with a rotenburo facing the Kagami River and Mt. Hitsuzan, a large indoor bath and sauna. Day use is daytime only, 10:00–16:00. Fifteen minutes on foot from Harimaya Bridge — easy between sightseeing and the Sunday market. ¥1,200; bring or rent a towel.
A top-floor panoramic onsen in a resort hotel at Aoshima, Miyazaki's beach district. Large indoor bath, rock rotenburo, waterfall bath and sauna all look down on the Hyuga Sea and Aoshima island; day use is accepted 11:00–22:00. Slightly salty simple spring water. Convenient after Aoshima Shrine, the 'Devil's Washboard' rock formations or a surf session, and 15 minutes by car from Miyazaki Airport. ¥1,100, towels extra.
Nagoya's largest bath complex, about 10,000 m² along the Nakagawa Canal. A tropical-resort layout with natural hot-spring rotenburo, a main sauna with auto-löyly every ten minutes, a 2-m-deep cold plunge and a big outdoor cool-down deck — sauna fans rate it highly. The separately ticketed 'TERA SPA' stone-sauna zone adds barrel saunas. ¥900 weekdays; open until 3 am on Fridays and Saturdays. 25 minutes by bus from Nagoya Station.
The only communal bath in the Minami-Chita hot-spring area, near Toyohama fishing port at the tip of the Chita Peninsula. Salty chloride water from the most abundant springs in Aichi for just ¥700. While the ryokan charge ¥1,000–1,650 for limited midday hours, this one is open straight through 10:00–21:00. Handy after the Toyohama fish market or a day's fishing. 25 minutes by bus from Meitetsu Kowa Station.
Forty minutes by car from Niigata city, the communal bath of Tsukioka Onsen, which bills itself as the spring that 'makes you beautiful'. The emerald-green water has one of the highest sulfur contents in Japan — you smell it the moment you step in. Indoor pool only, ¥600. On the edge of the ryokan street and popular with locals. 25 minutes by bus from Shibata Station. Closed Tuesdays and the third Wednesday.
A ryokan-style day spa on a hill among mandarin groves, away from Yugawara's main street. The draw is a rotenburo with a sweeping view of Sagami Bay, lit up at night. Two bathrooms alternate daily between men and women, and the water is drinkable. Free tatami rest hall and restaurant. ¥1,380; bring a towel. Closed Thursdays except holidays, March and August. Bus from Manazuru or Yugawara Station.
An hour by car from Fukuoka city, a day-bathing facility in Harazuru Onsen, where ryokan line the Chikugo River. The water is both alkaline and sulfurous — a 'double beauty bath' — for ¥600, 10:00–19:00. Day packages with a rest room are also offered. Combine with summer cormorant fishing on the river or the triple waterwheels of Asakura in spring. Registered with the Fukuoka onsen association. Closed Wednesdays.
A hot-spring bathhouse in Yuda Onsen near central Yamaguchi city. In the middle of a town whose legend tells of a white fox healing its wounds here, close to the Nakahara Chuya museum, it offers alkaline simple-spring water for a remarkable ¥390. Open until 23:00, so many finish their tour of the town's free foot baths here. No soap provided. 20 minutes by JR from Shin-Yamaguchi, then 10 minutes on foot from Yuda-Onsen Station.
Kamata, 15 minutes by train from Haneda Airport, has Tokyo's densest cluster of 'kuroyu' black-water springs. Kaiseiyu, founded in 1929, is the classic: a coffee-dark natural bicarbonate bath, a high-concentration carbonated pool and a cold plunge, with a goldfish aquarium set into the bath wall. ¥600; a toiletries-and-towel set is sold at the desk. Ideal before a flight or after a late arrival. Tattoos are fine, as in most sento.
Two subway stops from Umeda and 8 minutes from Tenjimbashisuji-rokuchome Station, a natural onsen on the 8th-floor rooftop of a building. Mildly alkaline water from 659 m below fills open-air baths looking over the Osaka skyline. Generous sauna and outdoor cool-down area, ¥900 on weekdays, open until 1 am. Combine with a stroll down Japan's longest shopping arcade, Tenjimbashisuji, and Osaka Tenmangu shrine.
Eight minutes from Tsuruhashi Station, home of Osaka's Koreatown, a large bath complex known for its Japanese garden landscaping. Pot baths, a standing-depth bath, rock rotenburo and carbonated pool, plus a separately ticketed Korean-style 'hanjeungmak' stone-sauna zone. Open until 2 am — perfect after the yakiniku streets. Everything is charged to a wristband and settled on exit. ¥1,000 weekdays.
Four minutes from Arisugawa Station on the Randen tram near Arashiyama, a day spa in Kyoto-style timber architecture. Chloride water from 1,200 m below fills rock rotenburo, pot baths and a spacious indoor pool; the men's side has a 'theater' sauna, the women's two saunas. Open until midnight, so it works after a day in Arashiyama. Restaurant on site. ¥1,200 weekdays; closed the third Monday.
A natural onsen inside Bayside Place Hakata at the port, 15 minutes by bus from Hakata Station. Chloride 'heat water' gushes at 400 litres a minute from 800 m down, filling a free-flowing lukewarm pool and a hot outdoor bath. Sauna, seven stone-sauna rooms and private baths (¥3,900 for 90 min, up to four people). It shares the site with the ferry terminal for Shikanoshima and Nokonoshima. ¥1,100 weekdays, open until midnight.
Hiroshima's largest natural-onsen complex, in Ujina near the port. Brown bicarbonate water in a rock rotenburo and free-flowing tubs, plus carbonated bath, sauna and stone sauna. Two-tier pricing: ¥500 for indoor baths only, ¥1,000 (weekdays) for everything. 25 minutes by tram from the Peace Memorial Park and close to the Hiroshima Port ferries for Miyajima.
Twenty minutes by train from Aomori, a panoramic bath on the 5th floor of the roadside station at Asamushi Onsen on Mutsu Bay. Big windows frame Yunoshima island and the bay — sunset is the prime slot. Salt- and sulfate-rich water keeps you warm afterwards. Just ¥360, open 7:00–21:00 every day. The ground-floor market sells Aomori souvenirs. Two minutes' walk from Asamushi-Onsen Station.
A hotel-attached day bath at the entrance to Kaike Onsen on the Sea of Japan coast in Yonago. While ryokan in Kaike charge around ¥1,500 for day use, here ¥450 covers the indoor bath, rotating specialty bath, rotenburo and jacuzzi (¥580 with sauna). Open straight through 10:00–23:00 daily. Close to the beach, so busy with swimmers in summer. 20 minutes by bus from Yonago Station.
The communal bath of Yunotsu, once the shipping port for the World Heritage Iwami Ginzan silver mine. Rated a perfect 'all fives' by the Japan Spa Association, it is 100% free-flowing, and iron-rich mineral deposits coat the tub in thick brown crusts. Next door is 'Shin-yu', a Western-style wooden building from 1919 whose retro café and rooftop terrace are open to bathers. ¥600. The whole street is a preserved historic district.
On a mountainside above the Kofu basin, a spectacular open-air bath with Mt. Fuji and the city lights in view. It opens 'one hour before sunrise', so people arrive in the dark to watch dawn break over Fuji from the water. Of the two bathhouses, 'Acchi-no-yu' is the larger with the better view. ¥900. The deep-fried hot-spring egg from the food stall is a must. Ten minutes by taxi from Yamanashi-shi Station; a feasible day trip from Tokyo.
Twenty-five minutes by local train from Fukushima, the emblematic communal bath of Iizaka Onsen, where the poet Basho is said to have bathed. Rebuilt in 1993 as a faithful copy of one of Japan's oldest wooden bathhouses, its granite tub runs with free-flowing spring water above 45°C. Locals don't cool it with tap water; visitors get guidance. ¥400, from 6 am. No soap or shampoo. Start here for a crawl of the town's nine public baths.
Five minutes by car from the Kazurabashi vine bridge, the day-use bath of a large hotel at the mouth of the Iya Valley — the biggest bathhouse in Iya, with a rotenburo facing the green gorge, indoor pool and sauna. At ¥1,100 it's a cheaper, later-opening alternative to Hotel Iya Onsen's cable-car bath (¥1,900). 20 minutes by car from Oboke Station. Closed Tuesdays.
A wooden ryokan founded in 1841 on the Toyosawa River at the far end of the Hanamaki onsen villages. Its signature is 'Hakuen-no-yu', a self-welling rock pool about 1.25 m deep that you stand in — billed as Japan's deepest rock bath. Five springs feed four bathhouses, all 100% free-flowing. Day use ¥800, 10:00–21:00. Hakuen-no-yu is mixed bathing with women-only hours. Free shuttle from Hanamaki Station by reservation.
A village-run public bath on the shore of Futatsuno Dam lake in Totsukawa, the village that declared all its baths 100% free-flowing. Attached to a seniors' centre, it's plain but pours 70°C bicarbonate-chloride water straight in with no recirculation. Handy on Tuesdays when nearby Iori-no-yu is closed. ¥600, 9:00–21:00, closed only Jan 1–2. Five minutes' walk from Totsukawa-Onsen bus stop.
Twenty minutes by train from Kyoto, the flagship ryokan of Ogoto Onsen on Lake Biwa's west shore. The top-floor open-air bath 'Yugen Shoyo' overlooks the lake and the Hiei range, with garden rotenburo and more to hop between. pH 9 'beautifying' water. Day use ¥2,000, 11:00–21:30; entry may be limited when busy. Five minutes by shuttle from Ogoto-Onsen Station — a convenient soak after Kyoto sightseeing.
The source bath of Yunogo Onsen, where legend says the monk Ennin found an egret healing its wounds some 1,200 years ago. One of the three famed Mimasaka hot springs, an hour by car from Okayama. The town-run bathhouse charges ¥800 for indoor and open-air baths across two bathing wings linked by a moving walkway, alternating daily. Open 8:00–21:00; the 'all-day rest' plan lets you come and go until closing. Bring your own food.
Just behind Kokusai-dori, the only natural hot spring in central Naha, attached to Naha Central Hotel. Chloride water from 800 m underground fills indoor and open-air baths, plus dry, salt and mist saunas. Open 6:00–23:00 every day — handy before or after a flight. ¥1,250 on weekdays (bring your own towel). Five minutes' walk from both Miebashi and Makishi monorail stations.
Two hours by train from Tokyo, a day spa right in front of Oarai Sun Beach. The open-air baths — 'Kuroshio' for men, 'Oyashio' for women — look straight out over the Pacific, and the strong salt water from 1,500 m down keeps you warm long after. There's also a carbonated bath. The panoramic restaurant serves seafood from Oarai port. ¥1,000 on weekdays, 10:00–21:30, open daily. Five minutes by taxi from Oarai Station.
Sakakibara Onsen was praised in the 11th-century Pillow Book as one of Japan's three finest baths. Tucked in the hills of Tsu, it flourished as a purification stop for pilgrims to Ise Shrine and is known as a 'beauty bath'. The day-use wing of this old ryokan lets you feel the silky pH 9.6 house spring unheated in the dedicated 'gensen' tub. ¥1,000 (face towel included, 2-hour limit). Shuttle from Sakakibara-Onsenguchi Station.
Fifteen minutes by Kotoden train from central Takamatsu, an architect-designed modern wooden bathhouse. Every tub is free-flowing, and the lukewarm bicarbonate water leaves skin silky. Inside are a second-hand book corner and veranda-like lounges where people linger reading after their soak. ¥700; 11:00–24:00 weekdays, from 9:00 on weekends and holidays. Ten minutes' walk from Busshozan Station.
Forty minutes by car from Kochi city, a hot-spring inn beside Shoryuji, temple 36 of the Shikoku pilgrimage. It claims Kochi's only high-concentration, high-temperature spring; the golden chloride water is nicknamed 'the heat bath' for how long it keeps you warm. The rotenburo looks over Usa Bay and the Pacific, and there's a free seaside footbath. Day use in two sessions — 5:30–9:00 and 14:00–21:00 — ¥750 on weekdays.
An hour by car from Miyazaki, a resort hotel on a rise in Kitago, Nichinan, ringed by cedar-clad hills. The silky bicarbonate water (around pH 9.5) is known as a 'beauty bath', and the rotenburo looks across the mountains and Nichinan farmland. Day bathing runs a generous 10:00–22:00 — easy to combine with Obi castle town or Udo Shrine. ¥1,200.
About 80 minutes from Ikebukuro by Laview limited express, a complex hot-spring facility joined to Seibu-Chichibu Station. Themed on the 300-plus festivals Chichibu holds each year, it packs 9–10 tubs per side including open-air baths, a high-concentration carbonated bath and saunas. The food court serves waraji katsu-don and Chichibu soba; the shop sells local sake and miso pickles. ¥1,100 on weekdays, 10:00–22:00; morning baths from 6:00 on weekends.
About 70 minutes from central Tokyo via the Aqua-Line, a hot-spring inn founded in 1950 on the shore of Lake Kameyama in the Boso hills. Its chocolate-brown 'kuroyu' bicarbonate water — billed as Boso's finest beauty bath — flows freely into a large bath with lake and forest views. Day use 11:30–18:00, ¥1,000 on weekdays; no day bathing Thursdays and Fridays. In autumn pair it with a foliage cruise on the lake.
Ten minutes by car from Tsuruga, the Hokuriku Shinkansen terminus, a municipal spa on a hill above Tsuruga Bay. Alongside the open-air and indoor baths and sauna there's a swimsuit 'Bade pool' of thermal water, so it's popular with families. Mild simple spring water; a Japanese restaurant and tatami hall for resting afterwards. ¥750 on weekdays, 10:00–22:00, closed Tuesdays — a handy first stop on a Hokuriku trip from Kansai or Nagoya.
Next to the Himi Banya-gai seafood market near the port famous for winter yellowtail, a day spa fed by its own well 1,250 m down. The brown, strongly saline water flows freely, and on clear days the rotenburo frames the Tateyama range across Toyama Bay. Open 10:00–23:00, from 7:00 on weekends and holidays. ¥950. The classic routine: kaisen-don or conveyor sushi at the market, then a soak.
A small riverside hotel on the south side of Kinugawa Onsen, five minutes from Tobu World Square Station. While the big hotels stop day bathing around 15:00, this one welcomes walk-ins 9:00–21:00 for ¥700. Its own alkaline sulfur spring (43.6 °C) flows 100% free into a quirky set of baths: a rotenburo made from an actual Kinugawa river-cruise boat, a rock rotenburo, indoor baths and a swimsuit mixed bath. The slightly cool, silky water is highly rated by onsen fans.
A lone inn in the hills of Shionoe, Takamatsu's traditional retreat and one of only two nationally designated therapeutic hot-spring areas on Shikoku. Its own pH 8.4 bicarbonate spring feeds a rotenburo above the stream, an indoor bath and a sauna, with a large free rest room. Day use in two sessions — 6:00–11:00 and 15:00–22:00 — for ¥700. Just 20 minutes by car from Takamatsu Airport, so handy before a flight.
A large day-spa at Yuda Onsen in Yamaguchi city. The men's 'Byakko-no-yu' faces a Japanese garden while the women's 'Xavier-no-yu' is Western in style; both offer rotenburo, lie-down and jet baths, a walking pool and sauna. The pH 9.2 alkaline water feels silky. ¥1,000 including a face towel, open 10:00–24:00 every day. Upstairs there's a manga and rest lounge plus a canteen. Ten minutes' walk from Yuda-Onsen Station.
The only communal bath in Akiu Onsen, Sendai's classic hot-spring retreat. Among upscale ryokan charging ¥1,000-plus for day use, this humble bathhouse offers free-flowing chloride spring water for ¥300. Near the Yakushi-do temple at the source, it has a single tub and a mostly local crowd; soap is sold, not provided, and a sign asks for 40-minute stays. About 55 minutes by bus from Sendai Station, right by the Yumoto stop.
A communal bath in Obama Onsen on Tachibana Bay, whose ~100°C springs release more heat than any in Japan. The single-storey wooden building from 1937 feels like a museum of Showa-era life and is a designated prefectural townscape asset. Pay at the old-style counter, then choose between the hot and very hot tubs of free-flowing chloride water. Open from 6 am; part of the Kyushu 88 Onsen trail. About an hour from Nagasaki city, on the way back from Unzen.
An hour by car from central Hiroshima, a city-run lodge at Yuki Onsen, 'Hiroshima's back parlour'. The rotenburo above the clear Minochi River and the timber-lined main bath are all free-flowing, with a rare mildly radioactive (radon) spring. ¥750 per visit or ¥1,000 for an all-day pass. Open till 21:00 in summer, 20:00 in winter. Direct buses run from Hiroshima city — an easy hot-spring break between Miyajima and the Peace Park.
The source bath of Ryujin Onsen, counted with Yunokawa and Kawanaka among Japan's 'three beauty baths'. It stands on the Hidaka River deep in the Kii mountains, with a cypress indoor bath and a rock rotenburo overlooking the stream. The silky bicarbonate water is famous for leaving skin smooth. ¥800, 7:00–21:00, open daily. An hour by car from Koyasan via the Koya-Ryujin Skyline, or about 80 minutes by bus from Kii-Tanabe.
About 90 minutes from Nagoya by train and car, an inn on the Sankai coast at the southern tip of the Chita Peninsula. Day visitors can use the rotenburo and main bath with sweeping views of Ise Bay — sunset over the water is the highlight. The chloride spring of Minami-Chita, Aichi's most abundant hot-spring area, keeps you warm afterwards. ¥800, 11:00–21:00; towels sold for ¥200. Pair with the beach in summer or fugu dinners in winter.
A lone inn in a primeval beech forest on the southern flank of Mt. Hakkoda. Spring water wells up directly through the gaps in the hiba-cypress boards on the tub floor — 'free-welling', so you bathe in water that has never touched air, a rarity even in Japan. The all-hiba 'Kyuan-no-yu' bathhouse from 1918 is magnificent. Day use 10:00–15:00, ¥1,000; may close early when busy. Combine with the hour-long trail around Tsuta-numa pond, famous for autumn colour. Closed in winter.
Fifty minutes by bus from Morioka, a family-run hotel in Oshuku Onsen, a 450-year-old spa where legend says a bush warbler healed its wounds. The area is rich in hot water, and the clear alkaline spring flows freely into the indoor and open-air baths — day use just ¥600, 11:00–19:00, half price on the 26th of each month. Easy to add after Koiwai Farm, Shizukuishi ski slopes or Morioka sightseeing.
An hour by car from Niigata city, a ryokan in Tsukioka Onsen, famed for water that 'makes you beautiful'. Its emerald-green spring, among the most sulfur-rich in Japan, fills indoor and open-air baths, and day use runs late — 15:00–23:00 — so you can soak while the garden is lit up. ¥800 on weekdays (¥1,000 with towel), +¥200 on weekends and holidays. Combine with the free footbath and spring-source park in the village.
A lakeside ryokan drawing 'Taiko Onsen' water from the site of Hideyoshi's Nagahama Castle. The rust-red iron-rich spring keeps you warm long after, and the rotenburo looks out over Lake Biwa to Chikubu Island. Day use 11:00–14:30 and 15:00–20:00, ¥1,500 including bath and face towels. Seven minutes' walk from Nagahama Station — easy to pair with the Kurokabe Square old town. About an hour from Kyoto by rapid train.
A town-run day spa at Okutsu Onsen, one of the three Mimasaka hot springs and famous for the autumn colours of Okutsu Gorge. The airy, high-ceilinged main bath holds pH 9-plus alkaline 'beauty water', with a rotenburo, family baths and sauna. ¥880, 10:00–19:00, closed Thursdays. The gorge trail is within walking distance, so it fills up after leaf-viewing in autumn. Forty minutes by car from Tsuyama.
Thirty minutes by car from Naha Airport, a natural hot spring in a hilltop resort hotel in Nanjo, southern Okinawa. Golden water from strata about 5.4 million years old carries roughly 80% the salinity of seawater and is prized for warmth and skin care. The panoramic bath and rotenburo overlook Nakagusuku Bay and the Chinen Peninsula. Open 6:30–23:00 daily; ¥2,200 including a towel set and loungewear. Pair with Sefa Utaki or Cape Chinen.
Twenty minutes by car from the Tottori Sand Dunes, the communal bath of Iwai Onsen, one of San'in's oldest springs at 1,300 years. It preserves 'yukamuri', a quirky custom of singing while ladling water over a towel on your head. The 47.6°C source in a corner of the car park flows in 100% untreated. ¥380, open 6:00–22:00. A humble soak to pair with the Uradome coast or the dunes.
A ryokan founded in the early Taishō era, five minutes on foot from Kyomachi-Onsen Station at the foot of the Ebino plateau. Every tub is free-flowing simple spring water, and a day soak costs just ¥300. Highlights are a cave-style private bath (¥500/hour) and an atmospheric open-air bath that alternates men/women after 18:00. A hidden gem 40 minutes by car from Kagoshima Airport on the way to the Kirishima range.
Five minutes by car from the Kazurabashi vine bridge, this popular Iya inn is famous for its 'sky open-air bath' reached by private cable car. Day bathing (¥1,200) runs 10:30–16:00; the goemon cauldron baths are for overnight guests only. A free sky footbath on the viewing deck is spectacular on mornings with a sea of clouds. With Hotel Iya Onsen it forms Iya's pair of 'cable-car onsen', ideal for a break while touring the valley.
A town-run day spa attached to the Echizen roadside station on the coast famous for Echizen crab. The open-air bath juts toward the Sea of Japan, facing sunsets over the horizon and, after dark, the squid-boat lanterns ('isaribi') that give it its name. Silky 'beauty water', an indoor bath and sauna for a wallet-friendly ¥520. Busy in winter with visitors pairing a soak with a crab lunch.
Shimane's only onsen bathhouse, offering the lakeside Matsue Shinjiko spring for ¥430. Five minutes on foot from Matsue-Shinjiko-Onsen Station on the Ichibata line, easy to drop into after Matsue Castle or the moat cruise. The sodium-calcium sulfate-chloride water holds heat well. No soap or shampoo provided, but a take-along set is sold. Ninety percent of bathers are locals—everyday Matsue at its most authentic.
One of Japan's largest day-spa complexes, sharing a resort with Nagashima Spa Land and Nabana no Sato. Roughly 33,000 m² of open-air baths landscaped after the Oirase stream and Kurobe gorge, with 17 natural-spring baths for men and women plus six rock-bath rooms. A 50-minute direct bus from Nagoya's Meitetsu Bus Center makes it popular with families and overseas visitors combining it with the amusement park or outlet mall. Admission ¥2,100; open until 23:00 on weekends.
The village-run public bath of Tōsenji Onsen, the oldest spring in Totsukawa. pH 9.1 alkaline sulfur water flows fresh from the source even through the taps, leaving a faint sulfur scent and slippery skin. Just a stone open-air bath facing the gorge and an indoor tub—simple and ¥600. Handy on Route 168 en route to the Tanize suspension bridge or Kumano Hongū Taisha.
About 90 minutes from Akihabara via the Tsukuba Express, a day spa on the slopes of Mt. Tsukuba. The open-air bath opens onto a cliff with the whole Kantō plain below—the classic post-hike or post-cable-car soak. Alkaline simple spring water around pH 9 leaves skin smooth. ¥1,100 weekdays, ¥1,300 weekends; reservable private baths too. Check the calendar for closure days.
A hot-spring ryokan in the heart of the temple town below Kotohira-gū, close to the foot of the famous stone steps. Perfect for easing your legs with a day soak (¥750, 11:00–16:00) after climbing the 785 steps; the open-air bath looks out on the Konpira hills. Bicarbonate spring. About 10 minutes on foot from Kotohira Station and easy to pair with udon-shop hopping. Baths are occasionally closed for maintenance—check ahead.
A solitary inn on the Hinoji River in the Shimanto headwaters. Its viscous, highly alkaline water has been revered as a healing spring since the Edo period, and a day soak is a modest ¥700. Enjoy the open-air bath above the stream or book a private bath. Open late, 10:30–21:00, and 30 minutes by car from Kubokawa Station—ideal after canoeing or cycling the Shimanto.
A day spa on the Hinosawa stream in Oku-Nagatoro, named after Suisen-ji, the final temple of the Chichibu 34 Kannon pilgrimage. Mangan Falls tumbles right in front of the open-air bath—stunning in fresh green and autumn colour. pH 9.4 alkaline water with a pronounced silky feel. ¥980 weekdays (¥750 after 17:00), ¥1,200 weekends. Combine with the Nagatoro river boats or Mt. Hodo.
Three minutes by car from Yamanakako IC, a day spa with Mt. Fuji rising straight ahead of the open-air bath. Highly alkaline (pH 10.3) yet gentle on the skin. Two open-air baths—stone and cypress—plus a lie-down bath, jets and sauna for ¥900. On winter weekends (Dec–Feb) it opens at dawn so you can watch the peak blush red at sunrise, the 'benifuji' of its name. 30 minutes from Fujisan Station on the Fujikko-gō loop bus.
Ten minutes by car from Kurobe-Unazuki-Onsen Station on the Hokuriku Shinkansen, a large day-spa wing of the lone inn Kintarō Onsen in Uozu. Its sulfur-rich sodium-calcium chloride water is among the most concentrated in Hokuriku, gushing at 1,800 litres a minute. A giant rock bath built from Tateyama boulders, open-air baths, a carbonated bath, rock-bath rooms and four private baths; open daily 8:30–23:30. Admission ¥1,100.
One of the Bōsō peninsula's largest spa resorts, in Shirako on Kujūkuri Beach. Soak in iodine-rich, tea-coloured Chōsei spring water in the open-air bath, with seven rock-bath rooms, saunas, nap lounges, banquet halls and lodging on site. Open straight through from 10:00 to 08:00 the next morning; stays past 01:00 incur a late surcharge. Free shuttle from JR Mobara Station (reservation required). ¥1,600 weekdays, ¥1,900 weekends. Tattoos—including stickers and paint—are strictly refused.
A modern cure-bath inn fed by Tamagawa Onsen, Japan's most acidic spring at pH 1.2. The hiba-cypress bathhouse lines up 15 tubs — 100% source, 50% diluted, mildly acidic and more — so you can choose by condition. Day use 10:00–15:00, ¥1,000 (revised April 2026). An indoor stone-slab bath (¥800) is also available, and unlike the original Tamagawa it stays open all winter for snowbound soaking. About 70 min by bus from Tazawako Station.
The only public bath in Miyazu, right next to Amanohashidate Station on the Kyoto Tango Railway — the gateway to one of Japan's Three Views. Named after the Monju bodhisattva of wisdom, it looks like a small ryokan. Magnesium-rich chloride water fills an indoor bath and hand-and-foot bath, with a free footbath outside. ¥800, 12:00–21:00. Perfect for a rinse while waiting for your train after walking the sandbar.
The flagship ryokan of Harazuru Onsen on the Chikugo River, known for 'double beauty water' that is both mildly alkaline and sulfurous. Highlights are the leafy 'jungle bath' hall and two roofless private open-air baths, Keiryū-no-yu and Takimi-no-yu (¥2,000 per 50 min, reservation required). Day use ¥1,000, Wed–Sun 11:00–20:00 (Mon–Tue from 14:00). Rooms renovated in 2024 feature Fukuoka crafts such as Kurume kasuri textiles — a good weekend base an hour's drive from Hakata.
A city-run day bath on the shore of the Unazuki dam lake. From the lakeside open-air bath you can watch the Kurobe Gorge trolley train crawl along the far cliff — a favourite with railway fans. Just ¥510 including shampoo and hairdryers, with silky mildly alkaline water. Open only from late April to early December; closed in winter. Five minutes from Unazuki-Onsen Station by the free 'EMU' shuttle or car.
The public day bath at the heart of Matsunoyama, counted with Arima and Kusatsu among Japan's 'three great medicinal springs'. The water is fossil seawater some 12 million years old, heated geothermally — salty, slightly oily and hot enough to warm you to the core. Indoor bath plus a small open-air tub, ¥600 (¥500 after 17:00). In this heavy-snow region it becomes a snow bath in winter. Used by inn guests for bath-hopping too, and close to the site of the famous 'groom-tossing' festival.
A lone inn at 1,300 m, the last stop in the Nasu hot-spring range. Spring water gushes out behind the building in such volume that it forms a river, dammed into the vast outdoor 'Kawa-no-yu' — nothing else like it in Japan. Mixed bathing since the inn's founding, but bathing wear is included so beginners can relax. Day use is limited to three hours (reception 11:30–14:30), ¥1,300 with face towel and bathing wear. The outdoor bath closes in bad weather or for cleaning, so phone ahead. Autumn colour and snow seasons are the draw.
An all-glass communal bath on the shore of Lake Shibayama in Katayamazu, part of the Kaga onsen cluster, designed by architect Yoshio Taniguchi. The lake-facing 'Kata-no-yu' and garden-facing 'Mori-no-yu' swap between men and women on odd and even days; for ¥500 you get the Hakusan peaks and the lake to yourself. The salty chloride water keeps you warm long after. Open from 6:00 to 22:00, with a café upstairs (closed Thursdays) selling onsen eggs. About 10 min by bus from Kaga-Onsen Station.
A long-established bath theme park on a hillside three minutes' walk from Hankyu Minoh Station in northern Osaka. The panoramic main bath and open-air tubs look out over the Osaka plain, and with stone-slab baths, a manga corner, games, stage shows and a buffet you can spend the whole day in lounge wear. Admission ¥1,813 on weekdays (¥2,253 weekends), dropping to a ¥922 evening rate after 17:00. Open until 23:45 — popular with hikers coming back from the Minoh Falls autumn foliage trail.
The signature communal bath of Tōgatta, gateway to the Zao range on the Miyagi side. A wooden bathhouse with nothing but two indoor tubs — a 'hot' one around 44°C and a 'mild' one at 42°C — fed free-flowing by a 400-year-old source. The sodium-calcium sulfate-chloride water is reputed for cuts and skin complaints and keeps you warm long afterwards. ¥400, 9:00–20:30. The source and Tōgatta Shrine sit behind it and a free footbath in front; combine with a stroll through the kokeshi-doll village.
The highlight of any Gonō Line journey: a lone inn famous nationwide for its 'seaside open-air bath' set right at the water's edge of the Sea of Japan. Iron-rich chloride water, rust-red and cloudy, seems to merge with sea and sky. Day use is ¥600 — the seaside bath 8:00–16:00 (last entry 15:30), the main-building indoor 'Kogane-no-yu' 8:00–20:00. The mixed outdoor bath allows bathing wear (rental fee); a women-only outdoor bath sits alongside. Sunset soaks are for overnight guests only, so stay if you want one of Japan's 100 best sunsets from the tub.
The only hot spring inscribed as a World Heritage Site that you can actually bathe in, listed together with the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage routes. A tiny hut over the stream in Yunomine — said to be Japan's oldest onsen at 1,800 years — shelters a tub hollowed from natural rock that fits two adults. The sulfurous water is said to change colour seven times a day and served pilgrims for ritual purification. Private 30-minute slots, ¥800, sign up at the public bathhouse (6:00–21:00). Waits of several hours are common on holidays; boil onsen eggs in the hot-spring trough while you wait.
A day bath inside a public inn 15 minutes by ferry from Kagoshima port and 8 minutes' walk from Sakurajima port. Water rises at 51°C from a magma layer 1,000 m below, clouded rust-brown with iron, and flows freely through a bath hall looking across Kinkō Bay to the city. ¥460, 11:00–21:00 — a bargain after touring the volcano or the lava seaside trail. The free 100-metre Lava Nagisa Park footbath is within walking distance. Operations may be affected by volcanic alert levels.
A large ryokan 10 minutes by car from Hakodate Airport and 3–4 minutes' walk from the Yunokawa-Onsen tram stop. From the 11th-floor panoramic bath hall and 'sky open-air bath' you look over the city, the Tsugaru Strait and, at night, squid-boat lights and the Mt Hakodate skyline — even planes landing at the airport when the timing is right. Day use ¥1,200 in two sessions, 6:00–9:00 and 13:00–21:00, including the top-floor sauna. Private baths ¥3,300 per 50 minutes (reserve). Easy to combine with the morning market and Goryōkaku.
A large lakeside hotel at the centre of the Toyako onsen strip. The top-floor panoramic bath and open-air tubs take in the lake, Nakajima island and Mt Yōtei beyond — and from late April to the end of October you can watch the nightly 20:45 fireworks from the water. Day use ¥1,200 on weekdays, ¥1,500 on weekends, in two sessions: 7:00–10:00 and 13:00–21:00. The chloride water holds heat well. A paid shuttle from Sapporo Station (reservation required) makes it a handy base for Shikotsu-Tōya National Park.
A village-run day bath in the Dorogawa onsen street at 820 m, the trailhead for sacred Mt Ōmine. Reopened in April 2024 after renovation, it heats its water with a wood boiler burning local forest thinnings. Yoshino-cedar indoor bath, open-air bath and a rest room; the mildly alkaline water leaves skin silky. ¥800, 11:00–20:00, closed Wednesdays. Pair it with the lantern-lit wooden inns, the 'Gorogoro' spring water (one of Japan's 100 famous waters) and Menfudō limestone cave for one of Kansai's best retro onsen strolls. Busy as a summer retreat.
An inn with its own spring midway along the Yukawa gorge, where the ryokan of Higashiyama Onsen line the river 10 minutes by car from central Aizu-Wakamatsu. Day visitors get the riverside open-air bath facing a waterfall and the main bath for ¥1,100 including a small towel, 13:00–20:00. Private panoramic baths (¥1,650) and lunch packages are also offered. With 1,300 years of history, Higashiyama was the retreat of artists such as Takehisa Yumeji and poet Yosano Akiko — a natural finish to a day at Tsuruga Castle and the Byakkotai sites on Iimoriyama. Reception hours may shorten when busy.
The landmark of Arifuku, a stair-stepped hamlet of wooden inns tucked into the San'in hills. A 1928 reinforced-concrete bathhouse with Western arched windows, it pours colourless alkaline simple-spring water undiluted into the tub — slippery 'beauty water'. ¥400 with soap and shampoo, open 7:00–22:00 for early soaks. A family bath rents for ¥1,200 an hour, and the tatami rest room upstairs displays pre-war photographs. Cars can't enter the sloping village, which also has the Satsuki-yu and Yayoi-yu public baths for a three-bath circuit.
A 12-room inn in Yoro Valley, the Boso Peninsula's autumn-colour spot and the last place in the Kanto region to turn, peaking late November to early December. Boso's signature coffee-coloured alkaline 'black water' fills the indoor and open-air baths; day use is a flat ¥700 for ages 3 and up, 11:00–15:00. Eat lunch in the dining room and the bath is free — spring bamboo-shoot dishes are the speciality. Five minutes by bus from Yoro-Keikoku Station on the Kominato Railway to Yorokan-mae. Lunchtime opening can be suspended at short notice, so phone ahead.
A view ryokan at the tip of the Nishiura peninsula in Gamagōri, built right on Mikawa Bay. The two bath halls, Fusumi-no-yu and Kōsai-no-yu, open straight onto the sea, with sunsets and night lights the main event. Day use 11:00–15:00 ¥1,500 with towel, or 15:00–19:00 ¥1,800 with bath towel. The top-floor private panoramic open-air bath is ¥2,200 per 50 minutes for day visitors (reserve). About an hour from Nagoya on the Meitetsu line, with a shuttle from Nishiura Station. Day bathing is suspended on some dates — check 'today's status' on the official site.
A public resort inn in the pine woods of the Echizen-Kaga Coast park, five minutes by car from the Tōjinbō cliffs. The glass-walled indoor bath and open-air Araiso-no-yu face the Sea of Japan and its sunsets, with cherry blossom in spring. Day use 11:30–15:00 (last entry), ¥900; closed to day visitors on Tuesdays for maintenance. Well stocked with shampoo and conditioner; towels are rented (¥310) or bring your own. Eight minutes by car from Mikuni-Minato Station — an easy stop between Tōjinbō and an Echizen crab lunch (Nov–Mar).
A super-sento 15 minutes by car from Kawagoe's 'Little Edo' warehouse streets, where brown natural spring water pumped from 1,200 m flows freely through both indoor and outdoor tubs. Nine baths per side plus two saunas, a carbonated bath and the signature 'Zabūn' water feature; the Zabūn and Sarasara wings swap between men and women on odd and even days. ¥900 weekdays, ¥1,000 weekends, ¥100 off 8–9 am and after 22:00. Open 8:00–25:00 every day with 200 parking spaces — a proper onsen near Tokyo to end a Kawagoe day.
A ryokan in Kitago Onsen, the quiet inland retreat behind the castle town of Obi and the Nichinan coast. Bicarbonate water rising at 51°C from 800 m below lives up to the 'beauty bath' name — skin feels slick, and you can drink it too. The bubble-jet main bath and separate open-air baths are all free-flowing. Day use ¥600 (revised June 2026), 11:00–19:50 (last entry 19:00). The dining room's spiny-lobster set (autumn–winter) is popular; combine with Obi's old town or Udo Shrine. Five minutes by car from JR Kitago Station.
An onsen on the fifth floor of a resort hotel facing Emerald Beach, seven minutes' walk from the Churaumi Aquarium. Chloride water is drawn from Jurassic strata some 200 million years old, and the open-air bath looks across cobalt-blue sea to Ie Island. Two bathrooms — one with a dry sauna, one with steam — alternate daily between men and women, with cold plunge and outdoor rest area. Day use ¥2,150 including towel set, 6:00–10:00 and 15:00–23:00. A rare genuine hot spring in Okinawa, best enjoyed in the late afternoon after the aquarium.
A resort hotel on the waterfront of Tomonoura, the old tide-waiting port near Fukuyama. The top-floor bath hall 'Tenkū' and its open-air tub look across to Sensuijima and the calm Seto Inland Sea; the water is a natural radium spring. A löyly-capable sauna and steam sauna were added in 2023. Day use 11:00–18:00 (last entry 17:00), ¥1,600, with free bath towels. Private open-air baths 'Sansan' and 'Tōtō' are ¥5,500 per 50 minutes (reserve). 30 minutes by bus from Fukuyama Station to Tomokō; pair with the Edo-period streets and the stone lantern.
A ryokan built out over Lake Tōgō, known as the 'inn on the lake': lobby and baths are surrounded by water on three sides, and the open-air Kōsuke-yu sits almost level with the surface. Free-flowing simple spring water. Day bathing runs on an irregular basis, roughly 11:00–14:00, ¥1,000 cash only — phone the same day to confirm. Private open-air baths are ¥1,650 per 45 minutes, booked by phone from 9:00 that morning. 18 minutes by bus from Kurayoshi Station to the Hawai Onsen stop. No restaurant inside, so eat in the onsen town or at the Enchōen roadside station.
A cure-style resort in the Furuyu hot-spring hamlet up the Kase River, 30 minutes by car from Saga city. The signature is 'lukewarm' water at around 38 °C — the longer you soak, the more you unwind — long prized as a beautifying bath. The SHIORI bath complex has 15 kinds of baths including an open-air tub facing Mt Tenzan, lying and standing baths, a box steam bath, cypress tub and natural hot-sand bath, all from a private source yielding 43 tonnes a day. Day use 10:00–20:00, ¥1,300 with free face towel; Wednesdays from 15:00 only for maintenance. About 60 minutes by bus from Saga Station to Furuyu Onsen.
The municipal bathhouse that serves as the source bath of Kawatana Onsen, Shimonoseki's hinterland spa with some 800 years of history — the Mōri lords bathed here. Sodium-potassium chloride water (source about 41 °C) fills the indoor bath, with an open-air tub and sauna; adult admission is a modest ¥480. Family baths (from ¥1,100 for 80 min weekdays / 60 min weekends) and a rest-room package (¥800) allow a leisurely cure-style visit. Open 10:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30); closed the first Thursday of even-numbered months. Kawatana is the birthplace of kawara-soba, noodles grilled on a roof tile — try it after your bath. An easy stop on the way back from Tsunoshima Bridge.
A municipal day-use onsen entered straight from the Shimabara Ichibangai shopping arcade in this spring-water castle town. Magnesium-sodium bicarbonate water (source 61.8 °C) is used free-flowing — clear, colourless and soft on the skin. The building has a retro Shōwa-era bathhouse feel, with a sauna and tatami rest hall; admission ¥530, or ¥320 for over-70s. Open 10:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30), closed Wednesdays. Within walking distance of Shimabara Castle, the samurai quarter and the carp-stream streets, and a handy stop between Shimabara port and Unzen. Parking free for two hours.
A large day-use onsen next to the Naruto boat-race stadium, 10 minutes by car from the whirlpools and the Ōtsuka Museum of Art. The open-air bath, fed by the site's own natural spring, opens to Naruto's hills and sky; there are also a carbonated bath, pot tubs, a hot sauna, cold plunge and outdoor rest area. Open 8:00–24:00 (last entry 23:00), from early morning to late night; ¥750 weekdays, ¥900 weekends and holidays. The ground-floor restaurant is known for fresh fish — Naruto sea bream and sashimi at fair prices. Walkable from the Konaruto-bashi bus stop on the Tokushima Bus Naruto line. Irregular closures.
Ise city's only full-scale super-sentō, attached to the Mitasu Ise shopping centre five minutes by car from the Outer Shrine. Funae Onsen water pumped from below fills the open-air stone and rock baths, joined by a high-concentration carbonated bath, jet baths and a tower sauna — eleven baths in all. Open 9:00–23:00 (last entry 22:30); ¥800 weekdays, ¥900 weekends and holidays, with towel-rental packages so you can drop in empty-handed between shrine visits. The Hyōtan-tei restaurant serves local dishes like Ise udon and tekone-zushi. About 20 minutes on foot from Iseshi Station, or right at the Mitasu Ise Kita bus stop (Mie Kōtsū).
A white-walled onsen hotel in the hills between Kojima, at the foot of the Great Seto Bridge, and the pilgrim path up Mt Yuga. Yuga Onsen has long refreshed worshippers at the Yuga Daigongen shrine-temple; the spacious bath hall lines up a source tub, waterfall shower, jet bath and bubble bath, with a garden that flowers through the seasons beyond the windows. Day use 11:00–15:00 (last entry 14:30), ¥1,980 including bath and face towel rental. The lunch-plus-bath set (¥3,960) is popular, with a third-floor rest room. 30 minutes by car from Kurashiki's Bikan quarter; combine with Kojima Jeans Street or the bridge. Open daily.
A natural-spring super-sentō on the 5th–6th floors of the building linked by footbridge to the north exit of Kabe Station on the JR Ōme Line. The alkaline simple spring from 1,500 m down is known for leaving skin silky; the top floor has an open-air bath, lying bath, hot sauna and cold plunge plus an outdoor rest deck facing the Tama hills. Open 10:00–23:30 (last entry 23:00); ¥1,000 weekdays, ¥1,150 weekends, cheaper after 21:00. The Baijuan restaurant's weekday lunch-and-bath set is good value. The most convenient day onsen in western Tokyo — stop off on the way back to Shinjuku after hiking Mt Mitake, driving Okutama or browsing Ōme's retro shopping street. Closed the third Wednesday.
A roadside-station onsen on the hill of Shōdoshima Olive Park, right beside the Greek windmill made famous by film shoots. Big windows frame olive groves and the Seto Inland Sea; there are a herb bath, waterfall shower and sauna. The water is a radioactive (radon) spring. Owing to staff shortages, hours are shortened to 15:00–20:00 (last entry 19:30) from 17 July 2026 until further notice; ¥1,000, towel set rental ¥200. Closed all day Wednesday, and the onsen only on Thursday (holidays vary). Five minutes by car from Kusakabe port, ten from Ikeda port. Pair with a stroll around the park and the adjacent Olive Beach at island dusk.
A long-established hotel on the cliffs of the Izura coast, the scenic spot beloved of art historian Okakura Tenshin. The main building and the Taikansō annex flank the Rokkakudō pavilion; day bathers use Taikan-no-yu in the annex. The open-air bath, refurbished in 2012, sits right above the Pacific — free-flowing spring water, the horizon and the sound of breaking waves. The indoor hall also looks out to sea through big windows. Day use in two sessions, 11:00–15:00 (last entry 14:30) and 18:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30), ¥1,100. Closure days are irregular, so check the official notice page. Five minutes by car from JR Ōtsukō Station; combine with the Tenshin Memorial Museum and Rokkakudō.
One of Tōhoku's highest hot springs, at 1,126 m on the northern slopes of Mt Kurikoma. Some 6,000 litres a minute flow like a stream; the strongly acidic alum-vitriol water (pH around 2) carries white mineral flakes and tingles on the skin. The famous big open-air Dainichi-yu is an open, rock-backed pool; day use 6:00–21:00 (until 20:00 on Wednesdays), ¥900. The indoor baths and the 'oiran' steam bath run 9:00–16:00. Because of the altitude, the road and the onsen close in winter (early November to early May). About 95 minutes by bus from Ichinoseki Station to the Sukawa Onsen terminus; it is also the Kurikoma trailhead, busiest in autumn colour season (late Sept–early Oct).
A design hotel on the headland at Cape Ashizuri, Shikoku's southernmost point, renewed in 2024. It holds one of the source wells of the Ashizuri hot-spring cluster — a natural radon spring, mildly alkaline, with a legend linking it to Kōbō Daishi — enjoyed in an open-air bath overlooking the Pacific, two indoor tubs and a Shimanto-cypress sauna. Sunsets into the horizon and the night sky are the draw. Day use 15:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30), ¥1,100 including bathing tax. Closed Tuesday to Thursday (with exceptions in peak season), so confirm ahead. About 90 minutes by bus from Nakamura Station, or an hour by car from Shimanto city. Combine with the cape lookout, the aquarium and the free Manjirō foot bath.
A lone inn with its own spring near Ōmi-Shirahama, the pine-fringed white-sand beach on Lake Biwa's west shore. The simple carbonated iron spring (a cold mineral spring, heated) turns tea-brown on contact with air and is locally prized as a skin-beautifying bath that warms to the core. Drop-in bathing 9:00–20:00 (last entry 19:30), a modest ¥700; closed Mondays. The open-air bath is private-hire only (from ¥3,000 per 50 min), good for families and couples. The restaurant (11:00–20:00) serves Ōmi beef and lake fish. Five minutes by car from JR Ōmi-Takashima Station — on the way back from Shirahige Shrine's lake torii or the metasequoia avenue. Day use may be unavailable when groups are staying, so phone ahead.
The leading large ryokan of Shimobe Onsen in Yamanashi, the 'hidden bath' of warlord Takeda Shingen. Its hallmark is three springs of differing character (including the tepid original Shimobe water) served in eleven tubs, seven of them open-air — a mini bath-hopping circuit with streamside rotenburo and Shingen lore. Day use 11:00–15:00, ¥1,200; resting in the tatami hall is free, and lunch-and-rest plans start at ¥5,000. Irregular closures, so confirm ahead. Just 3 minutes on foot from Shimobe-Onsen Station on the JR Minobu Line — easy by rail, and a natural pairing with Kuonji temple on Mt Minobu, the Fuji River or a Lake Motosu / Fuji Five Lakes drive.
A single inn at the end of the Nyūtō bus line, wrapped in old-growth beech forest and named for the river crabs once abundant in the nearby stream. Unusually for Nyūtō, the water is clear and colourless — a bicarbonate spring with drifting white flakes and a gentle feel. The signature is Karako-no-yu, a mixed open-air pool some 50 m from the building in the woods, magical in snow season; there are also separate indoor wooden and rock baths. Day use 9:00–16:30, ¥800. Covered by the Yumeguri-chō pass (¥2,500, valid one year) for all seven Nyūtō inns — the classic combo is with Tsuru-no-yu and Taenoyu. About 50 minutes by bus from Tazawako Station to the Nyūtō Onsen stop.
The town-run bathhouse at the heart of Toyotomi Onsen, Japan's northernmost hot-spring village, an hour by car from Wakkanai airport. The spring was struck during oil exploration in 1926 and still carries traces of petroleum — a rarity worldwide, with an oily smell and slippery feel. It is famed as a 'miracle bath' that draws people from across Japan seeking relief from atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. Besides the general bath there is a cooler cure bath for long soaks. Admission is a cheap ¥510; open 10:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30), closed every other Thursday. The canteen serves jingisukan lamb and set meals. Fit it into a far-north drive with the Sarobetsu wetlands and views of Mt Rishiri. About 10 minutes by bus from JR Toyotomi Station.
A three-storey wooden former inn built in 1928 on the Matsukawa River, now run by Itō city as a cultural facility and a masterpiece of early-Shōwa architecture. The carved transoms, rooftop lookout and guest rooms where rival carpenters showed off are worth the ¥200 admission alone — but on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, 11:00–19:00, you can also bathe in the tiled 'large' and 'small' bath halls (¥500 adults including admission; halls swap by gender). The water is Itō's simple spring. Note the baths are closed on weekdays. Seven minutes on foot from Itō Station; combine with the riverside promenade and the old spa quarter opposite — a treat for lovers of retro buildings.
One of the three public 'outer baths' of Bessho Onsen near Ueda, the spa village nicknamed 'Kamakura of Shinshū'. Ishiyu is famed as the hidden bath of warrior Sanada Yukimura in Ikenami Shōtarō's novel Sanada Taiheiki; its tub is built around natural bedrock, filled free-flowing with faintly sulphurous, mildly alkaline water. Open 6:30–21:30 (last entry 21:00), closed Tuesdays, a modest ¥300 with free lockable lockers. Pair it with the other two — Ōyu (closed 1st & 3rd Wed) and Daishiyu (closed 1st & 3rd Thu) — plus Kitamuki Kannon temple and the National Treasure octagonal pagoda of Anrakuji, all on foot. Ten minutes' walk from Bessho-Onsen Station on the Ueda Dentetsu line.
In Asama Onsen, Matsumoto's spa hinterland, this day-use bath occupies the house of the hereditary bath-keepers who guarded the lords' private 'Goten-yu' for 400 years, since castle lord Ishikawa Kazumasa. Old garden trees and displays on the bath-keepers' history give the place the feel of a heritage site; the clear, mildly alkaline simple spring is fine-textured on the skin. Besides the main hall there is an open-air bath in a separate wing and a rest room, and many visitors come straight from Matsumoto Castle. Open 9:00–21:00 (last entry 20:00), closed Mondays (or the next day after a holiday), ¥900. About 20 minutes by bus from Matsumoto Station to Asama-Onsen Bunka Center-mae, then 10 minutes on foot.
The grand old hotel of Tokachigawa Onsen outside Obihiro. The water here is a 'moor spring' that rises through lignite beds of ancient plant matter — amber, silky and one of the world's few plant-derived natural hot springs, designated a Hokkaidō Heritage. The Yuraku bath halls of the Hōshū-tei and Tōyō-tei wings pair a broad indoor bath with the garden open-air 'Takitsubo-no-yu', wrapped in the sound of a waterfall; day visitors may also use the Harunire foot-bath café. Day use 13:00–21:00 (from 13:30 Mon & Thu), ¥2,000 including face and bath towels, no reservation — go to the front desk. Day bathing may be limited in peak periods. About 30 minutes by bus from Obihiro Station to Tokachigawa Onsen.
A large hot-spring hotel in Sakunami Onsen on the upper Hirose River, 40 minutes by car from Sendai Station, taking walk-in day bathers in two sessions: 7:00–10:00 and 15:00–24:00 (last entry 22:00). ¥900 weekdays, ¥1,200 weekends and holidays (¥1,400 on peak dates, taxes included); towels rent for ¥330. There is an open-air bath over the mountain stream and a spacious indoor hall. Add the dinner buffet with bathing (17:00–21:30, from ¥4,200 weekdays, reservation required) for a half-day dinner-and-onsen plan. Shuttle from Sakunami Station on the Senzan Line (confirm ahead). Many combine it with a tour of the Nikka Whisky Miyagikyō distillery.
The town-run communal bath at the heart of Yumura Onsen in northern Hyōgo, where the 98 °C 'Arayu' source boils eggs and vegetables for visitors on the banks of the Haruki River. Bicarbonate water flows freely through separate men's and women's main baths, with an open-air tub, sauna, an assisted bath and an upstairs rest room. ¥500 for non-residents; open 9:00–21:00, closed on the 15th of each month. No towels or soap are provided — bring your own or buy at reception. Parking is free for two hours for bathers. About an hour by car from Kinosaki; pairs well with the San'in Kaigan Geopark or Hamasaka's snow crab season (Nov–Mar).
One of Kyūshū's largest wooden bathhouses, in the centre of the old castle town of Yamaga in northern Kumamoto. Built in the Edo period as a rest house for the Hosokawa lords, its Meiji-era rebuild is attributed to Sakamoto Matahachirō, the master carpenter of Dōgo Onsen Honkan. Faithfully reconstructed in 2012, the curved-gable entrance, dragon transoms and high-ceilinged bath hall feel far grander than the ¥350 admission. The water is a clear, silky alkaline simple spring, with a drinking fountain. Open long hours, 6:00–24:00 (last entry 23:30), closed the 3rd Wednesday. Soap and towels from the vending machine. Combine with the Yachiyoza theatre (Important Cultural Property), the Buzen Kaidō streetscape and the August lantern festival.
The communal bath at the centre of Hirayama Onsen, a scatter of quiet inns in the hills ten minutes by car from Yamaga. The 1961 Hirayama Onsen Center was rebuilt in 2016 with an open-air bath added to the indoor one. The water is Hirayama's signature slippery alkaline sulphur spring — called one of Kyūshū's finest skin-beautifying baths — used 100% free-flowing. You can drink it or take some home, and the lobby sells local vegetables and eggs. ¥400; open 6:00–21:30, every day. About 11 minutes by bus from Yamaga bus centre to Hirayama-Onsen-mae, then a minute on foot. Combine with Sakura-yu for a Yamaga bath-hop.
A locals' favourite hot-spring bathhouse three minutes on foot from Sōen Station, one stop from Sapporo on the Hakodate Line. Natural sodium-chloride spring water pumped from below fills two open-air baths and three indoor tubs, plus an electric bath, a hot sauna, a steam sauna and a cold plunge — all for ¥500, among the cheapest in the city. Open 7:00–25:00 (last entry 24:00), from early morning to late night, with a large rest area. Towels are sold and bath towels rented, so you can come empty-handed. Free parking for about 200 cars. Handy between sightseeing, for an early-morning reset or before heading to New Chitose. Open daily (occasional maintenance).
Takayama's largest day-use onsen, ten minutes by car from the old town, using free-flowing mildly alkaline water from 1,000 m underground. A 'hot-spring health land' with ten kinds of baths — indoor, open-air, walking bath, electric bath — plus sauna, a cheap restaurant with a hundred Japanese, Western and Chinese dishes, basic lodging from ¥2,500 a night, karaoke and Korean-style body care. Open 7:30–23:00 (last entry 22:30; open-air bath 15:30–22:00), every day; ¥1,150, or ¥750 for the night bath after 21:00. About 10 minutes by car from Takayama Station, with local buses too. Handy for guesthouse stayers with tiny bathrooms, or on the way back from Shirakawa-gō and Okuhida drives.
One of the Beppu Hattō 'eight springs', Horita sits on the old road towards Yufuin and its municipal bathhouse is among the busiest in Beppu's city-run network. Rebuilt in 2003, it has a bright, airy indoor hall and a seasonal open-air bath set among plantings and rock work; the two differently styled bath wings swap between men and women each week. The water is a gentle simple spring. ¥300; open 6:30–22:30, closed the first Wednesday (next day if a holiday). Afterwards, rest in the lounge overlooking Beppu Bay. Amenities are sold, so bring a towel. About 13 minutes by Kamenoi bus from Beppu Station's west exit to Horita-Onsen-mae, or 3 minutes by car from Beppu IC.
A large super-sentō about 25 minutes from central Osaka on the Kita-Osaka Kyūkō line, ten minutes on foot from Minoh-Semba-Handai-mae Station (opened 2024). Certified therapeutic bicarbonate-chloride spring water feeds the open-air bath, joined by a high-concentration carbonated bath, pot tubs, lying baths and more — 17 tubs in all — plus a hot sauna with automatic löyly and an outdoor cool-down area. The stone-bed spa (extra ¥800) comes with some 6,000 manga and no time limit. Open 9:00–2:00 (from 6:00 on weekends and holidays; last entry 1:00); ¥1,000 weekdays, ¥1,100 weekends. Dining and relaxation services on site — an easy stop after hiking to Minoh Falls or visiting Expo '70 Park and EXPOCITY. Two maintenance closures a year.
Founded in 1691 and regarded as Japan's oldest surviving hot-spring inn building, this Shima Onsen institution in Gunma stands across a red bridge; the main house, said to be one of the models for the bathhouse in Spirited Away, is an Important Cultural Property. The celebrated Genroku-no-yu, built in 1930 in Taishō-romantic style, has five tubs set into a stone floor lit by arched windows, with water welling up from below. Shima's sulphate water is counted among Japan's three great baths for digestive ailments and can be drunk. Day use 10:00–17:30 (last entry 17:00), ¥1,500 with face towel, covering Genroku-no-yu, the mixed rock bath and private baths. Tattoos accepted if covered with stickers. About 40 minutes by bus from Nakanojō Station to the Shima Onsen terminus.
A mountain hot spring in the temple-gate village of Kurama, about 30 minutes from central Kyoto on the Eizan railway, home of the tengu legends. The open-air Hōroku-yu sits in a cedar grove facing the Kitayama hills and becomes a snow-viewing bath in winter. The simple hydrogen-sulphide water carries a faint whiff of sulphur that suits the mountain air. The open-air-only course is ¥1,500 weekdays / ¥1,600 weekends (towels extra); the full day course with indoor bath, open-air bath, sauna, lounge, towels and robe is around ¥2,600 on weekdays. Open 10:00–21:00 every day, no reservation. Ten minutes on foot from Kurama Station or by free shuttle. The classic way to end a visit to Kurama-dera or the hike over to Kibune — for anyone who wants a genuine onsen in Kyoto.
A neighbourhood-run communal bath at the foot of the stone stairway to Izusan Shrine, north of Atami Station and linked to Minamoto no Yoritomo and Hōjō Masako. The water comes from Hashiriyu, one of Japan's three ancient springs — a cave source where hot water once 'ran' down to the sea — a 71 °C calcium-sodium chloride spring, free-flowing with only water added to cool it. Inside it is pure Shōwa: an attendant's counter and two tubs, one hot, one lukewarm. ¥350; open afternoons only, roughly 14:00–20:00, closed Thursdays. Bring towel and soap. Pair with the free Hashiriyu cave just below and the 837-step climb to Izusan Shrine for a slice of Atami history. About 7 minutes by bus from Atami Station to Aizomebashi.
A day-use-only onsen on the slopes of the Minou range above Tanushimaru in Kurume, fruit-picking country an hour by car from Fukuoka city. The panoramic open-air bath looks over the Chikugo plain and river, most popular at dusk and after dark for the lights. The water is a skin-smoothing alkaline simple spring. Besides the indoor and open-air baths there are family baths (indoor ¥2,500 per hour, with open-air tub ¥3,600), and the attached café is loved for weekday lunches and desserts. ¥880; open 10:00–20:00 (main bath last entry 19:30), closed Thursdays and the 1st and 3rd Wednesday (open on holidays). Ten minutes by car from JR Tanushimaru Station, 15 from Asakura IC. A fine finish to a Fukuoka-area drive with Harazuru Onsen or Yanagawa.
A wooden inn founded in 1789 at Kamasaki Onsen, a mountain cure spa in Shiroishi, Miyagi, where villagers are said to have struck hot water with the tip of a sickle more than 600 years ago. Its iron-bearing sulphate water, known as the 'medicinal bath of Ōu', turns tea-brown and has long been trusted for cuts and bruises. Gleaming dark corridors, glass shōji and traces of the old self-catering cure wing make it irresistible to lovers of retro Japan. Day use 11:00–14:00, ¥800; bring a towel. Fifteen minutes by car from Shiroishi-Zaō Station — a convenient stop with Shiroishi Castle, the Yajirō kokeshi village or the start of the Zaō Echo Line. Day bathing is sometimes suspended when busy or for cleaning, so phone ahead.
A day-use hot spring in Fukui city's Koshino district on the Echizen coast, famous for its wild daffodil fields. The mildly alkaline water is soft on the skin, and there is an indoor bath facing the Sea of Japan, a sauna and a small open-air tub. Adults pay just ¥640 and shampoo/body soap are provided. Open 10:30–20:30 on weekdays and 09:30–21:30 on weekends; closed 1st/3rd/5th Tuesdays (next day if a holiday). Winter (Dec–Feb) brings the daffodils and Echizen crab season, and many visitors stop here to finish a coastal drive. About 40 minutes by car from central Fukui; buses are infrequent, so a car is realistic.
The flagship bathhouse of Nagayu Onsen in Ōita, which bills itself as Japan's best carbonated spring. Its European look comes from a sister-city tie with Bad Krozingen in Germany, and inside the water flows straight from the source with no heating or dilution. The rust-brown sodium-bicarbonate water is rich in iron and CO₂, and fine bubbles cling to your skin in the tub. Gender-separated indoor and open-air baths on the 1st and 3rd floors swap daily. Open 06:00–21:00 (last entry 20:00) — great for an early soak; closed the 3rd Wednesday of each month. Adults from outside the city pay ¥700; a private family bath is ¥2,400 for 50 minutes. Cards and QR payment accepted. 25 minutes by car from JR Bungo-Taketa Station.
Three minutes on foot from Gozen-yu, this is the gender-separated communal bath locals use every day. You pay ¥300 at a ticket machine and walk in — no attendant, and the bathroom holds just one indoor tub. Nagayu's bicarbonate water flows freely and has stained the spout area brown with mineral deposits. Open 06:00–22:00 (last entry 21:30), closed the 4th Wednesday. No soap or shampoo, so bring your own. If you are walking around Nagayu, add this ¥300 locals' bath to Gozen-yu and the free riverside Gani-yu.
At 1,800 m in Manza Onsen — said to have the highest sulphur content in Japan — this is the most rustic of the old spa-cure inns. The wooden bathhouse holds just one indoor tub per gender, but the milky acidic sulphur water is thick and hot enough to leave you drowsy afterwards. It is known for its 'Sarunokoshikake-yu', in which extract of a bracket fungus has long been added to the water. Day use 10:00–16:00, ¥700 for adults, towels sold for ¥250. For onsen fans who want an old-school cure-bath feel amid Manza's big resort hotels. The building has tilted due to ground subsidence, so phone ahead to confirm it is operating. About 40 minutes by bus from Manza-Kazawaguchi Station.
A mid-sized hotel on the lakeside promenade of Lake Tōya, and a rarity here: day bathing for just ¥600. The 'Tono-yu / Hime-yu' baths have granite-clad open-air tubs, bubble baths and a sauna, and the bicarbonate–chloride–sulphate water keeps you warm long after. Day use is accepted 13:00–21:00. From late April to the end of October, the Lake Tōya long-run fireworks go up over the water every night from 20:45, and a stroll along the shore before a soak is a lovely routine. With neighbouring resort hotels charging ¥1,000+, this is the value pick. About 20 minutes by bus from Tōya Station to 'Tōyako Onsen', then 5 minutes on foot.
A public bathhouse (doubling as a self-catering lodge) in the centre of Dake Onsen, about 600 m up the slopes of Mt Adatara. The acidic spring is rare nationally; piped roughly 8 km from the source, the water cools on the way and arrives milky white with a slight tingle. The basement bath is indoor only but 100% free-flowing. Day use 10:00–19:00 (last entry), ¥400 for adults, closed Tuesdays. The sloping resort street keeps traces of the town's playful 'Nikoniko Republic' era and has a free foot bath. About 25 minutes by bus from Nihonmatsu Station; popular with hikers coming down Mt Adatara and skiers.
The oldest communal bath in Echigo-Yuzawa, near the inn where Kawabata Yasunari wrote Snow Country — he is said to have bathed here himself. The tub fits only five or six people, but the sulphur-scented free-flowing spring is a rarity in Yuzawa and the star of the town's five-bath 'sotoyu' circuit. Adults pay ¥850 including bathing tax (revised 2026); open 10:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30), closed Tuesdays. Soap and shampoo provided, towels sold for ¥200. It sits up a slope 25 minutes' walk from Echigo-Yuzawa Station, or 10 minutes from Gala-Yuzawa Station; only 10 parking spaces.
About 12 minutes on foot from Murodō terminal, the hub of the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route, this inn at 2,410 m is Japan's highest hot-spring lodging. Milky acidic sulphur water piped from Jigokudani flows 100% free, and outside the window is another world: the 3,000-metre Tateyama range and the volcanic lake Mikurigaike. The bath is indoor only; day use 09:00–16:00, ¥1,100 for adults. The café's blueberry soft-serve and curry are favourites. Open only during the mountain season, mid-April to late November; closed in winter. Especially busy during the Snow Corridor (Apr–Jun) and autumn colours (late Sep–early Oct). With the altitude and strong water, keep your soak short.
A lone inn of the Japan Association of Secluded Hot Springs, deep in Hachimantai National Park amid beech and oak forest. The open-air bath is an unusual greenish milky white — free-flowing simple hydrogen-sulphide water — with a mixed outdoor bath, a women-only outdoor bath and separate indoor baths; from the rotenburo you can see the steam of Japan's first geothermal power station. Day use 08:30–19:00 (last entry 18:00), ¥700 for adults, or ¥900 with hall rest 10:00–15:00. Open year-round, and the snow-buried outdoor bath in winter is the highlight. About 1 h 50 min by Iwate Kenpoku bus from Morioka Station to the Matsukawa Onsen terminus.
A public-run hot-spring hotel on the clear Kuji River in Daigo, Ibaraki — the town of Fukuroda Falls. The main bath has an indoor tub and sauna, and from autumn to winter (Sep–Jan) it becomes the famous 'apple bath', floating with local apples. Day use 11:00–20:00 (last entry 19:30), ¥800 for adults including a face towel; open daily. A private barrel sauna (¥3,300 / 90 min, reservation), a post-bath lounge and a 16-hole ground-golf course in the garden are also available. About 10 minutes by taxi from Hitachi-Daigo Station and 15 minutes by car from Fukuroda Falls — easy to combine with the falls or apple picking.
The municipal day-use bathhouse of Nibukawa Onsen — one of the 'three baths of Iyo' alongside Dōgo and Hontani, with a history back to the Edo period. Built beside the clear stream of Nibukawa Gorge, it has indoor and open-air baths and a sauna overlooking the valley. The mildly alkaline, radon-bearing simple spring is a silky 'beauty bath'. Adults pay just ¥420, and there is a rest hall, a snack corner and a shop with local produce. Open 10:30–21:00 (last entry 20:30); closed 2nd and 4th Mondays (next day if a holiday) and over New Year. About 30 minutes by bus from Imabari Station to 'Seseragi Kōryūkan-mae'. Popular with cyclists finishing the Shimanami Kaidō.
Five minutes on foot from Musashi-Koyama Station on the Tōkyū Meguro line, this rare central-Tokyo bathhouse offers two different natural hot springs. The indoor bath is coffee-coloured 'kuroyu' (sodium-bicarbonate water); the open-air bath uses salty rust-brown 'golden water' pumped from 1,500 m below and left free-flowing — both certified as therapeutic springs. Admission is Tokyo's standard sentō rate of ¥550, with sauna and bedrock bath extra. Open 12:00–24:00, from 08:00 on Sundays; closed Mondays (open if a holiday). Close to Meguro and Gotanda, it pairs perfectly with snacking along the Palm shopping arcade. Soap and shampoo provided.
A hot-spring hotel on the cliffs of Inubōsaki, the easternmost point of the Kantō region. Perched on a cape jutting into the Pacific, its rock rotenburo and European-style open-air bath 'Opia' look out to the horizon and the Inubōsaki lighthouse; on New Year's Day you can watch Japan's earliest sunrise from the tub. The day-use course runs 12:00–19:00 (leave by 20:00), ¥1,500 for a 90-minute stay including bath towel, face towel and toiletries, so come empty-handed. Open daily (special pricing at Obon and New Year). Seven minutes on foot from Inubō Station on the Chōshi Electric Railway; combine with a seafood lunch in Chōshi and the 'Hill Where the Earth Looks Round' observatory.
Near the village office of Totsukawa, Japan's largest village, this is the public bath of Tōsenji Onsen, the oldest spring in the village. True to Totsukawa — the first place in Japan to declare all its baths 100% free-flowing — the roughly 60°C sulphur water is cooled without dilution and left to overflow. As the name suggests, the big draw is the streamside open-air bath at the bottom of a long staircase, where you soak facing a small waterfall; the water runs hot. There are also an indoor bath and sauna. ¥800 for adults, open 08:30–20:00, closed Thursdays. The lunch-only diner is known for its 'dam curry'. The nearby Izumi-yu is ¥100 cheaper, but come here for the waterfall. A remote spot about 3 h 40 min from Yamato-Yagi Station on Japan's longest local bus route.
A day-use hot spring in the Jūnibō forest of Kōnan, Shiga, near Ishibe, an old post town on the Tōkaidō. The two bathing areas, Shugen-no-yu and Momotsute-no-yu, alternate between men and women daily, each with an indoor bath, dry sauna and free-flowing open-air bath; the high-pH alkaline water feels slippery on the skin. Adults pay ¥800, and the complex also has a restaurant, gym, massage, pottery and craft workshops, an indoor onsen pool (late Apr–mid-Oct, extra) and a reservation-only campground. Open 10:00–22:00 (last entry 21:20); closed only over New Year and for maintenance. About 10 minutes by car from Kōsei Station on the JR Kusatsu line and close to Ritto-Kōnan IC — pairs well with the autumn-leaf temples of the 'Kōnan Sanzan'.
Tawarayama Onsen, in the hills of Nagato, Yamaguchi, has 1,100 years of history and still lives by 'sotoyu' culture: the inns have no baths of their own, so even overnight guests walk in yukata to the two communal bathhouses, Machi-no-yu and Hakuen-no-yu. Hakuen-no-yu is the newer of the pair, with three tubs — a lukewarm No.1 bath straight from the source, a heated hotter No.2 bath and an open-air bath — showcasing silky pH 9.9 alkaline water. ¥850 for adults, open 12:00–21:00, closed Tuesday to Thursday (Machi-no-yu runs daily 06:00–22:00 for ¥650). A free foot bath sits halfway up the entrance stairs. About 20 minutes by bus from Nagato-Yumoto Station.
The communal bath of Maga Onsen, a tiny hamlet of stone stairways on a slope above a tributary of the Asahi River in the Yubara Onsen area. Legend says a defeated warrior healed his wounds here some 700 years ago. The star is the 'Makuyu', a mixed rock bath of about 1.6 × 2 m and 1.2 m deep, so you soak standing up — often called Japan's smallest mixed bath — with lukewarm 39°C water bubbling up through cracks in the rock floor. The men's and women's baths connect to it and cost ¥250; the Makuyu is ¥400 (max 8 people, one hour) and a private bath ¥1,300 for up to three. Open 08:00–21:00 (last entry 20:10), closed Tuesdays (open on holidays). No towels allowed in the mixed bath, so be prepared. About 20 minutes by car from Chūgoku-Katsuyama Station.
Halfway along Ideyu-zaka, the steam-wreathed main street of Beppu's Kannawa district, this communal bath is run by the local residents' association. In typical Beppu style the changing area and bath share one room, and hot sodium-chloride water rich in metasilicic acid flows freely. Visitors pay only ¥100 — technically a coin-locker fee rather than admission. Open 06:30–21:00 daily. No soap or shampoo and minimal washing space, so follow local manners: quiet and quick. There is a toilet on the little square out front, and the Jigoku-mushi steam-cooking workshop and Umi-jigoku are two minutes away, making it an easy stop on a Kannawa stroll. Counts toward the Beppu Hattō Onsen-dō stamp rally.
A hot-spring complex in the farmland of Kimita, Miyoshi, in northern Hiroshima, next to the 'Forest Kimita' roadside station. A 2025–26 renewal rebuilt the lodging wing, a hearth-side restaurant, the open-air bath and a barrel sauna. The bicarbonate water feels slippery and is known as a 'beauty bath'. Day use is ¥800 including bathing tax, open 10:00–20:30 (last entry 20:00), closed Tuesdays; face towels sold for ¥150. Nearby are Kimita's sunflower fields (August) and the Takatani-yama lookout famous for its 'sea of clouds' — a popular drive about 90 minutes from Hiroshima city.
A public hot-spring lodge at the mouth of Nakatsu Gorge in Niyodogawa, Kōchi — the land of 'Niyodo blue'. The all-cypress open-air bath, rebuilt in 2019, sits right in the gorge, so you soak facing fresh greenery, autumn colour or snow depending on the season. The water is an alkaline simple sulphur spring, heated from a cold source. Day use 11:00–21:00 (last bath 20:00), ¥700 for adults, rising to ¥800 in cherry-blossom and autumn seasons, Golden Week, Obon and New Year. Closed Tuesdays (next day if a holiday) and two Wednesdays a month. The classic plan is a one-hour return walk along the gorge trail to Uryū Falls followed by a bath and a set meal of local produce in the restaurant. About 1 h 15 min by car from Kōchi city.
A hidden spring on the site of an old copper mine in the hills of Kumano, Mie. The abundant water is entirely free-flowing with no dilution or heating; the clear sodium-chloride spring warms you to the core. The cedar-scented bathhouse, rebuilt in 2015, has an indoor bath, an open-air area with standing, half-body and lying baths, and a private bath for ¥1,080 per hour. Admission ¥600 for adults, open 09:00–21:00 (last entry 20:15), irregular closures. A trolley train through the old mine tunnel (about 10 minutes) links it with Iruka Onsen Seiryūsō and is a famous ride in itself — but as of 2026 it is suspended for safety inspections, so check ahead. Half-price admission on the 26th of each month. About 40 minutes by car from Kumano-Ōdomari IC.
A city-run day spa in the Kiyotaki valley, between Nikkō's World Heritage shrines and the Irohazaka switchbacks. The all-granite main bath has a sauna and jacuzzi, and the garden-style rock rotenburo looks out to the Nikkō mountains. The alkaline simple spring is clear and silky — a 'beauty bath'. Open 10:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30), closed Thursdays (next day if a holiday) and over New Year. Adults from outside the city pay ¥1,000 (¥500 for residents). The canteen serves soba, udon and other light meals. About 20 minutes by bus from JR/Tōbu Nikkō Station to the 'Yashio-no-yu' stop — a popular finish after Tōshōgū or a trip to Lake Chūzenji and Kegon Falls.
The communal bath of Kawaji Onsen, upstream of Kinugawa on the clear Ojika River. An old cure spa — 'burns to Kinugawa, wounds to Kawaji' went the saying — it uses its own mildly alkaline spring 100% free-flowing with no chlorination. Besides separate indoor and open-air baths there is a mixed rock bath open to the river, where you soak in lukewarm water facing the stream and hills (bathing garments allowed). A low-temperature sauna, private bath (¥4,000 / 50 min) and rest room complete it. Adults pay ¥1,000 (¥500 for Nikkō residents); open 10:00–20:00 (last entry 19:30), closed Wednesdays (next day if a holiday; open through Golden Week). Fifteen minutes on foot from Kawaji-Yumoto Station on the Yagan Railway, or about 15 minutes by car from Kinugawa-Onsen Station — easy to combine with Kinugawa.
A town-run bathhouse right in front of Shirara-hama, the famous white-sand beach. Built like an old-fashioned sentō with an attendant's counter, its second-floor bathroom opens through big windows onto the beach, blue sea and sky — a ¥420 view bath you would never expect in a resort. The 66.8°C sodium-chloride 'Suzushi-yu' source flows freely, and the strongly salty water keeps you warm long after. Open 09:00–11:00 and 14:00–21:30 (last entry 21:00; 07:00–09:00 is residents only), closed Thursdays. Soap and shampoo sold for ¥40; no hair dryers. One of Shirahama's 'sotoyu' circuit with Saki-no-yu and Muro-no-yu — locals rinse off the sand after a swim and come straight in. About 15 minutes by bus from Shirahama Station to 'Shirarahama'.
In the town centre of Ibusuki, famous for its sand baths, this is one of the oldest communal baths, dating from 1882. Locals call it 'Muran-yu'. Its pride is the wooden bathhouse and the spring that wells up straight through the floor of the tub; there are no taps — you scoop the emerging water with a bucket to rinse, the old way — and there are two tubs, hot and lukewarm. The sodium-chloride water is strongly salty in true Ibusuki fashion and keeps you warm for ages. Adults drop ¥350 into the unattended fee box; open 08:00–22:00. No soap provided, so bring your own. About 13 minutes on foot from Ibusuki Station. For onsen fans who want a 'real locals' bath' after the Saraku sand-bath hall; entry may not be possible during cleaning or crowding, so check closure days in advance.
Hijiori Onsen, 1,200 years old, is a cure-spa where inns huddle at the bottom of a caldera in Ōkura village, Yamagata. Right in the middle of the street stands Kami-no-yu, the only communal bath open to visitors. A small bathhouse with an attendant's counter, it has slightly hot free-flowing sodium-chloride/bicarbonate water and a tiny Yakushi shrine in the corner of the tub. Adults pay ¥400 (free for guests of the village inns); open 08:00–18:00 (until 17:00 in winter), no bathing on Thursday mornings for cleaning. The Hijiori way is to pair it with the morning market that sets up from about 5–6 am (Apr–Nov). In winter this is one of Japan's snowiest places, and just walking the street between snow walls is an experience. About 55 minutes by bus from Shinjō Station.
The communal bath at the heart of Nuruyu Onsen in Kuroishi, Aomori, a spa with more than 400 years of history. It is ringed by 'kyakusha' — simple self-catering cure lodgings with no baths of their own, whose guests all walk over here — a form of spa life now rare even in Tōhoku. The bathroom is as roomy as a sentō, with 100% source water (sodium chloride-sulphate) cooled by a special method without dilution and split into hot and lukewarm tubs. Adults pay ¥350; open long hours from 05:00 to 22:00 (last entry 21:30), daily (occasional closures in April and November). No soap provided. Kokeshi-doll workshops and the Tsugaru Kokeshi Museum are nearby. About 25 minutes by bus from Kuroishi Station.
A lone inn in a steaming fumarole field at about 1,000 m on the Akita side of Hachimantai. One of Tōhoku's great cure spas — 'arrive on horseback, leave on your own two feet', as the saying went — it is also famous for its ondol-heated cure wing. The main bathhouse lines up seven kinds of tubs: the signature box steam bath, a mud bath, a cascade bath, a 'volcano bath' and an open-air bath, all fed by milky acidic sulphur water. Day use 10:30–15:00 (last entry 14:00), ¥800 for adults, closed Tuesdays (plus maintenance days). Behind the inn a nature trail loops past mud volcanoes and vents in about 40 minutes. About 1 h 55 min by bus from Tazawako Station on the Hachimantai summit line (usually late Apr–mid-Oct); in winter come by local bus from Kazuno-Hanawa Station or by car.
Yunohama Onsen is a seaside spa on the Sea of Japan in Yamagata's Shōnai region. This municipal communal bath sits on the ground floor of the 'Cospa' community centre on the roundabout at the centre of the resort and is the locals' everyday bath. It uses a blend of Yunohama's springs — sodium-calcium chloride water — free-flowing with only a little dilution, in a single no-frills indoor tub. Adults pay ¥400; open in two sessions, 06:00–07:00 and 10:00–21:30, closed 2nd and 4th Thursdays. Soap and shampoo sold for ¥200, towels ¥100. The beach is two or three minutes' walk away, and the best plan is to watch the famous Yunohama sunset before soaking. About 35 minutes by bus from Tsuruoka Station.
A Western-style bathhouse on the shore of Lake Suwa, built in 1928 by the Katakura silk dynasty for the welfare of local residents and now an Important Cultural Property. Its famous Sennin-buro is a marble pool 1.1 m deep — you bathe standing, pebbles underfoot, surrounded by stained glass and sculpture — named for the hundred people it can hold at once. It uses Kamisuwa's spring water and also has a sauna and jet bath. Adults ¥750, open 10:00–20:00 (last entry 19:30), closed 2nd and 4th Tuesdays. The 2nd-floor rest room (until 19:00) and canteen (11:00–15:00) are open to bathers, and tours of the hall building are offered. Eight minutes on foot from Kami-Suwa Station, handy for Suwa Taisha shrine and Takashima Castle.
Hakodate's signature day-use hot spring at the foot of Mt Hakodate, five minutes on foot from the Yachigashira tram terminus. Opened by the city in 1953 and privatised in 2013, when a sauna was added. The high-ceilinged bathroom feels airy; the rust-brown sodium-chloride water is strong and on the hot side, and the open-air bath is star-shaped after Goryōkaku fort. Adults pay just ¥490; open 06:00–22:00 (last entry 21:00), closed 2nd Tuesdays. A 'hands-free set' with towels is sold and there is a canteen. Close to the Mt Hakodate ropeway, Cape Tachimachi and the morning market — bathe with the locals at dawn or to round off a day of sightseeing. Soap and shampoo provided.
A large hot-spring hotel in the Ishite River gorge about 8 km inland from Dōgo Onsen. Its great open-air bath 'Suimei-no-yu', billed as one of the largest in western Japan, terraces some 26 tubs down the slope, where you soak in free-flowing alkaline simple sulphur water to the sound of the river — a 'beauty bath' with a clearer sulphur scent than Dōgo. Day use 15:00–20:00 (last entry 19:00), ¥1,100 for adults, irregular closures. The no-reservation private open-air baths 'Yunose' (¥4,400 for 45 min, 2–4 people, towels included) run until 23:00 and suit families or tattooed guests. A cold-spring pool operates in summer. About 50 minutes by bus from Matsuyama Station to 'Okudōgo', or 15 minutes by car from Dōgo Onsen Station.
The public bathhouse at the heart of Yamashiro Onsen's 'Yu-no-gawa' square in the Kaga hot-spring region, a spa 1,300 years old. In Kaga communal baths are called 'sōyu', and even ryokan guests walk over in yukata. The entrance reuses the gate of the old Yoshinoya inn; inside is spacious and clean, with one big tub of fresh undiluted water (sodium-calcium sulphate-chloride) flowing freely. Adults ¥500, open 06:00–22:00, closed only on the morning of the 4th Wednesday. A ¥900 combined ticket includes the 'Ko-sōyu' opposite (¥700), a recreation of the Meiji-era bathhouse with Kutani-ware tiles and stained glass — comparing the two is the classic plan. Soap and shampoo are sold, not provided. About 10 minutes by bus from Kaga-Onsen Station.
One of the largest spa complexes in Saitama, in Kumagaya in the north of the prefecture. Its own alkaline simple spring, pumped from 1,500 m at over 600 litres a minute, feeds a wide range of tubs — a free-flowing open-air 'raw source' bath, pot baths, lie-down baths and a high-concentration carbonated bath. There is a löyly sauna, cold plunge and a garden-view outdoor rest deck. The optional 'Onkatsu Café Nest' adds eight kinds of bedrock-bath rooms, manga and free drinks for an all-day stay. Admission ¥950 on weekdays, ¥1,100 on weekends and holidays; open 10:00–23:00 (last entry 22:30), no closing days. Private rooms with an open-air pot bath can be reserved by phone. About 10 minutes by bus or taxi from JR Kumagaya Station; 300 free parking spaces. Kumagaya is about 40 minutes from central Tokyo by Shinkansen — combine with rugby at the stadium or Menuma Shōdenzan temple.
A natural hot spring to visit after strolling Kawagoe's 'Little Edo' warehouse street. Its own sodium-chloride spring from 1,200 m fills indoor and open-air baths in two zones, 'Wood' and 'Stone', which swap between men and women daily. Nine baths and three saunas in all — a carbonated bath made by dissolving CO₂ into the spring water, a free-flowing source bath, bedrock-bath rooms and a private family bath — make for an in-house bath-hopping course. Adults ¥850 on weekdays, ¥950 on weekends and holidays; open 10:00–24:00 (from 09:00 on weekends and holidays, last entry 23:00), no regular closing day apart from maintenance. Body soap and shampoo provided; a soba-and-udon restaurant, massage and body scrub are on site. Seibu bus from Hon-Kawagoe Station (Seibu Shinjuku Line) to the 'Hōmukyoku' stop; 150 free parking spaces.
The oldest of Itō Onsen's 'Seven Lucky Gods' communal baths, a true locals' bathhouse. The spring is said to have been presented to the third shōgun Tokugawa Iemitsu in the Edo period, and today it runs as the ward-operated Wada-yu Kaikan. The layout is simple — a single indoor bath each for men and women — but the clear, simple-type spring flows in freely and the atmosphere is that of an old-fashioned neighbourhood bath full of regulars. Adults ¥400, children ¥200; open 14:00–22:00, closed Wednesdays (with extra days off in even months — check ahead). Soap and towels are sold, so bring your own. About 15 minutes on foot from JR Itō Station; pair it with the Tōkaikan building and Kinema-dōri street as one stop on the Seven Lucky Gods bath circuit. Parking for 11 cars.
The signature 92-room ryokan of Dake Onsen, at about 600 m on the flank of Mt Adatara. The source is piped 8 km from near the Kurogane hut in the mountains and cools naturally in a yubatake on the way, arriving at bathing temperature — a nationally rare acidic spring with a bracing, skin-tightening feel. The 'Haiku' main bath and the 'Moon-viewing' and 'Blossom-viewing' open-air baths look out on the Adatara range. Day bathing: adults ¥1,000, children ¥500, 12:00–20:00 (last entry 19:30; from 15:00 on Wednesdays, 12:00–16:00 on Saturdays and days before holidays), with entry limits when crowded. Day plans with a buffet are popular too. About 15 minutes by car from Nihonmatsu IC or 25 minutes by bus from JR Nihonmatsu Station. Combine with the cherry-tree avenue of Himalaya-dōri and Chieko's hometown sights.
A day-use bathhouse on the main street of Hirayama Onsen, where inns are scattered among the rice fields of Yamaga, Kumamoto. The slippery alkaline simple-sulphur water — famed locally as 'beautifying water' — fills a main indoor pool, electric bath, waterfall massage bath, cold plunge and sauna plus two open-air baths of different sizes. Adults ¥600, children ¥300 (a bath-only course is cheaper still); open 09:30–21:30 (last entry 20:30), closed Thursdays (open if a holiday). Paid private rest rooms (10:00–16:00), a farm-produce and souvenir shop and a café round it out, and the crowd is half locals, half visitors. Kyūshū Sankō bus from Yamaga Bus Center to 'Hiraogi', then 7 minutes on foot; about 20 minutes by car from Kikusui or Nankan IC. Pair with Yamaga's lantern festival heritage and the Yachiyoza theatre.
A day-spa attached to a 170-room resort hotel on a hill overlooking the Tokachi plain. The amber 'moor' spring — a sodium-chloride water rich in plant-derived organics, known for leaving skin silky — fills more than ten tubs including pot baths, lie-down baths and open-air baths, plus a sauna. Adults ¥950 (¥800 after 20:00), children 4 to 12 ¥500; open 11:00–23:00 on weekdays and 10:00–24:00 on weekends and holidays, no closing days. A 10,000-volume manga corner, TV recliners and a free kids' park make it an all-day family stop, and private baths can be hired from ¥1,500. About 20 minutes by car from Obihiro Station with a free shuttle bus, or 5 minutes from JR Satsunai Station — closer to central Obihiro than Tokachigawa Onsen and an easy stop on a rental-car trip.
One of the two public bathhouses of Tawarayama Onsen in Nagato, Yamaguchi, a cure-spa founded over 1,100 years ago. Most inns here have no bath of their own, so guests still pad through the streets in yukata to the outside baths, and Machi-no-yu is the hub of that life. The silky alkaline simple spring flows in untreated, and there is a drinking fountain. Just a plain indoor bath, but it is open right through from 06:00 to 22:00 and costs only ¥650. A bookable private family bath (¥3,500 for three, 08:00–21:00) is attached. There is no regular closing day — only cleaning breaks in July and December. The other bathhouse, Hakuen-no-yu (¥850, with an open-air bath), closes Tuesday to Thursday, so on weekdays Machi-no-yu is the one to count on. About 25 minutes by bus from JR Nagato-shi Station to 'Tawarayama Onsen', then 3 minutes on foot.
A lone inn in the hills of Kitagawa, a 'yuzu village' of some 1,300 people in eastern Kōchi. Its spring, known for over 80 years, is loved locally as silky 'beauty water', and in 2018 the inn was completely rebuilt as Japan's first CLT-construction hot-spring building, using timber from the village. The wood-wrapped main bath, open-air bath and family bath are all 100% source water. Day bathing: adults ¥700, children ¥350, 11:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30), closed Tuesdays. Private baths cost ¥2,200 per group for 50 minutes on top of admission. There is a restaurant serving yuzu dishes, and the Nakaoka Shintarō museum and Monet's Garden Marmottan are nearby — a good stop on a drive toward Cape Muroto. About 20 minutes by car from Route 55; 14 rooms in three types.
A big spa resort on the cliffs of Cape Inubō, the first place on Honshū to see the New Year sunrise. The panoramic 'Ichibō-no-yu' main bath sweeps 180 degrees across the Pacific, and with the open-air bath, bedrock-bath rooms and sauna you can watch the sun climb out of the horizon or gaze at Inubōsaki lighthouse while soaking. The water is the sodium-chloride Byōbugaura spring. Adults ¥1,500 on weekdays, ¥1,700 on weekends, holidays and high season (cheaper for morning baths and after 17:00); open 10:00–23:00 (last entry 22:00), and on Saturdays you can stay through to 08:00 the next morning; open every day. Restaurants, banquet rooms, relaxation treatments and an ocean terrace make it a full-day stop to pair with the Chōshi Electric Railway, wet rice crackers and seafood. About 10 minutes on foot from Inubō Station; about an hour by car from Itako IC.
An inn at the foot of Mt Gozaisho in 1,300-year-old Yunoyama Onsen, proud of its own spring gushing 500 litres a minute. It insists on free-flowing source water, constantly refreshed, and the viscous alkaline simple spring is known as 'beauty water'. The big open-air bath opening onto the mountains through the seasons is the draw, especially in autumn colour. Day-bathing prices were cut in July 2026 for the inn's 60th anniversary: adults ¥700 on weekdays, ¥800 on weekends and holidays, children ¥400/¥500; open 10:00–19:30 (last entry 18:30), closed Fridays. Lunch (makomo udon and more) and day kaiseki plans with bathing are offered, and it pairs easily with the Gozaisho Ropeway or Aqua Ignis. About 10 minutes by Mie Kōtsū bus from Kintetsu Yunoyama-Onsen Station; about 20 minutes by car from Yokkaichi IC; 150 parking spaces.
A large lakeside ryokan in the Tōyako Onsen resort whose signature is the top-floor 'sky open-air bath' 32 m above the ground. From the tub you look over Nakajima island in Lake Tōya and, on clear days, to Mt Yōtei beyond; in summer (late April to end of October) the nightly long-run fireworks can be watched from the water. The panoramic main bath also has a sauna. The sodium-calcium-chloride water keeps you warm long after. Day bathing: adults ¥1,200, children ¥600, reception 13:00–19:00 (entry until 18:00), from 14:30 on one Tuesday a month. Towel hire ¥300; 100 free parking spaces. About 20 minutes by Dōnan bus from JR Tōya Station to 'Tōyako Onsen', then 5 minutes on foot; about 2 hours by car from Sapporo. Combine with the lake cruise or the Usuzan Ropeway.
The flagship hotel of Manza Onsen, which at 1,800 m is among the highest hot-spring resorts in Japan reachable by car all year. Perched on a rise, its famous 'Komakusa-no-yu' open-air bath juts from the mountainside so you soak in milky sulphur water while gazing at a sea of clouds, the Jōshin'etsu ranges and, in winter, unbroken snow — literally a bath above the clouds. Besides separate men's and women's sections there is a mixed zone where a wrap towel is worn, making this one of the few Manza inns where mixed bathing is possible. The sulphur content is among Japan's highest and the scent lingers after. Day bathing: adults ¥1,500, children ¥750, reception 11:00–16:00 (bath entry until 15:00), face towel included (bath towel hire ¥300). Weekdays are far quieter than weekends. About 2 hours by Seibu bus from Karuizawa Station, or about 40 minutes by bus from Manza-Kazawaguchi Station; direct ski-slope access in winter.
A day-use bathhouse right beside the Shinhotaka Ropeway base at the trailhead into the Northern Alps. Descended from a mountain hut, it is unusual in having two different springs — a simple spring and a bicarbonate spring — each served free-flowing. The open-air bath, with the murmur of the Gamata River and the rock peaks of Kasa-ga-take and Shakujō-dake in view, fills with hikers coming off the mountain and sightseers back from the ropeway. Adults ¥1,000, children ¥500; open 09:00–18:00 (last entry one hour before closing), irregular closing days. There is a rest room and a restaurant serving Okuhida fare such as Hida beef and soba. About 90 minutes by bus from Takayama Nōhi Bus Center to 'Shinhotaka Onsen', then 2 minutes on foot; parking for 11 cars (pay car parks nearby).
A big bathhouse in Kanie, just west of Nagoya, open since the 1960s and known among Tōkai-region onsen fans as 'the real thing'. Two of its own springs, one cool and one hot, are blended to bathing temperature and run untouched — no dilution, no recirculation — into both indoor and outdoor baths. The showpiece is a garden-style indoor hall of a scale you would not expect, with pools of various sizes among rocks and greenery. The clear simple spring is soft and leaves you refreshed. Adults ¥700 on weekdays, ¥800 on weekends and holidays; open 13:00–23:00 (last entry 22:30), no closing day apart from occasional maintenance. Soap and shampoo provided; a tatami hall and restaurant on site. About 7 minutes by taxi from Kintetsu Kanie Station or 17 minutes on foot from JR Eiwa Station; 250 free parking spaces. A rare chance at free-flowing source water within 30 minutes of Nagoya Station.
Tottori Onsen is a national rarity — a hot spring rising right in front of a prefectural-capital station — and this Shōwa-retro bathhouse at its heart is about five minutes' walk from JR Tottori Station. Old-style layout with a bandai counter and just one pool split into deep and shallow halves, but the 46°C-plus sodium-sulphate-chloride water is properly hot and leaves skin silky. Adults ¥550, children ¥200; open in two sessions, 06:00–10:00 and 14:00–24:00, closed the 2nd Monday and New Year's Day. No soap provided — bring or buy. Good after walking the Tottori sand dunes or castle ruins, or as a morning bath before an early train. Parking for 11 cars plus coin car parks nearby.
The founding bath of Yunotsu, the port town that once shipped silver from the World Heritage Iwami Ginzan mine, with a history said to go back 1,300 years. It stands in the preserved townscape district and has a legend of a tanuki healing its wounds here. Two pools: the 'hot' one fed directly by the source and a 'cooler' one that is still around 43°C. The strong sodium-calcium-chloride water, thick with rust-brown mineral flakes, is renowned as a therapeutic spring and can be drunk. Adults ¥450, children ¥200; open 06:00–20:00, irregular closures (closed from 15:00 on the 3rd Monday). No soap and no showers — bathe the old way. Comparing it with the other outside bath, Yakushi-yu (¥500), is the classic routine. About 20 minutes on foot or 5 by bus from JR Yunotsu Station.
A day-use bathhouse among the vineyards and peach orchards of Makioka in Yamanashi city, cherished by onsen fans as one of the prefecture's finest 'fresh from the source' springs. About 500 litres a minute of 42°C alkaline simple water wells up naturally and goes straight into the tubs — no heating, no dilution, no recirculation — so fresh water overflows constantly at the spout. The feel is silky; from the cypress indoor bath and the rock open-air bath you can sometimes see Mt Fuji across the Kōfu basin. Adults ¥700 for up to two hours, children ¥500 (four hours with tatami-hall rest ¥1,300; all day ¥1,800); open 10:00–21:00 (last entry 20:15), closed Tuesdays and the New Year period. A restaurant serves hōtō noodles and tempura, and Erin-ji temple and the local wineries are close. About 25 minutes by car from Katsunuma IC or 15 minutes by taxi from JR Yamanashi-shi Station.
A resort bathing complex next to the American Village in Chatan, central Okinawa, facing Sunset Beach. The sodium-chloride 'Chatan Onsen' water from 1,400 m fills an indoor bath hall and an open-air bath overlooking the sea, and there is also a swimsuit zone with an outdoor hot-spring pool, jacuzzi and sauna, with free passage between pool and beach. Adults ¥1,800, children ¥800 (a cheaper morning-bath plan exists); baths open 07:00–23:00 (last entry 22:00), outdoor facilities 10:00–21:00, no closing days apart from one maintenance day a year. Loungewear and towel rental and a restaurant are available; about 40 minutes by car from Naha. Rinse off the salt after a day in the sea and soak while the sun sets — a very Okinawan day.
A Japanese-style spa right by Kotohiki Park in Kan'onji, western Kagawa — famous for the giant coin drawn in sand, the Zenigata Sunae — and directly in front of Ariake beach. Its baths are inventive: a 'seawater onsen' bath, an ancient-cypress bath and a kama-buro steam bath recreating a 1,200-year-old design (alternating men/women daily), and the open-air bath looks over the Seto Inland Sea toward the sunset. Adults ¥950 on weekdays, ¥1,100 on weekends and holidays; open 11:00–23:00 (last entry 22:00), every day of the year. A sea-view restaurant, indoor and outdoor rest areas and lodging are attached. About 5 minutes by car from JR Kan'onji Station or 15 from Sanuki-Toyonaka IC; 500 parking spaces. Combine with the Chichibugahama sunset and the sand coin.
A municipal day-use bathhouse in the Furuyu–Kumanokawa spa area along the Kase River, about 30 minutes by car from central Saga. Kumanokawa's water is a radon-bearing radioactive (radium) spring, traditionally enjoyed as a long, slow soak at lukewarm temperature. The main hall has large and small pools at different temperatures, an open-air bath facing the hills, and a small sauna and cold plunge, all lively with local chatter. A barrier-free family bath (¥1,500 for 55 minutes plus admission) is available, and the tatami rest room offers meals and massage. Adults ¥600, children ¥350; open 10:00–21:00, closed the 3rd Thursday (next day if a holiday). Local vegetables are sold at the front desk, and the grounds have a hot-water stand and a 'Yu YOU Park' for car camping. Pair with Furuyu Onsen for a bath-hopping day.
A hot-spring hotel on the banks of the Yoshino River in the Ōboke–Koboke gorge, where the water has carved through 200-million-year-old rock. The strongly alkaline simple spring — locals say it makes skin toner unnecessary — leaves skin smooth, and the gorge-facing main bath and open-air bath look out over the Koboke rapids, said to be Japan's wildest, and the mountainsides in their seasonal colours. Day bathing: adults ¥700, children ¥350, 12:00–21:00 (last entry 20:00); open daily, but on Saturdays, holidays and group-booking days it may close from 15:00, so check ahead. A convenient base for the Ōboke sightseeing boats, the yōkai museum and the drive to the Iya vine bridge; about 15 minutes on foot from JR Ōboke Station (pick-up available). Soap provided, towels for a fee.
A day spa (formerly Aoidake-sō) rebuilt as the centrepiece of Aoidake Nature Park in the Sakai River valley between Miyazaki and Miyakonojō. The alkaline simple spring, once picked among Japan's 'top ten viscous waters', has a silky feel; besides the main bath there are a walking bath, an electric bath, an open-air bath facing the green gorge and a sauna. The optional thermal lounge 'Yurukotto' adds bedrock-bath rooms and recliners for a long stay. Adults ¥700 on weekdays, ¥900 on weekends and holidays (¥1,000 on special days; discounts 07:00–10:00 and after 19:00); baths open 07:00–21:30, every day apart from inspection closures. An RV park, campsite and river-play spots sit alongside, ideal for a family outdoor day. 15 minutes on foot from JR Aoidake Station (pick-up available); about 15 minutes by car from Tano IC.
Because drilling is banned inside the national park, every bath in Unzen runs on naturally rising water. This little communal bath on the edge of the spa town, known locally as 'Dankyū-buro', has just one deep oval pool into which the acidic hydrogen-sulphide spring flows fresh; depending on the season and the day it may be milky white or nearly clear. It is hot, 43–44°C, with a faint sulphur scent. Adults ¥200, children ¥100; open 09:00–22:00, closed Tuesdays. No dryers or amenities — soap is sold — but there are lockers, and parking for four cars. After touring the Unzen Hells, a rare chance to taste the local bath for ¥200, a world apart from the big tourist bathhouses.
A hideaway day spa in a copse of trees near Jindaiji, Tokyo's second-oldest temple, and its soba-shop village. The blackish-brown 'kuroyu' sodium-chloride water from 1,500 m carries compounds from ancient plant matter, feels viscous on the skin and keeps you warm long after. The wooden bathhouse holds an indoor bath, a rock open-air bath, sauna and cold plunge, and an outdoor rest deck among seasonal greenery — more like a country inn than a big spa complex. Adults ¥1,080 on weekdays, ¥1,180 on weekends and holidays, with cheaper 30-minute and one-hour tickets. Open 10:00–22:00 (last entry 21:00), every day apart from inspection closures. A soba restaurant and rest room are on site — a fine finish to Jindaiji temple and the Jindai Botanical Garden. Free shuttle buses from Chōfu and Tsutsujigaoka stations.
A long-established ryokan at the gateway to Inunakiyama Onsen, about 30 minutes by car from Kansai Airport and the only place in Osaka Prefecture to call itself a spa 'village'. Inunakiyama is a Shugendō holy mountain said to have been opened by En no Gyōja; the gorge leading to Shippōryū-ji temple is dotted with waterfalls and ascetic training sites and is listed among Osaka's hundred finest green spots. In the indoor bath and the open-air bath facing the stream you soak in soft, clear simple water (sodium-bicarbonate-chloride) to the sound of the river. Day bathing: adults ¥900, children ¥400, 11:00–21:00 (last entry 20:00), irregular closures. A reservable private open-air bath (¥2,750 for 60 minutes) and day plans with lunch are offered; numbers may be limited when busy. About 30 minutes by bus from JR Hineno or Nankai Izumisano stations to 'Inunakiyama', right by the stop. An onsen before or after a Kansai Airport flight, or a half-day escape from Osaka city.
A village-run day spa inside the Soni Kōgen Farm Garden at the foot of the Soni plateau, on Nara's eastern edge, where the pampas-grass meadows turn gold in autumn. The sodium-bicarbonate water is remarkably slippery and lives up to its 'beauty bath' reputation, leaving skin silky. The indoor hall has a free-flowing source tub, and the open-air bath looks out to the rock peaks of Kabuto-dake and Yoroi-dake and across the highland (a wood bathroom and a stone bathroom alternate weekly between men and women). Adults ¥900, children ¥500; open 11:00–21:00 (until 20:30 December–March; last entry one hour before), closed Wednesdays (open if a holiday, then closed the next day) and over New Year. A craft brewery, farm shop and restaurant share the site; it gets very busy in pampas season (October–November). About 45 minutes by bus from Nabari Station; about 1 h 50 min by car from Osaka.
A modern-Japanese spa on the clear Echi River at the gate of Eigen-ji, a temple famed for autumn colour. Named for the 'eight winds' off the Suzuka mountains, it offers a wide spread of tubs: indoor bath, herbal bath, seated bath, two open-air baths above the stream, pot baths, lie-down baths, sauna, salt sauna and cold plunge. The water is a gentle alkaline simple spring. Adults ¥1,300 on weekdays, ¥1,500 on weekends and holidays, with towels and loungewear included so you can come empty-handed. Open 10:30–22:00 (last entry 21:00), every day apart from maintenance. There is an optional bedrock-bath suite, a gorge-view restaurant, a charcoal-grill dining room and lodging, and at night the lit-up building feels like a ryokan. About 20 minutes by car from Yōkaichi IC or 35 minutes by bus from Ōmi Railway Yōkaichi Station. Pair with Eigen-ji's November foliage.
A town-run day spa inside the hilly 'Toyama Forest of Health – Green Park Yoshimine', about 15 minutes by car from Tateyama Station, the Toyama gateway to the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route. The clear, mildly alkaline simple spring is piped straight from the source and called 'beauty water'; besides the main bath there is a rustic rock open-air bath, an herbal bath and a sauna. From April 2026 adults pay ¥750 and children ¥380; open 10:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30), closed Tuesdays (plus maintenance days). The park has a campsite, barbecue area, park golf and the Yoshimine Heights lodge, making it a handy stop before or after the Alpine Route or a Tateyama climb. About 5 minutes by car from Iwakuraji Station (Toyama Chihō Railway), 20 minutes from Tateyama IC; 300 parking spaces.
The highest hot-spring inn in Tōhoku, at 1,400 m near the top of the Hachimantai Aspite Line. It opens only from Golden Week to late October; in winter it is buried in snow. Five mixed open-air baths scattered down the slope (plus a women-only open-air bath and separate indoor baths) are fed by sulphur water bubbling up directly through the ground, milky white, and the trademark is smearing the mud from the bottom on your skin as a 'mud pack'. Below spread Mt Iwate and a sea of forest; at dawn, cloud seas and sunrise — truly a bath above the clouds. Simple sulphur water at temperatures from tepid to hot. Day bathing: adults ¥650, children ¥350, with a long 08:00–18:00 window, busy with hikers back from the Hachimantai summit trail. The open-air baths are mixed, so bathing garments and wrap towels are allowed. About 2 hours by bus from Morioka Station or 40 minutes by car from Matsuo-Hachimantai IC. Mobile reception is poor.
A town-run day spa on a rise above the Kuji River in Daigo, Ibaraki, the town of Fukuroda Falls, one of Japan's three great waterfalls. The alkaline simple water is soft; there is a large indoor bath with a waterfall-massage and bubble bath, and the pride of the place is an open, airy outdoor bath with a sweeping view of the Yamizo hills and the river — especially fine in autumn colour. Sauna, rest room, Japanese restaurant and shop, used equally by locals and visitors. Adults ¥710 on weekdays, ¥1,010 on weekends and holidays (¥500 after 17:00), children ¥350/¥500; open 10:00–20:00 (last entry 19:30), closed the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays and December 31. Soap and shampoo provided, towels sold. About 15 minutes by bus from JR Hitachi-Daigo Station to 'Mori-no-Ideyu'; about an hour by car from Naka IC. Combine with Fukuroda Falls and the local shamo chicken cuisine.
A hot-spring inn on a rise above the Chikugo River in Ukiha, Fukuoka, whose pH 8.7 alkaline simple-sulphur water is so silky people say it feels like bathing in skin lotion. Chikugogawa Onsen lies across the river from Harazuru, a quiet designated health resort, and this inn actively welcomes day bathers. Besides the main and open-air baths there are characterful private family baths — 'Stone', 'Rock', even one with a slide — at ¥2,500 for 60 minutes, booked at the desk on the day; the inn states that guests with tattoos may use the private baths only. Day bathing: adults ¥800, children ¥600, 13:00–21:00, closed Wednesdays plus irregular days. The Harazuru–Chikugo River area is known for cormorant fishing and fruit picking, and many families drop in on the way home from the orchards. About 5 minutes by taxi from JR Chikugo-Ōishi Station or 3 minutes by car from Haki IC.
Of the inns at Yunohana Onsen — Kyoto's 'back parlour' spa in the Tamba hills outside Kameoka, about 25 minutes by train from Kyoto Station — this is the easiest for day bathing. Fields and woodland spread across its large grounds, and the main bath and garden open-air bath look out on the countryside through the seasons. The water is a clear, soft, mildly radioactive (radon) simple spring. Day bathing: adults ¥1,000, children ¥500; weekdays 12:00–21:00 straight through, weekends, holidays, eves of holidays and Obon in two sessions, 12:00–15:00 and 17:30–21:00. Day plans with lunch or kaiseki are offered — a fine finish to Kameoka, the starting point for the Hozu River boats and the Sagano scenic railway. About 15 minutes by car from JR Kameoka Station (ask about pick-up) or 10 minutes from Kameoka IC. Combine with Arashiyama for a Kyoto onsen day trip.
A day-use hot spring at the heart of the Hiruzen highlands in northern Okayama, 500–600 m up. Its great appeal is the open-air bath, where you feel the highland breeze and look out over Jersey-cattle pastures and the three Hiruzen peaks through the seasons — cool in summer, autumn colour, snow-viewing in winter. The alkaline simple water is gentle on the skin, and the facility covers the basics: main bath, jet bath, sauna and open-air bath. Adults ¥740, children ¥420; open 10:00–22:00 (until 21:00 December–March; last entry 30 minutes before), closed Wednesdays (next day if a holiday; open during Obon and Golden Week). About 20 minutes by car from Hiruzen IC or 60 minutes by bus from JR Chūgoku-Katsuyama Station. Combine with Hiruzen yakisoba, Jersey soft-serve and a drive toward Mt Daisen. 100 parking spaces.
A town-run hot-spring inn next to Hanahasu Park in Minami-Echizen, Fukui, where more than 130 varieties of lotus bloom. The alkaline simple water from about 1,000 m down clings softly to the skin; there is a roomy indoor bath, a garden-style open-air bath, the signature 'lotus bath' floated with lotus leaves and flowers, plus bubble bath, lie-down bath and sauna. Day bathing is a modest ¥650 for adults and ¥350 for children, and the long 08:00–22:00 hours (last entry 21:00) are a bonus. Closed Tuesdays (open on holidays, during the July lotus festival and at New Year). The restaurant serves set meals with sashimi boats and 'lotus udon', and overnight stays are possible. About 5 minutes by car from Imajō IC on the Hokuriku Expressway or 10 minutes by taxi from JR Imajō Station — an easy stop between the Echizen coast and Tsuruga. Lotus season runs from late June to early August.
A public lodge in the Mitsugi countryside, the 'back parlour' of Onomichi, the port town of slopes, temples and cats. The natural spring is a mildly radioactive cold mineral water; two bathing halls, Hohoemi-no-yu and Fureai-no-yu, hold 13 kinds of tubs including open-air baths, lie-down baths, waterfall massage, sauna and cold plunge. From the open-air bath you look out on the Mitsugi hills and, at night, a sky full of stars. Day bathing is ¥850 for adults and ¥500 for children with bath towel, face towel and loungewear included, and you may bathe as often as you like until you leave. Open 10:00–22:00 (last entry 21:30); the only closure is one or two days each June. Rest room, restaurant and massage room, with overnight stays available. About 8 minutes by car from Onomichi-kita IC, 25 minutes from Shin-Onomichi Station, or 50 minutes by Chūgoku bus from JR Onomichi Station to the terminus. A good soak after walking Onomichi's lanes or cycling the Shimanami Kaidō.
The lone inn at Gokuraku Onsen, in the hills of Takaharu on the eastern foot of the Kirishima range, with water distinctive enough to be listed among Japan's 'hundred famous springs'. It is a carbonated iron spring (carbon dioxide-iron-calcium-bicarbonate), and the speciality is alternating between the free-flowing tubs, turned rust-red on contact with air, and a 'source cold bath' filled with the highly carbonated mineral water straight from the ground. Sitting in the cold fizzing water as tiny bubbles cling to your skin, then returning to the warm bath, is a routine sauna lovers adore. There is also an open-air bath, a sauna and a reservable private bath. Day bathing: adults ¥600, children ¥250, with long hours from 07:00 to 21:00 (last entry 20:30), except Wednesdays when it pauses 10:00–15:00 for cleaning. A dining room serves Kyushu mountain-and-river cuisine, and private rest rooms and overnight stays suit a cure-style visit. About 15 minutes by car from JR Takaharu Station or Takaharu IC. A hidden gem for Ebino Plateau and Kirishima trips.
A city-run hot-spring and sports complex at Yuya Onsen, the noted spa of Oku-Mikawa strung along the Ure (Itashiki) River gorge in Shinshiro, Aichi. Rare in being reachable by rail — about 10 minutes on foot from Yuya-Onsen Station on the Iida Line — it has a large bathing hall with a main tub, bubble bath, jet bath and lie-down bath, plus an open-air bath within earshot of the river and its greenery. The sodium-calcium-chloride water warms you thoroughly. Bathing only: adults ¥620, children ¥310; the heated pool (with water slide) and gym are extra, or an all-facility ticket is ¥1,150. Open 10:00–21:00 (last entry 20:15), closed Tuesdays (the day before if a holiday), December 29–January 1, and for maintenance in March and October. The restaurant serves gohei-mochi and set meals. Combine with a hike up Mt Hōraiji, Hōrai Gorge or the Atera Seven Falls. About 20 minutes by car from Shinshiro IC on the Shin-Tōmei.
The communal bathhouse of Shikano, a castle town in western Tottori City laid out by the warlord Kamei Korenori. Light pours through glass-block walls into a bright bathroom with a main tub, jacuzzi, sauna, cold plunge and an open-air bath facing Mt Jūbō, all generously filled with clear, gentle simple spring water. Inexpensive at ¥550 for adults and ¥280 for children; open 10:00–22:00 and closed only on the first Thursday of the month (the following week if a holiday). There is no restaurant, but a rest area and souvenir counter, plus a roofed foot bath and the 'Omoshiro Market' soba house next door. Pair it with a stroll around the castle town's canals and paving, Shikano Castle ruins park and the Bird Theatre. About 4 minutes by car from Hamamura-Shikano-Onsen IC on the San'in Expressway, or 10 minutes by bus from JR Hamamura Station to 'Imamachi'. Handy on the way back from the Tottori dunes or Uradome coast.
A cure-bath founded in the Meiji era, tucked in the hills of Misato, Shimane, up a tributary of the Gō River. The spring bubbles up directly through gaps in the wooden floor of the tub — 'footspring' water that onsen devotees rank among the finest sources in western Japan. The carbonated iron-bicarbonate water is tepid at around 34 °C, faintly yellow-brown, and coats the body in tiny bubbles. There is one small wooden tub each for men and women, no washing area, soap and shampoo are forbidden, and bathing is limited to an hour: this is a place purely for soaking. Afterwards you can warm up in a heated goemon iron-kettle bath. Adults ¥500; open 08:00–18:00 April–October (last entry 17:00) and 08:00–17:00 November–March (last entry 16:00), closed Thursdays. Room rest is available. With the Sankō rail line gone, driving is realistic: about 1 hour from JR Gōtsu Station or 50 minutes from Ōasa IC on the Hamada Expressway, with a narrow mountain road at the end. Not for those wanting facilities, but unforgettable for those who care about the water itself.
A town-run day spa on a 370 m hill in Ichikawamisato, south of the Kōfu basin. From the unobstructed open-air bath you take in the whole basin with Yatsugatake, Mt Kayagatake and the Southern Alps beyond, and after dark the carpet of city lights is certified as a 'Japan Night View Heritage' site. The water is a translucent tea-brown alkaline simple spring containing organic matter from ancient plants, smooth on the skin. Indoor bath, open-air bath, lie-down bath and sauna; adults ¥850, children ¥500; open late, 10:00–23:00 (last entry 22:30), so you can watch dusk turn to night from the tub. Closed only for maintenance days. The restaurant's hōtō noodles, chicken giblet stew and Kōshū wine-beef set, and the farm produce shop, are popular. About 10 minutes by car from Kōfu-minami IC or 7 minutes from JR Kai-Ueno Station. In summer you may even catch the Ichikawamisato fireworks from the open-air bath.
A hot-spring resort in Kamiyama, a mountain town up the Akui River about an hour by car from Tokushima city, known for its newcomers and IT satellite offices. At its heart is the town-run bath 'Iyashi-no-yu', a contemporary building of local cedar and cypress notable for tatami mats laid throughout the bathroom, changing room and lobby. The sodium-chloride-bicarbonate cold mineral water feels mellow, then leaves the skin refreshed. Bubble bath, jet bath, waterfall massage, lie-down bath, herbal bath, sauna, cold plunge and a children's bath, with towels provided. Day bathing: adults ¥680, children ¥340, 10:00–20:00, closed the fourth Tuesday (open on holidays, Golden Week, Obon and New Year). The Kawasemi restaurant uses local produce, and private rest rooms and overnight stays are available. Combine with sudachi citrus, Amagoi Falls and Shōsan-ji, temple 12 of the Shikoku pilgrimage. About 60 minutes by Tokushima bus (Kamiyama line) from JR Tokushima Station to 'Kamiyama Onsen-mae'.
The communal bath at the centre of Yuwaku Onsen, Kanazawa's 'back parlour', about 50 minutes by bus from Kanazawa Station. The spa dates back 1,300 years, prospered as the cure resort of the Kaga lords, and is remembered as where the Taishō-era artist Takehisa Yumeji stayed with his lover; the name comes from a legend of an egret healing its wounds here. Inside, the wood-rich building is calm, with clear, smooth sodium-calcium-chloride water served fairly hot in a simple bathroom (no open-air bath or sauna). Cheap at ¥490 for adults and ¥130 for children, and open 07:00–22:00, it suits a bath-hopping circuit from the ryokan or a finish to a Kanazawa day. Closed the third Thursday (plus occasional days). Combine with the Gyokusen Lake path, the Yumeji museum and the inns' restaurants. Known as the setting of the anime 'Hanasaku Iroha', the village holds the Bonbori lantern festival in October. About 30 minutes by car from Kanazawa-Morimoto IC; parking is limited.
A lone hidden spring at the end of a forest road in the hills of Ikarigaseki, Hirakawa, near the Aomori–Akita border. Famed nationwide for its gushing flow — said to be 500 litres a minute — the overflow from the tub streams across the entire washing floor like a river, and the place once topped a fan vote for the best free-flowing bath in Japan. The sodium-calcium-chloride-sulphate water is pale yellow-brown with an iron tang, and the local way to enjoy it is 'todo-ne': lying flat on the floor and letting the running water wash over you like a sea lion. After a long closure it reopened, renovated, in December 2025: day bathing adults ¥600, children ¥200, 09:00–20:30. Lodging is bed-and-breakfast or room only. Pick-ups from Ikarigaseki Station and Yunosawa can be arranged (contact in advance). Facilities are basic and days and hours can change, so check by phone or on the official social media. About 15 minutes by car from JR Ikarigaseki Station or Ikarigaseki IC; beware of deep snow in winter.
One of the few natural-spring bath complexes on Okinawa's main island, on Route 58 in Ginowan next to the MEGA Don Quijote, about 30 minutes by car from Naha. The tea-brown water pumped from underground is a salty chloride spring that warms you well; besides the indoor bath, carbonated bath, sauna and cold plunge there is a pleasant garden open-air bath among tropical planting. Bedrock baths, private family baths, a recliner lounge and an inexpensive canteen round it out, and towels and shampoo are included so you can come empty-handed. Entry: adults ¥1,500, junior/senior high ¥1,000, children ¥750; open 07:00–23:00 (last entry 22:00), every day. Close to Chatan's American Village and the Ginowan beaches, it is handy on a rental-car trip or as a proper wash after a day in the sea — many divers stop by on the way home. 200 parking spaces.
A municipal cure-bath in a valley at Irinoyama, in the fold of the Asan mountains at the eastern tip of Kagawa. Quiet, wrapped in cherry blossom in spring and maples in autumn, it is a daily bath for locals and a long-standing lodging for pilgrims walking the Shikoku 88 temples. The simple sulphur cold mineral water is praised for its 'slippery-silky' cling on the skin. The layout is simple — main tub, bubble bath, cold plunge and sauna — with a view of hushed green forest. Very cheap at ¥400 for adults and ¥200 for children (and for over-70s); open 10:00–21:00 every day (occasional maintenance closures). The restaurant serves wild-boar hotpot and live-fish dishes, and rooms with two meals start from about ¥6,500. About 20 minutes by car from Shirotori-Ōchi IC on the Takamatsu Expressway, or by Ōkawa bus to 'Fukushi Center (Shirotori Onsen)'. Combine with a Sanuki udon crawl or the old townscape of Hiketa.
A day spa on Route 202 in Karatsu, right beside Niji-no-Matsubara, one of Japan's three great pine groves, and an easy 10-minute walk from JR Niji-no-Matsubara Station. The mildly alkaline simple spring is used free-flowing and lives up to its 'beauty bath' name with a silky feel. There are tepid and hot tubs, an open-air bath, sauna and cold plunge, plus three private family baths (rock, barrel and so on; extra charge, booking until 20:00). Adults ¥800, children ¥450; open 10:00–22:00 (last entry 21:30), closed the third Thursday (open daily in January, February and August; special closure on December 31). The restaurant serves set meals with Karatsu fish, and as a pilgrimage spot for the anime 'Yuri!!! on Ice' the building has a fan display corner. Fits between Karatsu Castle, the Yobuko morning market and a drive along the pines, or as the finish to a day trip from Fukuoka — about an hour by car from the city. 50 parking spaces.
A large day spa where you can gaze at Nagasaki's night view — ranked among the 'new three great night views of the world' — from the bath. Built on the slope of Mt Inasa, its rooftop open-air bath looks down over Nagasaki harbour and the city, which turns into a sea of lights after sunset. The alkaline simple water fills carbonated, electric and jet baths; there are several saunas and cold plunges, six family baths with rest rooms, a suite of bedrock baths (extra charge) and a self-service canteen. Adults ¥850 on weekdays, ¥900 on weekends and holidays, children ¥450; family baths from ¥3,000 for 60 minutes. Open late, 09:30–01:00 (until 02:00 on Fridays, Saturdays and holiday eves; last entry 30 minutes before), with no fixed closing days apart from maintenance. A free shuttle bus runs from JR Nagasaki Station (about 20 minutes), a big plus without a car. The classic plan pairs it with the Inasayama ropeway: see the view from the summit, then soak. 320 parking spaces; payment is mainly cash.
A large spa complex in Tōon, just east of Matsuyama, whose pride is an open-air bathing area billed as among the biggest in western Japan. About 6 minutes on foot from Minara Station on the Iyotetsu line, with a free daily shuttle from Matsuyama-shi Station — handy for anyone wanting an onsen near Matsuyama other than Dōgo. The underground spring, nicknamed the '200-million-year warming water', fills a garden-like cluster of outdoor baths set with natural boulders, plus indoor baths, sauna and cold plunge, and there are five private family baths. Day use is by course: the standard course is ¥1,480 for adults, ¥1,280 for over-65s and ¥700 for children (including loungewear and the rest lounge), with cheaper simple courses. Open 06:00–24:00 (last entry 23:00; indoor baths only in the early morning; maintenance 09:00–10:00), every day. Japanese and Western restaurants, a café, body care, the adjoining Juraku hotel and a morning farmers' market let you linger for half a day. About 5 minutes by car from Tōon Smart IC.
A natural-spring bath complex about 5 minutes on foot from Minami-Tama Station (JR Nambu Line) in Inagi, amid the greenery of the Tama hills. The mildly alkaline water from 1,700 m down is pale amber and soft on the skin; the outdoor area has a free-flowing rock bath, pot baths, lie-down baths, a carbonated bath and seasonal specials, while indoors are a high-concentration carbonated bath, jet baths, a sauna with löyly sessions and a cold plunge. With more room than central-Tokyo spas, its outdoor rest deck among trees is a real draw. Entry: adults ¥1,000 on weekdays, ¥1,200 on weekends and holidays; children ¥520/¥680; bedrock baths extra (¥750 on weekdays). Open 09:00–01:00 on weekdays and 07:00–01:00 on weekends and holidays (last entry midnight). Closed only on the third Tuesday of March, June, September and December. Restaurant, body care and a manga corner on site. About 40 minutes from Shinjuku via the Keiō and Nambu lines, easy to pair with Yomiuriland or a walk in the Tama hills.
A hot-spring resort on the Rurikei plateau in Nantan at about 500 m, roughly an hour by car from Kyoto city, at the entrance to the scenic Rurikei gorge trail. Formerly 'Kyoto Rurikei Onsen for REST RESORT', it was renovated and renamed in 2025. The water is a mildly radioactive radon spring; besides the gender-separated 'Ruri-yu' halls, open-air baths and single-person ceramic pot baths, there is a swimwear zone where couples and families bathe together, along with a pool and saunas. Day admission (including the pool and swimwear area) is ¥800 for adults and ¥400 for children on weekdays, ¥950 and ¥500 on weekends and holidays; towel set ¥300, swimwear rental ¥400. Bedrock baths and the lantern terrace cost extra. Open 11:00–20:00 on weekdays and 10:00–21:00 on weekends and holidays, every day. Barbecue, a kids' area, the GRAX glamping site and a hotel share the grounds, and at night the 'Synesthesia Hills' illumination is a draw. Keihan Kyoto Kōtsū bus to 'Rurikei Onsen', or about 30 minutes by car from Kameoka IC.
A big bath complex on the Kanzaki River in Toyonaka, about 20 minutes north of Umeda, whose main draw is an authentic Korean-style jjimjilbang — rare in Kansai. Sauna fans rate it highly for the large natural-spring open-air bath, cut-stone bath, pot baths, a sauna with löyly sessions every two hours, cold plunge and plenty of chairs and loungers for outdoor rest. The extra-charge 'Bijōbō' zone offers several low-temperature sauna rooms at 40–70 °C and a dome-shaped hanjeungmak at around 100 °C — Korea's steam-bath culture in Osaka. Entry: adults ¥900 on weekdays, ¥1,000 on weekends and holidays; children ¥500/¥550. Open 10:00–02:00 (last entry 01:00), every day. Besides 1,200 free parking spaces, free shuttle buses run from Hankyū and Kita-Osaka Kyūkō stations, so it is easy without a car. Restaurant, body care and relaxation rooms on site; being close to Itami Airport, it is a good place to kill time before or after a flight. Very busy on weekends and holidays.
The representative drop-in bath of the Mizusawa spa cluster on the Tazawako plateau, on the road up to Nyūtō Onsen. Less famous than Nyūtō's hidden inns, it nonetheless runs an abundant sulphur-calcium-magnesium-sulphate-chloride spring free-flowing, and its bluish milky water is praised as 'silky and moisturising'. The standout is an open-air bath about a metre deep in which you soak standing up — one of only two such deep outdoor baths in the area. Men and women each have two indoor and two outdoor baths, and the waterfall massage runs all the time. Adults ¥900, primary-school children and under free; open 10:00–20:00 (building closes 21:00), irregular closures (open through Golden Week, Obon and New Year). Lodging is available, and it makes a good alternative when Nyūtō is crowded or a stop after Tazawako ski slopes or a climb of Mt Akita-Komagatake. About 25 minutes by Ugo Kōtsū bus for Nyūtō Onsen from JR Tazawako Station to 'Mizusawa Onsenkyō', right by the stop; 60 parking spaces.
The oldest naturally rising spring of Hinatayama Onsen, the spa district along the Amori River in Hayato, Kirishima, about 15 minutes by car from Kagoshima Airport. Saigō Takamori is said to have favoured it between hunts, and locals call it 'Segodon's bath'. It is unstaffed — you drop your fee in the box at the entrance — and the price is frozen in the Shōwa era: ¥250 for adults, ¥100 for children. Inside is a simple indoor bathroom with two tubs, hot and moderate, filled free-flowing with clear, slippery bicarbonate water; there is a drinking fountain of the spring too. No open-air bath or restaurant, but it opens 06:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30) and a room-only lodge next door costs ¥1,800 including the bath — a boon for travellers. Closed the fourth Monday. About 5 minutes on foot from JR Hinatayama Station; 10 parking spaces. For anyone wanting an unadorned everyday Kagoshima bath before or after Kirishima Shrine or the airport.
The public bath at the centre of Tsuchiyu Onsen, a spa village in the fold of the Azuma range about 40 minutes by bus from Fukushima Station. Rebuilt in 2018 in fragrant timber, it faces the Arakawa mountain stream. The alkaline bicarbonate water is used free-flowing without heating or recirculation — clear and soft but decidedly hot, so adding cold water to taste is the local custom. Besides separate indoor baths there is a private bath (¥1,500), handy for families and couples. Adults ¥500, children ¥250; open 09:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30), closed Tuesdays (open over New Year). The village has foot baths, workshops making Tsuchiyu kokeshi dolls, the steaming Arakawa source and another communal bath, Kajika-no-yu, so a stroll with a kokeshi-painting session fills a pleasant half day. 82 free parking spaces. About 20 minutes by car from Fukushima-nishi IC, and a convenient gateway to the Bandai-Azuma Skyline.
A mainly day-use hot-spring house at Senami Onsen in Murakami, Niigata, famous for sunsets over the Sea of Japan. Its own source 180 m down yields abundant water at about 94 °C, and although it is a seaside spa the water has a faint whiff of sulphur and leaves the skin silky. There is an indoor bath, a rugged rock-built outdoor bath and a mist sauna, and even the showers run spring water; in winter the outdoor bath becomes a snow-viewing bath. Private family baths, rentable rooms, weekday day plans with a meal (from ¥4,800) and overnight stays are also available. Adults ¥900, children ¥500, towel hire ¥210; open 09:00–22:00 (last entry 21:00), irregular closures. About 10 minutes by bus from JR Murakami Station or 12 minutes by car from Murakami-Senami-Onsen IC; 100 parking spaces. Combine with Murakami's salmon cuisine, its merchant townhouses and a sunset walk on Senami beach.
A day spa beside the 'Kamon Park Shinminato' roadside station in Imizu, on Toyama Bay. Its spring is a dense chloride water said to rank among the richest in Japan in dissolved minerals, with several times the free carbon dioxide of shop-bought bath fizzers, so onsen enthusiasts know it as a genuine carbonated chloride spring. The tea-brown, salty, iron-rich water warms you deeply; there are indoor and open-air baths, a sauna and a cold plunge. What stands out is the long day: an early-morning bath from 05:00 through to midnight (23:00 on Sundays), with cheaper early and late rates. Regular admission is ¥970 for adults (¥1,020 weekends and holidays), ¥750/¥780 early or late, ¥520 for children. Closed Mondays (open if a holiday, then closed the next weekday) and January 1. Easy to pair with the Shinminato Bridge, Kaiwo Maru Park and seafood at the Shinminato Kittokito market; about 10 minutes by car from Kosugi IC or 20 minutes by community bus from JR Kosugi Station.
A municipal day bath in the middle of the Yubara Onsen village in northern Okayama, a few minutes' walk from the famous riverside open-air 'Sunayu'. Yubara has a thousand-year history and copious water; this is its source bath, and the pH 9.3 alkaline simple spring is a slippery 'beauty water'. The three-storey building has souvenirs on the ground floor and baths on the first: for each sex an indoor bath, jacuzzi and sauna, plus a barrier-free bathroom usable by elderly and wheelchair guests, which can also be hired as a family bath (¥3,000 per hour for up to three). There is no view, but travellers value it as the place to wash and warm up properly after the mixed Sunayu. Adults ¥800, children ¥400; open 10:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30), closed Wednesdays. A tatami rest room and relaxation corner are provided. About 5 minutes by car from Yubara IC on the Yonago Expressway, or 40 minutes by bus for Hiruzen Kōgen from JR Chūgoku-Katsuyama Station to 'Sayama' then 5 minutes on foot.
A day-use bath run by Nansuikaku, the old inn of Wakita Onsen at the foot of the Inunaki range in Miyawaka, roughly midway between Fukuoka and Kitakyūshū. Nine kinds of open-air bath — a waterwheel bath, the 'Thirty-six Poets' bath, 'Kappa Paradise' and more — are dotted through the greenery, with a cold-spring bath, sauna and lie-down bath, making it a bath-hopping spot. The water is 100 % source alkaline simple spring, smooth on the skin. Day bathing: adults ¥900, children ¥500; open 10:00–22:00 (last entry; closing varies by season, until 23:00 in summer), closed Wednesdays plus occasional days. Private baths (¥3,000 per hour on weekdays) and day packages combining bath, meal and massage are popular. Tattoos are not accepted and payment is cash only. About 15 minutes by car from Wakamiya IC on the Kyūshū Expressway, or by bus from JR Nōgata Station to 'Nansuikaku-mae'. A classic day trip from Fukuoka; to stay, choose the Nansuikaku inn or the adjoining Route Inn Grantia.
A small wooden day bath in Dai Onsen, an old spa hamlet where inns huddle along a narrow valley beyond Hanamaki Onsen. Dai Onsen, over 600 years old, is known for its many hot sources, and here too the free-flowing water is served hot in a little bathroom — a tub that holds ten at a squeeze and five washing stations. There is no lounge or shop, but it opens every day from 06:00 to 22:00 (last entry 21:30) and charges only ¥480 for adults and ¥250 for children — a place that made news by cutting its price when everyone else was raising theirs. Shampoo and body soap are provided, and a handmade soba house next door serves lunch (booking needed). Under 10 minutes by car from Hanamaki Onsen, about 20 minutes by taxi from JR Hanamaki Station; 30 parking spaces. An easy way to feel the cure-resort air of Dai Onsen, a world apart from the big hotels of Hanamaki.
An inn perched on a slope at Yunoyama Onsen in Komono, Mie, at the foot of Mt Gozaisho, proud of a bathing hall that looks across Ise Bay to the Chita Peninsula. Certified by the health ministry as a spa-based health-promotion facility, it admits day bathers without reservation — buy a ticket at the shop — for a modest ¥600 (children ¥300, infants ¥200). The water is Yunoyama's alkaline radium-bearing simple spring; from the indoor bath and panoramic open-air bath you get the Yokkaichi cityscape and sea at dusk and city lights at night. Riding the funicular-style incline elevator up the slope to the main building is part of the fun. Day bathing 11:00–20:00 (last entry 19:00); closing days are irregular, so check ahead. Restaurant and shop on site. About 5 minutes by shuttle (call ahead) from Kintetsu Yunoyama-Onsen Station or 5 minutes by car from Komono IC on the Shin-Meishin. Pairs well with the Gozaisho Ropeway — a soak after coming down the mountain.
A natural-spring bath complex on a wooded Musashino plot in Saitama's Nishi ward. The source, over 600 litres a minute from 1,500 m down, is a faintly green-tinged amber sodium-chloride water; in the outdoor area the rock bath and 'source tepid bath' are filled free-flowing without heating or dilution, and the place is famous among enthusiasts for its 'nuru-yu culture' of long soaks at around 38 °C. There are also raw-source pot baths, lie-down baths, a high-concentration carbonated bath, a sauna with löyly and a deep cold plunge, and an outdoor rest area facing the trees — remarkably quiet for the suburbs. Adults ¥880 on weekdays, ¥980 on weekends and holidays; children ¥500/¥550; open 10:00–24:00 (last entry 23:30), irregular closures. Restaurant, body care and scrub treatments on site. About 25 minutes by bus from JR Ōmiya Station to 'Seiganji', or by taxi from Ageo or Sashiōgi stations. A must for tepid-bath lovers in the Tokyo area; large car park.
A municipal day spa in the Suifu district of Hitachiōta, Ibaraki, near the Ryūjin Great Suspension Bridge, famous for Honshū's highest bungee jump at 100 m. It fills with visitors combining it with the gorge's autumn colours or carp-streamer festival, plus locals. There are two bathrooms — one with an open-air bath, one with a sauna — swapped daily between men and women, so check ahead if you want the open-air side. The clear, soft simple spring is known for warming you well. Adults ¥800 on weekdays, ¥1,000 on weekends and holidays; children ¥400/¥500; cheaper after 16:00. Open 10:00–20:00 (last entry 19:00), closed Tuesdays and Wednesdays (the next business day if a holiday) and December 29–January 3. Restaurant (the mapo tofu is popular), rest room and 70 parking spaces. About 50 minutes by car from Naka IC, or by city bus from JR Hitachi-Ōta Station to 'Keganorokku' then 4 minutes on foot. A handy waypoint on a northern-Ibaraki drive with Fukuroda Falls and Oku-Kuji.
An inn at Ichinomata Onsen in the hills of Toyota, Shimonoseki, famed for 'toro-toro' water — a strongly alkaline simple sulphur spring at pH 10.0, among the highest in Japan. The skin turns slippery the moment you get in and silky afterwards, and it is widely known in Yamaguchi as a beauty bath. The Honoka and Yunoka halls have indoor and open-air baths and saunas, plus reservable private baths — a round cypress tub and a square stone one — at ¥2,000 per hour. Day bathing: adults ¥1,150, children ¥600, 08:00–21:00 (last entry 20:00); note the shortened 08:00–17:00 (last entry 16:00) on Saturdays, holidays, Golden Week, Obon and New Year. A rest lounge and restaurant (11:30–15:00) allow a bath-and-lunch visit. About 30 minutes by car from Ozuki or Mine IC on the Chūgoku Expressway, or 40 minutes by bus from JR Ozuki Station. Combine with Tsunoshima Bridge, Akiyoshidai or Nagato-Yumoto. The nearby Ichinomata Onsen Kankō Hotel is a sister property.
A hot-spring complex on a rise in Haruno, Kōchi city, about 30 minutes by car from Kōchi Station, looking out over rice fields. Its big open-air bath fed by an abundant natural spring is the draw, with an indoor bath, a sand bath that warms you to the core, and in July–August a swimwear spa zone (pair baths, a children's spa and so on — ten in all), so families are many. Day bathing: adults ¥700, children ¥300, over-65s ¥500; open 10:00–21:00 (last entry 20:15), every day apart from occasional maintenance. The Haru Noie restaurant serves a weekly lunch, and a lodging wing with open-air-bath rooms starts at ¥8,650 with breakfast; being near the Haruno sports park it also hosts training camps. About 40 minutes by car from Kōchi Ryōma Airport, or 15 minutes on foot from the terminus of the Tosaden bus for JA Haruno; 60 parking spaces. A rare large open-air bath within Kōchi city, easy to fit between Katsurahama and the Niyodo Blue river.
A day bath at the entrance to Sakunami Onsen, 'Sendai's back parlour' up the Hirose River about 40 minutes by car from Sendai Station. Among Sakunami's large ryokan it is a rare place to drop in without staying, though it has lodging too. The bathroom is compact, but the clear, soft water is 100 % natural spring, free-flowing and quietly overflowing. A set with the natural-stone bedrock bath costs ¥2,000, and the women's powder room stocks cosmetics and even face masks, which guests appreciate. Day bathing: adults ¥800, children ¥600 (a ¥500 rate for under an hour); open 10:00–19:00 (last entry 17:00), closed Wednesdays and Thursdays. Bath towels can be hired. About 5 minutes by car from Sakunami Station on the Senzan Line, or by Sendai city bus to 'Sakunami Onsen Iriguchi', right by the stop. Combine with a tour of the Nikka Miyagikyo whisky distillery or the autumn colours of the Hōmei Forty-eight Falls.
The oldest of the communal baths surviving in the spa town of Kaminoyama, a former castle and post town about 10 minutes on foot from Kaminoyama-Onsen Station on the Yamagata Shinkansen. Moved to its present site in 1624, it is said to have been used by the Zen master Takuan. The big tub is split into hot and tepid halves, filled free-flowing with clear sodium-calcium-chloride-sulphate water. With its flagstone washing area and old-style attendant's counter, it charges an astonishing ¥150 for adults and ¥100 for children (hair washing ¥100 extra), and the tatami hall upstairs can be used for a day's rest for ¥300. Open 06:00–22:00 (from 06:30 December–February; last entry 21:30), every day. Take a morning or evening dip with locals while touring Kaminoyama Castle, the samurai-house street and the town's five foot baths. About 25 minutes by car from Yamagata city, 40 minutes from Zaō Onsen. No soap is provided, so bring your own; park in the shopping-street car park opposite.
The public bath at the heart of Yunomine Onsen, one of Japan's oldest springs, where pilgrims purified themselves before Kumano Hongū Taisha. The building, renovated in 2022, also serves as reception for the World Heritage 'Tsuboyu'. There are three bathrooms: the 'Ippan-yu' with hot and tepid tubs (adults ¥400, shampoo provided), the concentrated 'Kusuri-yu' filled with undiluted source water (¥600, no soap allowed) and a 30-minute private family bath (¥700), all sulphur-scented sodium-bicarbonate-chloride water ranging from milky to clear. Tsuboyu (¥800, 30-minute slots) can mean a wait of hours when busy, so the clever order is to take a number and warm up in the public bath first. Open 06:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30), irregular cleaning closures. The village also has the 'Yuzutsu', a 90 °C source where you boil eggs and vegetables, and is the trailhead of the Dainichi-goe section of the Kumano Kodō. About 2 hours by bus from JR Kii-Tanabe or Shingū stations to 'Yunomine Onsen', right by the stop; 46 parking spaces.
A day-use hot spring in Sekiya, Nasushiobara, near the Yunoka Shiobara roadside station at the gateway to the Shiobara spa valley. The source flows at 68.4°C and 250 litres a minute, so the open-air bath runs 100% free-flowing spring water. The slightly tea-coloured, silky alkaline simple spring is known as a skin-beautifying bath; the indoor pool seats about 20 and the outdoor one about 10, both roomy. There are a sauna, cold plunge, jet lounger and a swimwear spa pool popular with families. Adults pay ¥800 on weekdays and ¥1,000 on weekends and holidays (children 4 to elementary age ¥400/¥500); after 5 pm on weekdays the evening rate drops to ¥600. Open 10:00–22:00 (last entry 21:00), closed the third Wednesday (next day if a holiday). Restaurant, rest room, massage and free parking for 150 cars. About 20 minutes by car from JR Nishi-Nasuno Station or 10 minutes from the Nishinasuno-Shiobara IC on the Tōhoku Expressway – a handy last stop after a drive through the Shiobara gorge or Nasu.
A municipal spa retreat in the mountains at the eastern edge of Ōno, Fukui, close to Lake Kuzuryū. Ringed by the clear Kuzuryū River and forested hills, it offers colourless, soft alkaline simple spring water in an indoor bath and an open-air bath overlooking the valley through fresh greenery, autumn colours and deep snow (the outdoor bath may close on winter weekdays). There are a sauna, a tatami rest hall and a restaurant, and the site forms part of the Kuzuryū Hoyō-no-Sato complex with cottages and the Hotel Flairal Izumi next door. Adults from outside the city pay ¥800 (residents ¥700), children from age 3 ¥400 (¥350). Open 10:00–21:00, from 12:00 on Wednesdays; closed Tuesdays (next day if a holiday) and 1 January. About 17 minutes on foot from Echizen-Shimoyama Station on the JR Etsumi-Hoku Line, or right off the Kuzuryū IC on the Chūbu-Jūkan Expressway. An easy stop after the Kuzuryū roadside station, an autumn drive around the lake or a climb of Mt. Arashima.
A large day spa in Gose, Nara, at the foot of Mt. Katsuragi on the Osaka border. Attached to a local farm park and set among rice fields, it is calm in mood yet packed with baths: a cypress stage bath, crystal bath, lie-down bath, herbal and medicinal tubs, a rotating daily bath, a salt sauna, a dry sauna around 85°C, a 16°C cold plunge and an outdoor cooling deck, with the men's and women's sides swapping daily. Adults pay ¥700 (¥800 on weekends and holidays) and children from age 3 to elementary school ¥350; a family-friendly private bath costs ¥2,500 for 90 minutes plus admission and can be booked a month ahead. Open 10:00–23:00 (last entry 22:00), daily except maintenance closures. Restaurant, shop, tatami hall, body-care salon and free parking for 220 cars. From Kintetsu Gose Station take the Nara Kotsu bus bound for Gojō Bus Center about 15 minutes to the Kamokimi-no-Yu stop. Ideal after the Katsuragi ropeway, Takakamo Shrine or a hike on Mt. Kongō.
A stay-as-long-as-you-like hot spring resort among the fields of Takatsuki, in northern Nagahama near the top of Lake Biwa. The chloride spring pumped from 1,500 m underground is gentle on the skin and keeps you warm, earning it the nickname 'beautiful-skin water', enjoyed in indoor and open-air baths. The men's side has a high-temperature sauna and bubble bath, the women's an herbal mist sauna and jet bath, each with a cold plunge and outdoor cooling area. Inside are a lounge with co-working space, nap 'nest rooms', a restaurant and even lodging, and the complex is open around the clock (bathing suspended during cleaning). The basic bathing course without loungewear costs ¥900 for adults on weekdays and ¥1,200 on weekends and holidays (children ¥500/¥700, valid 6:00–24:00); the relaxed course with loungewear and towels is ¥1,600/¥1,800, with a surcharge from midnight to 6 am. Closed the second and fourth Wednesdays. About 1.9 km from JR Takatsuki Station or 5 minutes by taxi from Kinomoto Station, and close to the Kinomoto IC on the Hokuriku Expressway – a good base for the Kohoku Kannon temples, Nagahama and Lake Yogo.
A day-use hot spring in Jinsekikōgen, a plateau town at 500–700 m in eastern Hiroshima. The source, discovered in 1994 in the Iseki district of former Sanwa, is a rare pH 10.2 strongly alkaline, weakly radioactive cold mineral spring – low in irritants and gentle on the skin. The slightly cloudy, viscous water lifts excess oil and leaves skin smooth, which locals call a 'natural beauty serum'. Inside are an indoor bath, open-air bath, sauna and cold plunge, plus a rock-bed spa, carbonated tub and a private family bath, with a rest area and restaurant. Adults pay ¥900 and children of elementary age or under ¥500; coupon books and a monthly pass keep the regulars coming. Open 10:00–21:00, closed Tuesdays, parking for 20 cars. About an hour by car from central Fukuyama via Route 182, or 2 minutes on foot from the Iseki-naka bus stop. Pair it with Taishaku Gorge, Jinseki beef and stargazing on a drive across the highlands.
A lone hot spring inn at Kamuta in Takaharu, Miyazaki, on the eastern foot of the Kirishima range. A therapeutic bathing spot since the Meiji era, its pride is an extremely carbonated spring with 1,314 mg/kg of free carbon dioxide. Ease into the unheated, chilly carbonated pool and fine bubbles cling to every inch of skin – a concentration said to equal 10–25 bath-fizz tablets. The heated indoor and open-air baths glow golden with iron-rich cloudy water, and alternating between them and the cold spring is the house ritual; a drinking fountain lets you taste the sharply fizzy, iron-flavoured source too. Day bathing costs ¥650 for adults and ¥300 for ages 3–12, 10:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30), closed as a rule on the first and third Wednesdays (subject to change). Day-rest rooms, tatami rooms and detached cottages for overnight stays, and meals of local produce are available. About 10 minutes by car from Takaharu IC on the Miyazaki Expressway, with parking for about 60 cars. Combine it with Kirishima Shrine, a climb of Takachiho-no-mine or the Ebino plateau.
The Umi no Kairō bathhouse of this large resort hotel on the Pacific shore of Kamogawa, on the outer coast of the Bōsō Peninsula, welcomes day visitors. Fed by Kamogawa Onsen, tapped in 2003, its open-air bath faces the ocean with an uninterrupted view of the horizon and breaking waves; there are also an indoor bath, sauna and a glass-walled lounge looking out to sea. Adults (junior-high age and up) pay ¥1,650 and children aged 3–12 ¥825, rising to ¥1,760/¥880 in peak periods such as Golden Week, summer and New Year. Towels are not included – rent a set for ¥330 or bring your own. Normal hours are 11:00–22:00 (last entry 21:00), but on weekends, holidays and busy days bathing is split into 11:00–15:30 and 19:30–22:00. Open every day, with entry limits when crowded, and day plans with spa treatments or lunch are available. About 5 minutes by shuttle or car from Awa-Kamogawa Station on the JR Sotobō Line, close to Kamogawa Sea World – a fine finish to a day at the beach.
A large hotel on a rise above Mikawa Bay in Gamagōri, part of Miya Onsen, whose waters are said to have been discovered 1,200 years ago by the monk Kūkai. Unusually for a coastal spa, the low-salt alkaline simple spring is known as 'beautiful-skin water'. Highlights are the open-air hot spring bath Bihakusen and 13 kinds of spa facilities across the men's and women's sides – lie-down baths, waterfall showers, saunas – with views over the bay toward Takeshima island. Day bathing runs 11:30–19:00 for ¥1,600 per adult (face towel ¥200 and bath towel ¥300 extra). Prices have risen, but the spacious halls and views are often yours alone in quiet hours; day plans with meals and private rest rooms are offered. Open every day, with free parking for 200 cars. About 5 minutes by car (20 on foot) from Mikawa-Miya Station on the JR Tōkaidō Line, or 20 minutes from the Otowa-Gamagōri IC on the Tōmei Expressway. Combine with Laguna Ten Bosch, Takeshima or mandarin picking on a Mikawa Bay drive.
A town-run community centre at the gateway to Ōwani Onsen, a spa with 800 years of history south of Hirosaki. Just 2 minutes on foot from Ōwani-Onsen Station on the JR and Kōnan lines, its day bath Wani no Yu has an indoor pool, open-air bath, bubble bath and sauna. The clear sodium-calcium chloride and sulfate spring warms you to the core, and in winter the outdoor bath becomes a snow-viewing tub. Admission is a modest ¥550 for adults and ¥270 for children (town residents ¥400/¥200), and long hours of 9:00–22:00 are a strong point; two reservable family baths, Hagikatsura and Kawasemi, rent by the hour. Closed the third Thursday. Inside are a farm-produce corner, free rest areas with tables and tatami, and a lunch-only restaurant serving dishes and souvenirs made with the famous Ōwani onsen bean sprouts. Free parking for 80 cars. Open late enough to drop by after dinner in Hirosaki – a handy base for Hirosaki Castle or the Ōwani ski slopes.
A day bathing facility at Sekigane Onsen, a 1,300-year-old spa in the hills of Kurayoshi near the Tottori–Okayama border. Once known as the 'platinum bath', its clear radium (radioactive) spring is said to be among the richest in Japan and leaves skin soft. Men's and women's indoor and open-air areas offer eight kinds of tubs, and the outdoor bath looks across ridges running toward Mt. Daisen. Adults pay ¥820, elementary pupils ¥410 and small children enter free. Open 10:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30), closed Mondays (next day if a holiday). On site are the Shirogane dining room using local produce, a free tatami hall, paid private rooms (¥1,580 for two hours), massage and beauty treatments, and free parking for 100 cars. From JR Kurayoshi Station take the Sekigane-bound bus about 35 minutes to Sekigane Onsen and walk 5 minutes, or drive about 40 minutes from Yubara IC on the Yonago Expressway via Route 313. Pair it with the cliff temple Nageiredō on Mt. Mitoku, Kurayoshi's white-walled storehouses or the Hiruzen highlands.
About 7 minutes by car from Izumo Enmusubi Airport, Yunokawa Onsen in Hikawa, Izumo, is counted with Kawanaka (Gunma) and Ryūjin (Wakayama) as one of Japan's Three Beauty Springs. Legend says the goddess Yagami-hime soothed her skin here, and the inn Yumoto Yunokawa, founded in 1877, sits at the source. Its sodium-calcium sulfate and chloride water flows straight from the spring without dilution, and the silky bath is famed for leaving skin smooth. Day bathing is 10:00–15:30 (last entry 15:00) for ¥900 per adult and ¥500 per child, free under 3 (day visitors may be turned away when busy). Three private baths can be booked by day guests too – ¥2,500 for 50 minutes plus admission – with reservations from 9 am the day before. Irregular closures, free parking. About 20 minutes on foot from Shōbara Station on the JR San'in Line or 7 minutes from Shinji IC on the San'in Expressway. A perfect soak between Izumo Taisha, Matsue and your flight home.
A lone day-bath building among the fields on the outskirts of Nirasaki, north-west of the Kōfu basin, and a nationally known pilgrimage spot for onsen lovers. Nothing is added or altered – no dilution, heating, recirculation or chlorine – and as you settle into the tepid 38°C sodium chloride-bicarbonate spring, your whole body is coated in fine bubbles, said to be among the most abundant in Japan. The faintly greenish-yellow water carries a whisper of sulfur and iron, and the source running from a tap in the bathroom can be drunk (fizzy, iron-tinged). There is no open-air bath or sauna – just one big indoor pool and washing stations, like a sentō – but the windows frame the Yatsugatake and Kayagatake peaks, and the mild water makes an hour disappear. Adults pay ¥600, children ¥300, soap and shampoo provided. Open 10:00–20:00, closed Tuesdays (next day if a holiday) and Fridays, with free parking for 25 cars. About 10 minutes by taxi from Nirasaki Station on the JR Chūō Line or 15 minutes from Nirasaki IC on the Chūō Expressway.
A town-run hot spring inn on the clear Katsuura River in Kamikatsu, Tokushima – the village famous for its 'leaf business' and zero-waste pledge – that welcomes day bathers. The simple sulfur cold spring is heated for the baths and has a faint sulfur scent and a slippery, smoothing feel. The open-air bath faces the stream and looks over fresh greenery, autumn colour and terraced rice fields, with an indoor bath and sauna alongside. Adults (junior-high and up) pay ¥650 and children from 3 to elementary age ¥350; open 10:00–20:00, closed the second Wednesday. The dining room serves Kamikatsu mountain vegetables, Awa-odori chicken and dishes garnished with the village's celebrated 'irodori' leaves, and stays combining the adjacent campground and Kamikatsu tea farms are popular. Free parking for 150 cars, coaches welcome. About 50 minutes (39 km) by car from central Tokushima or 80 minutes from Tokushima IC; by Tokushima Bus on the Kamikatsu line to the Tsukigatani Onsen stop near the terminus. Pair it with the Kashihara rice terraces and the RISE & WIN brewery.
Miyakojima is often assumed to have no hot springs, yet inside the Shigira Seven Miles Resort on the island's south coast lies one of Japan's southernmost and westernmost natural onsen. Golden sodium-chloride water rises undiluted from 1,250 m underground into separate men's and women's open-air baths and saunas wrapped in subtropical greenery, plus a swimsuit 'jungle pool' and lookout bath where families and couples can soak together – there are even floats for a full resort mood. Adults (12+) pay ¥2,000 and children 4–11 ¥1,000; guests of Shigira Resort hotels pay ¥1,600/¥800. Swimsuit rental is ¥510 and towels are rented for a fee. Open 11:00–22:00 (last entry 21:30), from 12:00 between mid-November and mid-March, every day, with a restaurant and relaxation salon on site. About 15 minutes by car from Miyako Airport, with resort shuttle buses in the evening. Combine it with Shigira Beach, south-coast sunsets and stargazing.
A natural hot spring super-sentō on Prefectural Route 12 in Ichinomiya, southern Takamatsu. It takes its name from the 'Takamatsu Crater', a roughly 4 km-wide buried structure beneath the plain thought by some to be a meteorite impact site, and draws its spring from about 300 m underground. The clear, soft water fills rock baths, pot baths, lie-down tubs and jet baths, with an open-air bath, sauna and cold plunge as well. Hours run from 6:00 in the morning until midnight (last entry 23:00), suiting both early dips and late stops, open all year (opening at 17:00 only on the third Tuesday). Adults pay ¥750 and children from infants to elementary age ¥350; towels are rented for a fee. A restaurant, rest space, overnight rooms and banquet halls keep it popular with locals, and barrier-free facilities are a point of pride. About 10 minutes' walk north of Kūkō-dōri Station on the Kotoden Kotohira Line, 20 minutes by car from Takamatsu Airport, with free parking for 200 cars. Good after Ritsurin Garden or a Sanuki udon crawl.
The communal bathhouse at the heart of Awazu Onsen in Komatsu, Hokuriku's oldest spa, said to have been founded in 718 by the priest Taichō. It stands opposite Hōshi, known as the world's oldest inn, and makes a fitting finale to a tour of the four sōyu public baths of the Kaga spa region (Yamanaka, Yamashiro, Katayamazu and Awazu). The clear, silky sodium sulfate-chloride water (mildly alkaline, high-temperature) runs hot, and soaking shoulder to shoulder with locals warms you to the core. There is no open-air bath or sauna – just an indoor pool – but that simplicity lets the water speak for itself. Adults pay ¥500, elementary pupils ¥150 and infants ¥70; open 8:00–22:00 (last entry 21:30), closed Tuesdays, parking for 10 cars. From JR Awazu Station take the Komatsu Bus for Awazu Onsen to Awazu-Onsen Kitaguchi and walk 2 minutes, or drive about 15 minutes from Kaga IC on the Hokuriku Expressway. Combine with Natadera temple, Yunokuni-no-Mori craft village and Komatsu's aviation museum.
Takeo Onsen is famous for its vermilion gate, a National Important Cultural Property designed by Tatsuno Kingo, architect of Tokyo Station. Beyond the gate lie three public baths – Motoyu, Hōraiyu and Sagi-no-Yu – plus the private Tonosama-yu and Karō-yu, and Sagi-no-Yu is the only one with an open-air bath and sauna. Named for the legend of a white heron (sagi) healing its wounds here, its clear, refreshing mildly alkaline simple spring leaves skin smooth. Alongside the stone indoor bath are a rock-lined outdoor tub, a hot sauna, cold plunge and rest room, and generous hours from 6:30 in the morning to midnight (last entry 23:00) suit travellers. Adults pay ¥740 and children from 3 to elementary age ¥370; open daily except a maintenance break in mid-December. Soap and shampoo are provided, towels sold. About 12 minutes on foot from Takeo-Onsen Station on the Nishi-Kyūshū Shinkansen – a base for Takeo City Library, Mifuneyama Rakuen garden and nearby Ureshino Onsen.
Obama Onsen in Unzen, Nagasaki, is famed for sunsets over Tachibana Bay and for spring water near 100°C – the highest heat output of any onsen town in Japan. Hama-no-Yu is the city-run, old-fashioned public bath of this seaside spa: a classic sentō layout with an attendant's booth and two deep tubs, hot and tepid, brimming with alkaline simple spring water. No soap or shampoo is provided (sachets are sold) – there is nothing here but the water, and bath lovers cherish that purity. Admission is an astonishing ¥150 for ages 6 and up (Unzen residents ¥100), free under 6; open 6:00–22:00 (last entry 21:30), irregular closures. Park free at the nearby Yūhi-no-Hiroba lot (10 spaces). Along the shore are Japan's longest footbath, the 105 m 'Hot Foot 105', and steam cookers, and it is fun to bath-hop to the Wakihama public bath (¥200). About an hour from Isahaya Station by Shimabara Railway and Shimatetsu bus, or an hour by car from Nagasaki city. Taste Unzen's mountain baths and Obama's sea baths in a single day.
A stay-all-day natural hot spring complex in Minami-Kume, Matsuyama, about 15 minutes by car from Dōgo Onsen, 15 minutes from Matsuyama IC and 5 minutes on foot from Iyotetsu Kume Station. It opens at 5 in the morning and runs until 1 am (last entry midnight) every day of the year. Alkaline 'beautiful-skin' water from deep underground fills the indoor, open-air and lie-down baths; a Finnish sauna offers löyly sessions, with a cold plunge and outdoor cooling deck. Admission is ¥1,750 plus ¥150 bathing tax for adults (members ¥1,350 + ¥150), including face and bath towels and loungewear, so come empty-handed; the rock-bed spa is ¥300 extra and children pay ¥1,000 with a locker. Reservable family baths, a recliner lounge, restaurant, body care and scrub salon and even lodging make it a full-day base for Matsuyama sightseeing, and on dates containing a 1 the 'morning bath day' rate drops to ¥1,000. Free parking for 250 cars. Ideal after Dōgo Onsen Honkan for a long, relaxed sauna and rock-bath finish.
A day bath inside Alpa Komakusa, the Semboku city complex where buses depart for the 8th station of Mt. Akita-Komagatake. Sharing the building with the mountain information centre and volcano disaster station, it bustles with hikers and Lake Tazawa sightseers. The 'Nature Onsen Hall' has two lookout open-air baths, one of rock and one of hiba cypress, gazing down on the lapis-blue surface of Lake Tazawa – Japan's deepest – and the sweep of the mountains. The milky simple sulfur spring rises from the same range as Nyūtō and Mizusawa onsen and warms a chilled body thoroughly with a soft sulfur scent. Admission is a modest ¥550 for adults and ¥300 for children. Hours are 9:00–19:00 (last entry 18:00) from April to November, 9:30–17:30 (last entry 17:00) from December to March, and 9:00–18:00 on Thursdays and Fridays; open daily except Thursdays from November to April. Rest corner and light meals available, with a large car park. From JR Tazawako Station take the Ugo Kōtsū bus bound for Nyūtō Onsen about 35 minutes to the Alpa Komakusa stop. Perfect for a soak on the way to or from Nyūtō or after climbing Komagatake.
An urban natural hot spring 8 minutes on foot from JR Sugamo Station, named after Somei village, birthplace of the Somei-Yoshino cherry. Renovated in August 2025, the interior is now calmer and more Japanese-modern. Amber sodium-chloride strong-salt water pumped from 1,800 m underground holds heat so well it is called the 'bath of warmth', enjoyed in an outdoor rock bath, pot tubs and a garden-view indoor pool, with a hot sauna, cold plunge, outdoor cooling area and a mist sauna on the women's side. Admission including towels and loungewear is ¥2,100 on weekdays and ¥2,900 on weekends and holidays for adults, ¥1,200 for children aged 6 to elementary school – city prices, but with no time limit you can stay all day. Open 10:00–23:00 (last entry 22:30), irregular maintenance closures. Japanese, Western and Chinese dining, a large tatami rest hall, body care, scrubs, esthetics and even hair styling are on site, and a free shuttle bus runs from Sugamo Station; parking for 88 cars (2 hours free on weekdays). Combine it with Sugamo's Jizō-dōri shopping street or Rikugien garden for the closest thing to an onsen getaway on the Yamanote Line.
A big natural hot spring super-sentō 3 minutes on foot from Suminoekōen Station on the Osaka Metro Yotsubashi Line, right beside the Suminoe boat-race stadium. Its pride is a sprawling open-air zone fed by sodium-chloride spring water: a bamboo path, garden-style rock bath, pot tubs and a lie-down 'forest pot bath' that feel far from the city. Indoors are jet baths, an electric bath, the popular high-concentration carbonated pool, a salt sauna, hot sauna and cold plunge. Prices are modest – adults ¥800 on weekdays and ¥900 on weekends and holidays, children ¥400/¥450 – with a hand stamp for same-day re-entry. Open 10:00 to 2:00 am (last entry 1:00), all year except maintenance days. An udon-centred restaurant and rest areas are attached, and free parking for about 850 cars (3 hours with bathing, 6 with a meal). About 15 minutes by subway from Namba, it is a bayside hideaway you can drop into late after USJ or the Nankō waterfront.
A natural hot spring super-sentō in Mibu, the old Shinsengumi quarter, 5 minutes on foot from Tambaguchi Station – two stops from Kyoto Station on the JR Sagano Line. It is a rare in-city onsen useful while waiting for a night bus or to round off a day of sightseeing, open 10:00 to 1:00 am (last entry midnight) all year except two maintenance days. Simple spring water pumped from underground fills the outdoor rock bath and pot tubs, while indoors a variety of jet baths, an electric bath and a carbonated pool line up, and the hot sauna runs löyly sessions; with a cold plunge and outdoor cooling space, Kyoto's sauna fans call it a must-bathe. Prices are friendly – adults ¥840 on weekdays, ¥970 on weekends and holidays, children ¥370/¥420. The in-house Sakura-tei serves soba and hearty post-sauna meals, and there is free parking for 120 cars. Within walking distance of the Kyoto Railway Museum, Umekōji Park and Kyoto Aquarium, and handy after a stroll through Shimabara or Nishi-Honganji.
The lookout open-air bath of a long-established hotel crowning Shiroyama hill above Kagoshima city. Facing Sakurajima across Kinkō Bay, the outdoor bath is celebrated as one of Kagoshima's finest views, and after dark the city lights and the smoking volcano's silhouette are magical. The bicarbonate spring from 1,000 m underground is a skin-smoothing 'beauty bath', offered in indoor and outdoor pools plus the 'Ion Spa' hot spring sauna. Day bathing runs 13:00–21:00 and costs ¥3,500 for adults (tax and bathing tax included), ¥3,350 for junior-high students, ¥1,750 for elementary pupils and ¥800 for infants. It is pricey, but face and bath towels are included and you can use the hotel lounge, the Ippinkan gift shop and restaurants, making it a popular splurge for the view alone; reservable private baths start at ¥4,950 on weekdays for day guests. A free shuttle bus takes about 15 minutes from Kagoshima-Chūō Station, or 10 minutes by car from Tenmonkan. Pair it with the Shiroyama observatory and Saigō Takamori's historic sites and make a soak facing Sakurajima the highlight of your trip.
The largest and most storied inn of Ashinomaki Onsen, a spa strung along the Aga (Ōkawa) river gorge south of Aizu-Wakamatsu. Its soaring lobby 'floating stage', where live shamisen echoes each evening, became famous for resembling the bathhouse of a beloved animated film. The star is the 'superb-view open-air bath' cantilevered over the gorge, looking down on the river and the mountainsides through the seasons – spectacular in autumn colour and winter snow. The clear sodium-calcium sulfate-chloride water warms deeply and holds its heat. Day bathing runs 11:00–15:00 (reception until 14:00) for ¥1,800 per adult and ¥900 for ages 3–12, tax and bathing tax included with a face towel, open every day. The 'sky open-air bath' can be booked privately for ¥3,300 per 45 minutes (two slots each at 13:00 and 14:00), and day plans with lunch in a private room from ¥5,500 are popular. Free parking for 150 cars, pick-up from Ashinomaki-Onsen Station on the Aizu Railway, or about 40 minutes by car from Aizu-Wakamatsu IC via Route 118. A natural stop between Ōuchi-juku and the Tō-no-Hetsuri cliffs.
A city-run day spa (Niigata City Iwamuro Health Promotion Centre) at Iwamuro Onsen, a spa at the eastern foot of Mt. Yahiko in Niigata's Nishikan ward, often called 'Niigata's back parlour'. Set on a rise at the edge of the spa town, its main bath and open-air bath look out over the Echigo plain toward Mt. Kakuda and Mt. Yahiko. The indoor pool is heated tap water, but the small rock-lined outdoor tub is fed with rich, free-flowing sulfur-bearing sodium-calcium chloride spring (hypertonic, mildly alkaline) whose faint sulfur scent and floating mineral flakes feel unmistakably like real onsen. Admission is ¥650 for adults and ¥390 for children, and a face and bath towel set is included, so arrive empty-handed. Open 10:00–20:00 (last entry 19:30), closed the second and fourth Wednesdays (next day if a holiday) and 29 December to 3 January. An upstairs lounge allows re-entry, and there are rental rooms and a snack corner; free parking for 80 cars. About 10 minutes by car from Iwamuro Station on the JR Echigo Line or 20 minutes from Maki-Katahigashi IC. Pair it with Yahiko Shrine and Niigata's sake breweries.
A 400-year-old hot spring inn standing alone deep in the Ogawa river gorge that runs down from the Northern Alps in Asahi, the easternmost town of Toyama. Known as a fertility and therapeutic spa, it offers a circuit of five different baths. The great curiosity is the 'natural cave open-air bath', a dome of travertine built up over centuries from the spring's own mineral deposits and designated a prefectural natural monument – bathing inside it is an experience found nowhere else in Japan. There are also the streamside Renge-no-Yu outdoor bath, a rock bath and a cypress tub, all with free-flowing bicarbonate spring water that keeps you glowing long after. Day bathing runs 9:00–15:00 (reception until 14:30) for ¥1,000 per adult and ¥500 per child, or half price for the outdoor baths only. Irregular closures, and the two outdoor baths shut for winter from 1 December until the mid-April thaw. About 15 minutes by car from Tomari Station on the Ainokaze Toyama Railway, 30 minutes from Kurobe-Unazuki-Onsen Station on the Hokuriku Shinkansen (shuttle for overnight guests) or 15 minutes from Asahi IC. A hidden spring to pair with the Jade Coast and Unazuki on a drive along the Niigata border.
A stay-awhile day spa about 7 minutes on foot from JR Uno Station, right beside Uno Port where the ferries to Naoshima and Teshima depart. Jazz plays through the calm, old-farmhouse-style interior, and the great draw is the open-air bathing area gazing over the islands of the Seto Inland Sea and the boats passing between them. Outside are four baths around a large rock pool plus pot tubs; inside two pools, a sauna and cold plunge, with a rock-bed spa for an extra fee. The soft sodium-chloride spring rises from underground, and a soak in the sea breeze is the perfect cure for a day of art-island walking. Admission is on the high side – ¥1,700 for adults on weekdays and ¥2,000 on weekends and holidays (children ¥700/¥800) – but towels and loungewear are included, and a recliner lounge and restaurant serving Setouchi fish let you settle in for the day. Open 10:00–22:00 (last entry 21:00), closed the third Tuesday (the following Wednesday if a holiday), parking for 200 cars. A rare chance to bathe while waiting for the ferry back from Naoshima; about 40 minutes by car from central Okayama.
A popular day spa on a hillside of Mt. Tenpai in Chikushino, Fukuoka – the mountain where the exiled scholar Sugawara no Michizane is said to have pleaded his innocence to heaven. The main bath, Tenpai-no-Yu, uses natural spring water from 1,500 m underground and looks out over Chikushino to the distant lights of Fukuoka; the airy open-air bath is loveliest from dusk into night. Besides indoor and outdoor pools there are a sauna and cold plunge, and three styles of private family bath with their own open-air tubs (from ¥3,000 on weekdays, reservation required) make it a favourite with families and couples. Main-bath admission is ¥1,200 on weekdays and ¥1,300 on weekends and holidays for adults, ¥500/¥600 for ages 4 to elementary school (revised December 2024). Open 10:30–24:00 (last entry 23:00), closed as a rule on the second Tuesday. The buffet restaurant of Kyūshū produce is well regarded, with weekday lunch-plus-bath sets from ¥3,500. Parking for 200 cars, about 10 minutes by car from JR or Nishitetsu Futsukaichi Station or from Chikushino IC. The classic plan: visit Dazaifu Tenmangū, then climb the hill for a soak with the night view.
About 25 minutes by car from Morioka Station, this large hotel is the flagship of Tsunagi Onsen, the lakeside 'back parlour of Morioka' lined with inns along Lake Gosho. Its lake-facing bathhouse, the Nambu Magariya no Yu, is modelled on the region's traditional L-shaped farmhouses, and the open-air bath on the shore frames Lake Gosho and Mt. Iwate, beautiful as the light shifts at dawn and dusk. A second bathhouse, Hitorishizuka no Yu, looks onto a stone garden, and the two swap between men and women by time of day. The clear alkaline simple spring is soft on the skin, and there is a sauna. Day bathing hours are short – 11:00–16:00 on weekdays (reception until 15:00) and 11:00–14:00 on weekends and holidays (until 13:00) – at ¥1,200 on weekdays and ¥1,400 on weekends for adults, ¥600 for children. There is no fixed closing day, but cleaning days and crowds can suspend or shorten day bathing, so check ahead. A restaurant, shop and lounge are on site with ample free parking. Iwate Kenkō bus for Tsunagi Onsen from Morioka Station's west exit takes about 30 minutes, or 15 minutes by car from Morioka IC via Route 46. Combine with Koiwai Farm or Morioka Handi-Works Square.