Kagoshima · Ibusuki Onsen
Nigatsuden Onsen Tonosama-yu
二月田温泉 殿様湯
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.
- Price (adult)
- ¥400
- Hours
- 07:00–20:30 (last entry 20:00)
- Closed
- Fridays (open on holiday, Obon and New Year Fridays)
- Access
- 8 min walk from JR Nigatsuden Station
- Water type
- Simple spring
- Tattoos
- Ask ahead
- Admission
- Adults (junior-high+) ¥400 / elementary ¥100 / infants ¥50 (raised from ¥350 in June 2024). Free drinking fountain — you may take water home
- Water
- Sodium-chloride spring (source “Nigatsuden No.8”, ~52–56 °C, pH 6.4, 5.5 g/kg dissolved solids), free-flowing. One indoor bath per gender (a small hot tub overflows into the main tub). Drinking: chronic digestive complaints, constipation
- Amenities
- Shampoo, conditioner, soap and body soap provided; towels sold. No lockable lockers (wooden shelves). Reception and bathhouse are two facing buildings
- Historic site
- Behind the bathhouse are the ruins of the lord’s bath built in 1831 when Satsuma lord Shimazu Narioki moved his Nagai Onsen villa here — paving, stone tub and original tiles survive, a city-designated historic site since 1971. The current tubs bear the Shimazu cross-in-circle crest
- Phone
- 0993-22-2827
- Official site
- ibusuki.or.jp ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
Stay in this onsen town
Compare and book stays in Ibusuki Onsen. Day bathing itself needs no booking.
Opens partner booking site (affiliate)
Why go
- Next to the Shimazu lords' bath ruins
- Free-flowing public bath for ¥400
- 8 min from Nigatsuden Station
The bath of the Satsuma lords
Tonosama-yu (“the lord’s bath”) stands where the Shimazu clan of Satsuma kept a hot-spring villa. In 1831 the 27th head, Shimazu Narioki, moved his Nagai Onsen lodge here, and the stone tub, paving and tiles used by successive lords still survive behind today’s bathhouse as a city-designated historic site. The present bath, opened in the early Showa era, is a plain public bathhouse where 52 °C+ chloride water flows freely into tubs carved with the Shimazu cross-in-circle crest. At the free drinking fountain by the entrance you can sip — or bottle — the bittern-flavoured water.
Tips & cautions
- Closed Fridays (open if a holiday, Obon or New Year). Some sites say 7–21, but official hours are 7:00–20:30 (last entry 20:00).
- The small source tub is scalding; use the main tub, itself a hot 43–44 °C.
- No lockers — leave valuables behind. Toiletries provided, towels sold, so you can come empty-handed.
- The lord’s-bath ruins behind can be viewed free; ask at reception.
- Good for rinsing off after an Ibusuki sand bath. Nearest station is Nigatsuden, one stop before Ibusuki.
Getting there
About 7–10 min on foot from Nigatsuden Station on the JR Ibusuki-Makurazaki Line (Nishikata 1408-27), signposted along the river; ~7 min by car from Ibusuki Station. Free parking.
Before you go
- No official tattoo policy is published — ask at reception.
- As a communal bath there is no soap or shampoo — bring your own or buy at the shop.
- Payment is usually by ticket machine in cash — bring coins.
- Last entry is 30–60 minutes before closing.
Features
Price
Mood & scenery
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
Sunamushi Kaikan Saraku
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.
Kirishima Hotel Iōdani Garden Bath
A vast garden bath hall fed by 14 sources at 1,400 litres a minute, with four water types — sulfur, alum, saline and iron — in one place. The central pool is mixed-gender (women-only hours; bathing garments allowed).
Kirishima Sakura Sakura Onsen (Mud Bath)
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.
