Saga · Karatsu & Niji-no-Matsubara
Kagamiyama Onsen Chaya Bijin-no-Yu, Karatsu
鏡山温泉茶屋 美人の湯（唐津）
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.
- Price (adult)
- ¥800
- Hours
- 10:00–22:00 (last admission 21:30)
- Closed
- 3rd Thursday (open if a holiday) & 31 Dec
- Access
- About 10 min on foot from Niji-no-Matsubara Station (JR Chikuhi Line); about 10 min by car from Karatsu IC; about 1 h by car from Fukuoka city
- Water type
- Alkaline simple
- Tattoos
- Ask ahead
- Admission
- Admission 10:00–17:00 adults ¥800, children ¥450; 17:00–22:00 adults ¥700, children ¥400 (evening discount); last entry 21:30. Lockers ¥10, towels sold or rented, shampoo provided. Dining hall (lunch 11:00–14:30, last order 14:00; dinner 17:00–21:00, last order 20:30) with Karatsu seafood, set meals and curry. Rest room, shop. Cash and cards
- Baths
- A large day-use onsen on Route 202 at the foot of Mt Kagami in Karatsu, Saga, looking down on Niji-no-Matsubara — one of Japan's three great coastal pine forests — and the fine view of Karatsu Bay. A free-flowing 'beauty spring' with a great bath, rotenburo, sauna, plunge and a dining hall, making it a complex facility. Close to the beaches (Kagami-hama, Niji-no-Matsubara), Karatsu Castle and the Nagoya castle ruins, it is good for a soak after summer swimming or autumn foliage
- Spring water
- Kagamiyama Onsen, a free-flowing 'beauty spring' of the simple-spring family, colourless to faintly tinted and soft with a slickness that leaves the skin smooth. Tepid and hot tubs are provided separately so you can choose by taste. Indicated for neuralgia, muscle and joint pain, poor circulation, dry skin, fatigue and the digestive system
- Access & parking
- About 8 min on foot from Niji-no-Matsubara Station on the JR Chikuhi Line, 10 min by car from Karatsu Station. 1 h by car from central Fukuoka (via Nijo-Hamatama IC), 50 min from Saga. Free parking for 50 on Route 202. Niji-no-Matsubara and Kagami-hama on foot to 5 min by car, Karatsu Castle 15 min, the Mt Kagami lookout 15 min, the Nagoya castle ruins and museum 30 min
- Phone
- 0955-70-6333
- Official site
- kagamiyama-onsen.com ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
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Why go
- By the Niji-no-Matsubara pines; 10 min from station
- Free-flowing silky water; 3 private baths
- ¥800; until 10 pm; 'Yuri!!! on Ice' spot
A free-flowing beauty spring above Niji-no-Matsubara — a day onsen by the Karatsu shore
Kagamiyama Onsen Chaya Bijin-no-yu is a large day-use onsen on Route 202 at the foot of Mt Kagami in Karatsu, Saga, with a sweeping view of Niji-no-Matsubara — counted among Japan's three great coastal pine forests — and Karatsu Bay. The area has long been a scenic place where sea and pine wood shine like a mirror, true to the name 'Kagami', sung of since the age of the Man'yoshu, and the spring rising at its foot is named the 'beauty spring' and run free-flowing. The water is a soft, colourless to faintly tinted spring of the simple family with a slickness, and in the bathroom the tepid and hot tubs are separate so you can choose your temperature — the reason locals love it. It is a complex facility: great bath, rotenburo, sauna, plunge, a dining hall (lunch and dinner service, Karatsu seafood with set meals and curry) and a rest room, and admission is on a two-tier system of ¥800 for adults by day (10:00–17:00) and ¥700 in the evening (17:00–22:00), so evenings are the better value. Being eight minutes on foot from Niji-no-Matsubara Station on the JR Chikuhi Line is another rare advantage, and it fits easily into a half-day with sightseeing in Karatsu (the castle, Niji-no-Matsubara, the Nagoya castle ruins, Karatsu ware) an hour from Fukuoka by train or car. In summer rinse off the salt after swimming at Kagami-hama; in autumn (November) bathe after the foliage of Mt Kagami; in winter watch the winter sea of Karatsu Bay from the rotenburo — the seasonal pleasures of this onsen. Closed the third Thursday (open if a holiday) and on 31 December, plus occasional irregular days, so check before visiting; it is open without closure in January, February and August.
The day and evening two-tier rates, and a walk through the pine forest
Park in the car park on Route 202 (50 spaces; eight minutes on foot from Niji-no-Matsubara Station) and pay at the entrance — ¥800 for adults from 10:00 to 17:00 and ¥700 after 17:00, so the later you go the cheaper it is (last entry 21:30). Lockers need ¥10, towels are sold or rented, and shampoo is provided. The great bath has separate tepid and hot tubs; outside the door are the rotenburo and plunge, with the sauna at the back. The water is a soft free-flowing spring, colourless to faintly tinted, with a slickness; warm up for 10–15 minutes in the tepid tub, then three to five minutes in the hot one, and finish in the rotenburo with the mountain breeze. From the rotenburo you see the mirror-bright Karatsu Bay and the ridge of the pine wood, and on winter evenings the lights on the sea are beautiful in the cold air. Afterwards eat Karatsu seafood sets, udon or curry in the dining hall (lunch 11:00–14:30, dinner 17:00–21:00, each with a last order) and rest in the rest room. Nearby: a walk in Niji-no-Matsubara (a pine forest some 4.5 km long, 40 minutes to an hour round trip), Kagami-hama (summer swimming and sunsets), the Mt Kagami lookout (15 minutes by car, views over the bay), Karatsu Castle and the old castle town (15 minutes), and Karatsu-ware galleries — so 'a walk in the forest and by the sea, a bath, dinner in Karatsu' is the classic course. Closed the third Thursday (open if a holiday) and 31 December, plus occasional irregular days, so check by phone or the official site before visiting; open daily in January, February and August. Weekend afternoons and the summer swimming season are busy; weekday mornings are comfortable.
Practical details and a Karatsu / Niji-no-Matsubara route
Hours are 10:00–22:00 (last entry 21:30); admission 10:00–17:00 adults ¥800 and children ¥450, 17:00–22:00 adults ¥700 and children ¥400; closed the third Thursday (open if a holiday), 31 December and on other irregular days (open daily in January, February and August); free parking for 50. Access is eight minutes on foot from Niji-no-Matsubara Station, 10 minutes by car from Karatsu Station, an hour from Fukuoka. Suggested routes: (1) half a day in Karatsu — the castle and old castle town in the morning (Karatsu-ware galleries), Karatsu seafood for lunch (live-cut squid, grilled fish), a bath at Bijin-no-yu in the afternoon, a sunset walk in Niji-no-Matsubara, back to Fukuoka; (2) a summer sea day — swimming at Kagami-hama in the morning, a bath in the afternoon to rinse off the salt, an izakaya in Karatsu in the evening; (3) autumn in November — a foliage drive on Mt Kagami, a bath, then the Nagoya castle ruins and museum (the base of Toyotomi Hideyoshi's Korean campaigns); (4) a rail journey — Fukuoka (Hakata) to Niji-no-Matsubara (about 50 minutes on the Chikuhi Line), a bath, a night by Karatsu Station; (5) winter — the ¥700 evening rate after 17:00 and the winter sea of Karatsu Bay from the rotenburo. Notes: confirm the third-Thursday and irregular closures; lockers need ¥10; check the dining hall's last orders (20:30 at night); weekend afternoons and summer are crowded; cash and cards accepted. Karatsu is a 'nearby sightseeing city' an hour from Fukuoka that also has one of Japan's finest pine forests, and this onsen is the ideal resting place that ties those two attractions into a single day.
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
Sauna & wellness
Rules & private
Price
Who with
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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