Shimane · Arifuku Onsen
Arifuku Onsen Gozen-yu
有福温泉 御前湯
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.
- Price (adult)
- ¥400
- Hours
- 7:00–22:00 (last entry 21:30; family bath until 21:00)
- Closed
- Tuesdays (open if a holiday)
- Access
- About 10 min by taxi from JR Hashi Station (San'in Line); about 25 min by Iwami Kotsu bus from JR Gōtsu Station to Arifuku Onsen; 25 min by car from Hamada IC
- Water type
- Alkaline simple
- Tattoos
- Ask ahead
- Admission
- Junior high and up ¥400, elementary ¥200; private family bath ¥1,200 per 60 min (reception until 21:00). Day pass for all three public baths (Gozen-yu, Satsuki-yu, Yayoi-yu) adults ¥600, elementary ¥300. Soap, shampoo and dryers included; towels sold ¥300 (no bath towels). Free key lockers. Free tatami rest room upstairs. No restaurant or shop (use the cafés and eateries in the village)
- Baths
- At the heart of Arifuku, a hot-spring village of stone steps and lanes on a hillside, stands this retro public bath with Taisho-romantic arched windows and tilework (the current building, rebuilt in 2003, recreates the old look). An old-style 'bandai' counter with an attendant greets you at the door. One indoor bath per gender — a deep tiled tub fed free-flowing with the 47°C source, the hottest of the three public baths (42–47°C). No outdoor bath or sauna. One family bath. Tatami rest room upstairs. Elsewhere in the village are Satsuki-yu (wooden, milder) and Yayoi-yu (the smallest), a free foot bath and shrine steps
- Spring water
- Simple spring (alkaline, hypotonic, high-temperature), 47°C at source, colourless and odourless, famed as a smooth, soft 'beauty water'. 100% free-flowing source (no heating or dilution; the Gozen-yu tub runs hot at 42–47°C). Indicated for neuralgia, rheumatism, skin and gynaecological complaints and fatigue. Arifuku is an ancient spring said to have been found about 1,350 years ago by the hermit Hodo from India — the name means 'blessed with fortune'. Regarded as a hidden gem of the San-in region, with a retro atmosphere throughout the village
- Access & parking
- 31 min on the Gotsu city bus (Hamada-bound via Arifuku Onsen) from JR Gotsu Station on the San-in Line to 'Arifuku Onsen', then 3 min on foot; also about 30 min by bus from JR Hamada (infrequent). By car 15 min from either Gotsu IC or Hamada-Higashi IC on the San-in Expressway, about 1 h 40 min from Hiroshima city via the Hamada Expressway. Free parking for 28 (lots 1 and 2) plus a free-form lot 3 (campervans OK); stone steps lead from the car park into the village centre
- Phone
- 0855-56-3353
- Official site
- yuru-to.net ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
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Why go
- Retro 1928 bathhouse with arched windows
- Undiluted 'beauty water', ¥400
- Car-free stair village, three baths
A 1,350-year-old spring and a Taisho-romantic bathhouse for ¥400
Arifuku Onsen's Gozen-yu is the public bathhouse at the centre of Arifuku, a tiny hot-spring hamlet of stone steps and lanes on the slope of a valley some 10 km inland from the San-in coast in Gotsu, Shimane. An ancient spring said to have been discovered about 1,350 years ago by the hermit Hodo from India — hence the name, 'village blessed with fortune' — Arifuku served as the cure resort of the lords of Hamada in the Edo era and a lively pleasure-quarter spa in the Showa years, before settling into the quiet retro village now being rediscovered as a hidden gem of the San-in region. Gozen-yu is the largest and most popular of the village's three public baths: a Taisho-romantic building with arched windows and tilework, an old-fashioned 'bandai' counter inside, and a deep tiled tub into which the 47°C alkaline simple spring pours unheated and undiluted. Famed as smooth 'beauty water', it is the hottest of the three. Open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. for ¥400, with a ¥600 pass for all three baths ideal for a bath tour, and with cafés and guesthouses opened by young newcomers and restored inns on the rise, Arifuku makes a lovely hidden overnight on a San-in journey.
The bandai, the deep tub and the hot free-flow
Climb the stone steps from the car park and thread the lanes to the building with arched windows; slide the door open and the attendant seated at the old bandai greets you. Pay, enter the gender-divided changing room with its baskets and key lockers, and beyond lies a tiled bathroom with a single deep tub. Soap and shampoo wait at the wash stations, and the etiquette is to wash first. The water is crystal clear and slips like soap when you rub your skin; the 47°C source pours in untouched, so the tub sits at 42–45°C and near 47°C by the inlet — hottest of the three baths. There is a tap to cool it, but locals like it hot, so do not open it wide on your own; if it is too much, try the milder Satsuki-yu instead. The tub is deep enough to cover your shoulders seated, and the splash echoing in the small tiled room feels like stepping back into the Showa era. Right after the 7 a.m. opening belongs to the village elders; evenings mix inn guests and travellers. Afterwards rest in the upstairs tatami room looking down on the village, then continue to the free foot bath and cafés (try the local 'Arifuku ice cream'). With the ¥600 three-bath pass, add Satsuki-yu and Yayoi-yu to compare their different temperatures and moods.
Practical details and a San-in overnight
Hours are 7:00–22:00 (last entry 21:30, family bath until 21:00), closed Tuesdays (open if a holiday). Junior high and up ¥400, elementary ¥200, family bath ¥1,200 per hour, three-bath day pass ¥600, with soap, shampoo and dryers included and towels sold for ¥300. On Tuesdays when Gozen-yu rests, Satsuki-yu extends its hours to 7:00–22:00, and Satsuki-yu closes Thursdays, so pick your bath by the day. Access is 31 minutes on the city bus from JR Gotsu, or 15 minutes by car from Gotsu IC on the San-in Expressway, with free parking for 28. A suggested two days: the Iwami Ginzan silver mine World Heritage site (40 min by car) and the old town of Omori, then on to Arifuku for the bath tour, lane-wandering and the steps of Arifuku Shrine, a night in a restored inn or guesthouse (do not miss an Iwami Kagura performance if one is on), and next day the Aquas aquarium in Hamada (beluga whales) or Yunotsu Onsen, the silver mine's old port with its retro 'Motoyu' bathhouse. At 1 h 40 min by car from Hiroshima it is even feasible as a day trip from the San-yo side, and with the whole village quiet and almost no foreign tourists you experience an old Japanese onsen town just as it is. Lanes and steps are narrow, so leave big luggage in the car or at your lodging.
Before you go
- No official tattoo policy is published — ask at reception.
- Payment is usually by ticket machine in cash — bring coins.
- Last entry is 30–60 minutes before closing.
Features
Mood & scenery
Rules & private
Price
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Convenience
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Amenities
✔ Verified operating: 2026-09 Operating status and rates cross-checked against the official site and onsen guides (full source notes in Japanese on the JA page)
Prices and hours change. Check official sources before visiting.
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