Yamagata · Kaminoyama Onsen
Kaminoyama Onsen Shimo-Ōyu Public Bath
かみのやま温泉 下大湯共同浴場
The oldest of the communal baths surviving in the spa town of Kaminoyama, a former castle and post town about 10 minutes on foot from Kaminoyama-Onsen Station on the Yamagata Shinkansen. Moved to its present site in 1624, it is said to have been used by the Zen master Takuan. The big tub is split into hot and tepid halves, filled free-flowing with clear sodium-calcium-chloride-sulphate water. With its flagstone washing area and old-style attendant's counter, it charges an astonishing ¥150 for adults and ¥100 for children (hair washing ¥100 extra), and the tatami hall upstairs can be used for a day's rest for ¥300. Open 06:00–22:00 (from 06:30 December–February; last entry 21:30), every day. Take a morning or evening dip with locals while touring Kaminoyama Castle, the samurai-house street and the town's five foot baths. About 25 minutes by car from Yamagata city, 40 minutes from Zaō Onsen. No soap is provided, so bring your own; park in the shopping-street car park opposite.
- Price (adult)
- ¥150
- Hours
- 6:00–22:00 (from 6:30 Dec–Feb; tickets until 21:30)
- Closed
- Open daily
- Access
- About 10 min on foot from Kaminoyama-Onsen Station (Yamagata Shinkansen / Ōu Line); about 10 min by car from Yamagata-Kaminoyama IC; about 25 min from Yamagata city
- Water type
- Sulfate spring
- Tattoos
- Ask ahead
- Admission
- Adults ¥150, elementary ¥100 (ticket machine). To wash your hair, buy a ¥100 'hair-washing ticket' and receive a tag plus a tap handle that unlocks the shower — a quirky local rule. Upstairs rest room ¥300 (not available Jan–Mar). No soap, shampoo or towels (bring your own). Keyed locker ¥100, dryer free
- Baths
- The oldest of Kaminoyama's five communal baths, founded in 1624 (the present building is a retro-looking rebuild). On each side one big pool is divided into 'atsu-yu' (about 44°C, 15 bathers) and 'nuru-yu' (about 42°C, 4 bathers), with a stone-paved washing area. Murals of Kaminoyama Castle and the Zao crater lake on the wall. No rotenburo or sauna. So popular with locals that queues form at busy times. The Zen master Takuan is said to have bathed here. 10–15 min on foot from the station
- Spring water
- Sodium-calcium chloride-sulphate spring (hypotonic, mildly alkaline, high-temperature), 62.8°C at source, pH 7.6, free-flowing with dilution only, no heating or chlorination. Colourless, with a solid boiled-egg mineral smell and 56.6 mg of metasilicic acid that leaves the skin smooth; dissolved solids 2.4 g/kg. Indicated for joint pain, skin disease, poor circulation, cuts and gynaecological complaints. Kaminoyama is the 'Tsuruhagi-no-yu' of legend, where a crane healed its wounded leg in 1458
- Access & parking
- Free parking for about 40 cars beside the bath. About 11–15 min on foot (870 m) from Kaminoyama-Onsen Station on the Yamagata Shinkansen; 2 min from the 'Yumachi-kado' bus stop. By car about 10 min (6 km) from Yamagata-Kaminoyama IC on the Tohoku-Chuo Expressway via Route 13. Kaminoyama Castle 10 min on foot, the Zao Echo Line 40 min by car
- Phone
- 023-672-0839
- Official site
- kaminoyama-spa.com ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
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Why go
- Castle-town bath in use since 1624
- Hot and tepid free-flowing tubs
- ¥150; from 6 am daily; 10 min from the station
Kaminoyama's oldest public bath, since 1624, for ¥150
Kaminoyama Onsen Shimo-Oyu is the oldest communal bath in Kaminoyama, a castle town and former post town at the foot of the Zao range in Yamagata. Kaminoyama's spring is the 'Tsuruhagi-no-yu' of legend, found in 1458 when a monk saw a wounded crane soaking its shin; in the Edo period the town prospered as a post station on the daimyo procession route and seat of the Kaminoyama domain. Shimo-Oyu opened in 1624, and the great Rinzai Zen master Takuan is said to have bathed here during his exile. Today all five of the town's communal baths charge an astonishing ¥150 and open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day of the year, so in this retro, sento-like building you can share the hot free-flowing water shoulder to shoulder with locals and taste the everyday life of a genuine onsen town.
A 44°C 'hot' pool, a 42°C 'warm' pool and the hair-washing ticket rule
Buy a ¥150 ticket from the machine and the chatty lady at the desk — who also looks after the bath — will welcome you. If you plan to wash your hair, buy a ¥100 hair-washing ticket too; you receive a large wooden tag and a tap handle, which you fit to a shower in the washing area. Puzzling at first, but that is the house rule. The bathroom has a stone-paved washing area and one big pool divided by a partition open at the bottom: the larger section is the 'atsu-yu' at about 44°C, the smaller the 'nuru-yu' at about 42°C — and 'warm' here is by no means tepid, so acclimatise with plenty of douse-water first. The 62.8°C source is run with dilution only, unheated and unchlorinated; the water is clear yet carries a solid boiled-egg mineral smell, and its metasilicic acid leaves the skin smooth. There is no soap, shampoo or towel at all, so bring everything, and come expecting an unvarnished 'public bath' used by all the town, tattooed locals included. The murals of Kaminoyama Castle and the Zao crater lake add a sento flavour.
Practical details and a stroll around Kaminoyama
Hours are 6:00–22:00 (from 6:30 in December–February, tickets until 21:30), open every day. Adults ¥150, elementary ¥100, hair-washing ticket ¥100, upstairs rest room ¥300 (closed Jan–Mar), keyed locker ¥100. With 40 free parking spaces beside the bath it is easy by car, and an 11–15-minute walk from Kaminoyama-Onsen Station on the Yamagata Shinkansen makes it handy for rail travellers too. Kaminoyama's five communal baths (all ¥150) are scattered through the Yumachi, Shinyu, Tokamachi, Kawasaki, Takamatsu and Hayama districts, inviting a 'bath crawl', and together with Kaminoyama Castle (local museum) 10 minutes away, the samurai-residence street and the Takamatsu foot bath they make a half-day stroll. The town is a fine four-season base — cherry picking in June and La France pears in October–November in 'fruit kingdom' Kaminoyama, the Okama crater lake on the Zao Echo Line (late April to early November) and the frost-covered 'snow monsters' in winter — with lodgings from Western-style heritage inns to inexpensive business hotels.
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
Mood & scenery
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.
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