72 Facilities
The municipal facility for Ibusuki's famous natural sand bath. Change into a rental yukata, walk down to the beach, and staff bury you in hot sand for about ten minutes; afterwards rinse off in the indoor onsen. At high tide the sand baths move under a roof. ¥1,500 includes the yukata; bring or buy a towel. 20 minutes on foot or 5 by bus from Ibusuki Station.
Salty water rising from the Noto sea, for ¥500. The community anchor of the onsen town, still operating after the 2024 Noto earthquake. Open 7:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30), and from January 2026 closed on the 25th of each month (the following Monday if it falls on a weekend). Open-air and indoor baths, a rest area, and free parking for 90.
An open-air-only bath at the edge of the Pacific. One of Japan's oldest springs, mentioned in the 8th-century Nihon Shoki; on rough days sea spray reaches the tubs. No roof, no wash stations.
An onsen on an island 15 minutes' drive from Naha Airport. From the open-air bath you watch the sun set over the Kerama sea and planes land right in front of you. ¥2,000 with towels, open from 6 am — ideal last soak before your flight.
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'.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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 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).
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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'.
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 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.
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.
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.
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 ¥300 for ages 12 and up from outside the city (Unzen residents ¥150), and ¥100 for ages 6 to under 12; open 6:00–22:00 (last entry 21:30), irregular closures. There is room for some five cars, and the nearby Yūhi-no-Hiroba lot is free. 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.
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.
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 family-run inn close to the source of Wakura Onsen, drawing a concentrated spring in good volume. Damaged in the Noto Peninsula earthquake, it reopened on 1 July 2024. Day bathing is ¥1,000 for adults and ¥500 for elementary pupils from 14:00 to 18:30, and private baths cost ¥3,000 by reservation. You can move from the main building's great bath to the annex footbath and then to the annex's great bath. Free parking for 60; 5 minutes by Hokutetsu Noto bus from JR Wakura-Onsen Station to 'Wakura Onsen', then 3 minutes on foot. Since day-bathing arrangements differ by inn in post-earthquake Wakura, phoning ahead is wise.
A Japanese-style onsen inn near the very centre of the Wakura spa street, praised for its Noto atmosphere. Damaged in the Noto Peninsula earthquake, it reopened on 1 October 2025. Day bathing is ¥1,000 for adults and ¥500 for children from 15:00 to 21:00 (from 18:00 when busy), with irregular closures. There are separate indoor baths, a rotenburo that alternates between men and women, one private open-air bath and a lying-down tub, and day-use plans include a seafood barbecue kaiseki. Free parking for 30; 5 minutes by Hokutetsu Noto bus from JR Wakura-Onsen Station to 'Wakura Onsen', right there. Phoning ahead is wise.
A leading ryokan of Kaike Onsen with its own spring, Housho-no-izumi. Hana-no-yu on the first floor pairs an indoor great bath with an open-air bath set around a garden, where the sound of the Sea of Japan and the salt air are close at hand. The water is a sodium-calcium chloride spring at pH 7.4 and runs flow-through. Day bathing is accepted 15:00 to 21:00 at 1,500 yen for adults and 750 yen for children aged 3 to elementary school. The window is well suited to an open-air soak at dusk with the sea in view.
An inn standing on a hill above the Inland Sea, facing Miyajima and the Ono strait. The roof-top open-air bath, Marumieroten, and the rock-built Nozokimiroten alternate between men and women each day. Day bathing is received from 13:00 to 20:00 at 800 yen from junior high age, 400 yen for elementary pupils and 300 yen for children of three and over. A private bath is 2,000 yen for 45 minutes for Madoka and 3,000 yen for Momiji, tax excluded.
An onsen inn standing on the shore where the waves of the Sea of Japan can be heard, taking day bathers for 800 yen. From the observation open-air bath at the top of 66 steps the sun can be seen setting into the horizon, so many come at dusk. It opens from 10:00 to 22:00, with reception until 21:00.
The bath of an onsen inn on the Futomi coast. A sulfur-bearing cold mineral spring with an ocean outlook; day bathing runs 14:00–21:00 from ¥1,000 on weekdays.
A high-concentration carbonated spring at the tip of Nomozaki. Above 1,000 ppm of carbon dioxide, with a panoramic great bath facing Gunkanjima for sunsets and starry skies. ¥780 on weekdays.
An iodine-bearing sodium chloride spring drawn from 500 m beneath central Naha. Indoor and open-air baths plus a sauna, and guests with tattoos may bathe after filling in a form. Visitors pay ¥2,000 from junior-high age.
An inn with a sixth-floor panoramic great bath over the Ariake Sea and an open-air bath in the main building. Two springs, a carbonated one at 1,800–1,900 ppm and Shimabara Onsen, for ¥800 as a day visitor.
The natural spring of a resort hotel on a hill named among Japan's 100 best sunsets. Its sky-high open-air bath looks over the Seto Inland Sea; day bathing runs 15:00–20:00 for ¥1,200.
A natural hot spring, rare in Okinawa. Water from 2,119–1,500 m down, carrying ancient fossil seawater, runs straight to the baths with no filtration, heating or dilution. The panoramic bath looks over the Pacific and the night lights of Nanjo.
An inn of the Himi onsen district facing Toyama Bay. The natural rock bath in the Shio-no-ka-tei annex runs on 100% free-flowing spring water, a sodium-chloride spring said to ease neuralgia, cold extremities and fatigue, available to day visitors for 660 yen. The panoramic main bath and open-air bath are open to day guests 11:00-15:00.
An inn on Himi's Nadaura coast with its own source. The Nadaura spring is a colourless, odourless sodium-chloride spring (isotonic, weakly alkaline, high-temperature) at 56.8°C at the source. There are open-air and indoor baths looking out to the Japan Sea, and day bathing runs 11:00-17:00 at 700 yen for adults.
A day-use onsen five minutes on foot from Mikuni-minato Station, beside Mikuni Sunset Beach. It has two panoramic baths - Kamome-no-Yu overlooking the sea and sunset, and Minato-no-Yu looking out over the Kuzuryu river and the Japan Sea - plus a sauna and a cold plunge. The source is Mikuni Onsen No.1, a sodium-calcium chloride-sulphate spring, and adults can bathe from 10:00 to 23:00 for 500 yen.
An inn of Miya Onsen set high above Mikawa Bay. It draws on its own source, Shoko-no-Yu, flowing at around 180 litres a minute, and has a scenic open-air bath, a rococo-style main bath, a sauna and a cold plunge, with the cold bath fed straight from the source. Day bathing runs 11:00-17:00 (last entry 16:30) at 1,600 yen for adults, tax included, with a hand towel provided and bath towels free to rent.
The top-floor observation onsen of the Kagoshima Sun Royal Hotel in Yojiro, facing Kinko Bay. A natural chloride spring, heated and diluted, its top-floor bath looks out over the majestic Sakurajima; there is a far-infrared sauna for men and a steam sauna for women, and day visitors are welcome.
A resort hotel right in front of Amanohashidate, one of Japan's Three Scenic Views, a minute's walk from Amanohashidate Station. It draws on Amanohashidate Onsen for an observation natural onsen whose open-air bath looks out over the sandbar; the spring is a weakly radioactive sodium-chloride one. Day visitors are welcome.
A natural spring inside the Diamond Setouchi Marine Hotel on Shibukawa Beach in Tamano. Its weakly radioactive calcium-sodium chloride spring fills an open-air bath overlooking the Seto Inland Sea, available for day bathing.
A day-bathing hot spring on a hill overlooking the Seto Inland Sea in Onomichi, Hiroshima. Its simple weak radioactive cold mineral spring feeds a large open-air bath, jar and silk baths, and a herbal-medicinal sauna (women only).
A natural hot-spring inn near Futamiura, famous for the Married Couple Rocks, and the only source-spring inn in Ise-Futami with its own spring. Its sulfur-bearing sodium-chloride strong-salt cold mineral spring (H2S type) fills an observation bath and an open-air bath overlooking Ise Bay and the rocks, and day bathing is welcome.
An onsen inn in Yunohama Onsen, Tsuruoka, Yamagata. Its chloride spring (Yunohama Onsen) fills a 2nd-floor large bath overlooking the Sea of Japan, and day bathing is accepted.
A scenic inn on a cape in Nishiura Onsen, Gamagori, Aichi. From the rooftop open-air bath Amane no Yu, renewed in March 2024, you take in Mikawa Bay and its islands. The observation open-air bath in the 1st-floor grand bath draws the alkaline 'Bihaku' spring (a simple weak-radon cold mineral spring). Day bathing is accepted Friday to Monday.
A resort hotel opened in 1972 on Inubosaki, the easternmost cape of the Kantō region. Its own Shio-no-Yu spring (a sodium-calcium chloride spring), which began flowing in 1997, fills eight baths. The waterside open-air baths overlook the Pacific, and the foot bath by the entrance is free. Day bathing is accepted.
A hotel on a hill in the Fukaura Station area, where the World Heritage Shirakami Mountains meet the Japan Sea coast. It draws Nabeishi Onsen from the town - an iron-bearing sodium-chloride strong brine whose salty taste warms the body. The baths sit in a separate building called Benten-no-Yu at the end of a long corridor, a Benten statue watches over the bath from its center, and the panoramic open-air baths for men and women look out over sunsets on the Japan Sea.
A retro hotel on the shore of the Furusato Onsen area on Sakurajima's southeastern coast in Kagoshima City. Its murky sodium-chloride spring (Furusato No. 15 and No. 16 sources, about 46-48°C) runs kake-nagashi and is prized for warming and moisturizing the skin. The mixed-gender open-air bath sits right at the water's edge with wide-open Kinko Bay below - dolphins are sometimes spotted offshore. Separate indoor and outdoor baths for men and women and a family bath are also available.
A free, terraced foot bath in the Ashizuri Onsen village at Cape Ashizuri, the southernmost tip of Shikoku. The prefectural natural monument Hakusando arch looms directly in front, and beyond it the deep blue Pacific stretches to the horizon - a superb setting. Legend says Kobo Daishi eased his travel fatigue in spring water welling from a valley stream here, putting the onsen's origins some 1,200 years back. Its quality radon-rich water is beloved as a 'cure-all bath' said to boost natural healing. Open 8:00-19:00 (closed Wednesdays), towels sold for 100 yen, parking for 20 cars. An ideal rest stop while touring the Ashizuri Lighthouse and Hakusando - a breather in the sea breeze.
A spa resort hotel standing inside Mihama American Village in Chatan, Okinawa. Its Chatan Onsen - weakly alkaline simple spring water drawn from 1,400 metres down - fills the top-floor (8F) panoramic large baths, which gaze out over the East China Sea and Sunset Beach. The men's side has a high-temperature sauna and cold bath; the women's side a mist sauna and a warm 36-37°C bath. Day bathing runs mornings 6:00-10:00 and afternoons 15:00-25:00 (final entry 30 minutes before each close) at 1,500 yen for adults and 1,000 yen for children, with bath towel, face towel and amenities included. Sunset Beach is a 4-minute walk away, with free parking for 250 cars - a resort-style onsen stop between Okinawa sightseeing.
A scenic-view inn with roots dating to 1910, standing amid the historic streets of Tomonoura in Fukuyama, Hiroshima. The Seto Inland Sea and its islands unfold right before you, and from the sixth-floor panoramic bath hall you gaze at the seascape from a boat-shaped open-air bath and a cypress-barrel open-air bath. The spring is a simple weak-radioactive (radium) cold mineral spring, heated for bathing - colourless water said to ease neuralgia, cold sensitivity and fatigue. Day bathing runs 11:00-14:30 at 1,430 yen for adults (some sources list 800 yen for elementary students). A bath-hopping service lets guests also use the onsen of its sister inn, Hotel Ofutei - two inns' baths in the old healing-spa town of Tomonoura. 27 rooms, stays from 18,700 yen a night, with reserved shuttle buses from Fukuyama Station.