Fukushima · Aizu Higashiyama Onsen
Aizu Higashiyama Onsen Harataki
会津東山温泉 原瀧
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.
- Price (adult)
- ¥1,100
- Hours
- 13:00–20:00 (reception shortened when busy)
- Closed
- Open daily (reception shortened or suspended when busy)
- Access
- About 20 min by Aizu Bus (for Higashiyama Onsen) from JR Aizu-Wakamatsu Station to Harataki-mae; 25 min by car from Aizu-Wakamatsu IC
- Water type
- Sulfate spring
- Tattoos
- Ask ahead
- Admission
- Day bathing ¥1,100 (mini towel included), age 3 to elementary half price. Private panoramic bath ¥1,650 per adult / ¥550 per child for 50 min (2–5 people, slots at 12:30, 13:00, 14:00, 14:30; after 15:00 overnight guests have priority). Day plans with lunch available
- Baths
- The spacious Taisho-era 'Sennin-buro' main hall (indoor, partly recirculated) and a rotenburo on the Yukawa mountain stream (100% source water, free-flowing, to the sound of the Harataki waterfall). No sauna. The private panoramic bath has four tubs of different styles plus a rest room. Summer riverside 'kawadoko' dining is the house speciality
- Water
- Own source 'Harataki Gensen' — sodium-calcium sulphate-chloride spring (weakly alkaline pH 7.6–7.7, 56–58°C at source, 550 L/min, about 1.86 g/kg dissolved minerals). Colourless and nearly odourless yet rich enough to crust the rocks with deposits. The rotenburo is 100% free-flowing with no added water or heating. A 'warming bath' that heats you through
- Parking & access
- Free outdoor parking for about 80 cars (and 10 coaches). From Aizu-Wakamatsu Station on the JR Banetsu-West Line, Aizu Bus to 'Higashiyama Onsen' about 20 min, then about 10 min on foot (the 'Haikara-san' loop bus also runs this way). About 25 min from Aizu-Wakamatsu IC on the Banetsu Expressway. Pick-up for overnight guests
- Phone
- 0242-26-4126
- Official site
- yumeguri.co.jp ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
Find a stay on Trip.com
Search and book accommodation across Japan on Trip.com. Day-use bathing needs no booking.
Opens partner booking site (affiliate)
Why go
- Riverside open-air bath facing a waterfall
- Own spring; ¥1,100 with towel
- 10 min by car from Tsuruga Castle
Aizu Higashiyama Onsen — an inn with its own spring beside waterfall and stream
Aizu Higashiyama Onsen Harataki is an inn on the Yukawa mountain stream in Higashiyama Onsen, the spa whose ryokan line a valley ten minutes by car from Tsuruga Castle in Aizu-Wakamatsu, Fukushima. Set at the inner end of the resort, it faces the natural Harataki waterfall from which it takes its name. It is one of the few inns in 1,300-year-old Higashiyama with its own source, the 'Harataki Gensen', which yields 550 litres a minute. The house is known for its summer 'kawadoko' dinners — Aizu regional dishes served on platforms built out over the river — and for its Taisho-era 'Sennin-buro' bathhouse, and it welcomes day bathers and private-bath bookings too.
The Sennin-buro and a free-flowing rotenburo to the sound of the falls
The 'Sennin-buro' is a high-ceilinged, roomy Taisho-style indoor bath; hygiene rules mean it is partly recirculated and chlorinated, yet water overflows the tub constantly and feels fresh. The real prize is the streamside rotenburo, fed 100% from the source with no added water or heating, where you soak to the roar of the Harataki falls right beside you and the breeze off the river. The water is a sodium-calcium sulphate-chloride spring — colourless and almost odourless, so it seems plain at first, but at about 1.86 g/kg it is rich enough to crust the rocks thickly with deposits, and it keeps you warm for a long while. The private panoramic bath for two to five people comes with four tubs of different character and a private rest room for ¥1,650 per person per 50 minutes — with towels and the room included, many find it the better deal.
Tips
Day bathing is 13:00–20:00, ¥1,100 including a mini towel, half price for ages 3 to elementary. There is no regular closing day, but reception hours are shortened or suspended when busy, so phone ahead on weekends and holidays. The private panoramic bath is by reservation for two or more (slots 12:30, 13:00, 14:00, 14:30) — not available to solo visitors. No sauna. From Aizu-Wakamatsu Station take the bus about 20 minutes to 'Higashiyama Onsen', then walk 10 minutes to the inner end of the resort (the 'Haikara-san' loop bus works too). Stay overnight in summer (roughly June to September) for the famous kawadoko dinner, and combine with Aizu's kozuyu soup, Tsuruga Castle and the Sazaedo pagoda.
Before you go
- No official tattoo policy is published — ask at reception.
- Ryokan day-use hours are limited and may be suspended in peak season — phone the same morning.
- Last entry is 30–60 minutes before closing.
Features
Mood & scenery
Rules & private
Price
Who with
Convenience
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.
More in this area
Bandai-Atami Reisen Motoyu Public Bath
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.
Iizaka Onsen Sabako-yu
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.
Takayu Onsen Attaka-yu
Thirty minutes by car from Fukushima city, the communal bath of Takayu Onsen at 750 m on Mt. Azuma. Every bath is open-air, filled with milky-white sulfur water that is neither diluted nor heated. There's a timber men's bath, a rock women's bath and a reservable private rotenburo. A ¥500 gateway to a spa town that has kept its water free-flowing for 400 years. Closed Thursdays; one-hour limit. At the foot of the Bandai-Azuma Skyline — ideal with an autumn drive.
