Nagano · Kamisuwa Onsen, Lake Suwa
Katakurakan Sennin-buro
片倉館 千人風呂
A Western-style bathhouse on the shore of Lake Suwa, built in 1928 by the Katakura silk dynasty for the welfare of local residents and now an Important Cultural Property. Its famous Sennin-buro is a marble pool 1.1 m deep — you bathe standing, pebbles underfoot, surrounded by stained glass and sculpture — named for the hundred people it can hold at once. It uses Kamisuwa's spring water and also has a sauna and jet bath. Adults ¥750, open 10:00–20:00 (last entry 19:30), closed 2nd and 4th Tuesdays. The 2nd-floor rest room (until 19:00) and canteen (11:00–15:00) are open to bathers, and tours of the hall building are offered. Eight minutes on foot from Kami-Suwa Station, handy for Suwa Taisha shrine and Takashima Castle.
- Price (adult)
- ¥850
- Hours
- 10:00–20:00 (last entry 19:30; from 9:30 on weekends/holidays)
- Closed
- 2nd and 4th Tuesdays
- Access
- 8 min on foot from JR Kami-Suwa Station; about 15 min by car from Suwa IC
- Water type
- Simple spring
- Tattoos
- Ask ahead
- Admission
- Adults ¥850, children 3 to elementary ¥400 (raised from ¥750 in 2023). Towels sold at ¥150, bath towels ¥200 (rental also), shampoo and body soap provided. Second-floor rest room (10:00–19:00, free for bathers); paid private rooms with rest-plus-bath set ¥2,000 adults / ¥1,000 children (2–8 people); dining room 11:00–15:00. Lockers ¥100 refundable. The Hall building (architecture tour) is a separate ¥400 for adults, guided tours at weekends. Small sauna. Tattoos should be covered — check the posted rules
- Baths
- A Western-style public bathhouse built in 1928 by the Katakura silk conglomerate — the 'Silk Emperor' — for the welfare of its mill workers and townspeople. A nationally designated Important Cultural Property (2011) and an extremely rare example still operating as a hot spring. The marble 'Thousand-Person Bath', with stained glass and carvings, is 1.1 m deep with pebbles on the floor, bathed standing up. A location for the film Thermae Romae II. On the shore of Lake Suwa, 8 min on foot from Kami-Suwa Station; a base for the lake fireworks (15 August) and the Suwa Taisha shrine circuit
- Spring water
- Kami-Suwa Onsen, a simple spring (weakly alkaline, hypotonic, high-temperature; the 60°C-plus source is adjusted with water and heat, recirculated). Colourless and nearly odourless with a soft feel. Indicated for neuralgia, muscle and joint pain, poor circulation and fatigue. The 1.1 m depth of the Thousand-Person Bath adds water-pressure stimulation and the pebbles massage the soles. Kami-Suwa has one of Japan's largest outflows, with hot springs across town including a footbath on the station platform
- Access & parking
- 8 min on foot from the east exit of Kami-Suwa Station on the JR Chuo Line; about 2 h 10 min from Shinjuku by Azusa limited express. By car 15 min from Suwa IC on the Chuo Expressway, 2.5 h from Tokyo. Free parking for about 70. The lakeside promenade is right there; Takashima Castle 15 min on foot, Suwa Taisha Kamisha 15 min by car, Takeya Miso Hall 10 min on foot
- Phone
- 0266-52-0604
- Official site
- katakurakan.or.jp ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
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Why go
- 1928 Western-style bath, Cultural Property
- Stand in a 1.1 m marble pool on pebbles
- 8 min from Kami-Suwa Station
Bathing standing up in the Important Cultural Property 'Thousand-Person Bath' of a 1928 Western hall
Katakurakan is a Western-style hot-spring building completed in 1928 at Kami-Suwa Onsen on the shore of Lake Suwa in Suwa, Nagano — one of Japan's most remarkable day-use baths, a working public bathhouse that is also a nationally designated Important Cultural Property. The Katakura conglomerate, called the 'Silk Emperor' for its raw-silk exports from the Meiji to early Showa eras, built it for the welfare of its mill workers and local residents, modelling it on spa establishments seen on a tour of Europe: a Renaissance-style hall with stained glass, sculpture and a domed ceiling. Its namesake 'Thousand-Person Bath' is a marble-rimmed pool roomy enough for a hundred and a remarkable 1.1 m deep, so you bathe standing rather than sitting, while pebbles on the floor stimulate the soles. With stained-glass windows, Roman-style statues and a fountain-like spout, it has been dubbed 'the thermae of Showa' and was indeed a location for the film Thermae Romae II. The water, Kami-Suwa's simple spring, is soft and gentle, easy for anyone; the ¥850 admission includes the second-floor rest room, and there are a dining room and paid private rooms. Eight minutes on foot from Kami-Suwa Station, it is a feasible day trip from Tokyo by Azusa express, best combined with the Suwa Taisha shrines, Takashima Castle and a lakeside walk, or visited around the Lake Suwa fireworks on 15 August. Closed the second and fourth Tuesdays.
A 1.1-metre-deep bath beneath stained glass, a pebble floor and a Showa-era lounge
Seen from the lakeside road, the towered 'Hall' is on the left and the bath building on the right. Buy a ¥850 ticket at the bath-building entrance (towels ¥150 if you have none) and step into tiled corridors and wooden lockers unchanged since early Showa. Open the bathroom door and a single enormous rectangular pool rimmed in marble sits in a high-ceilinged hall, coloured light falling from stained-glass windows, statues on the walls and water rising like a fountain in the centre. The pool is so deep (1.1 m) you cannot see the bottom; you are immersed to chest or shoulder, and the round pebbles pressing your soles feel so unusual that many bathers walk slowly around while soaking. The water is a soft simple spring at around 42°C, non-irritating, and the pressure of standing immersion seems to drain swelling from the legs. Small children cannot touch the bottom, so a guardian must hold their hand; they can sit on the ledge at the rim. Wash stations are few, and a small sauna and plunge are attached. The men's and women's baths are identical in design, so neither side loses out. Afterwards climb to the second-floor lounge, a tatami hall with Showa window frames and a view toward the lake, for a nap or soba and curry in the dining room (11:00–15:00). With time to spare, tour the Hall (separate ¥400, guided at weekends) to see the reception rooms, banquet hall and billiard room of the conglomerate's welfare facility. Crowds are heavy on weekend afternoons and on fireworks day, so weekday mornings or after 7 p.m. are quiet; photography is forbidden inside the bathroom even when empty.
Practical details and a Lake Suwa route
Hours are 10:00–20:00 (last entry 19:30; opens 9:30 on weekends and holidays), closed the second and fourth Tuesdays (may shift for holidays; New Year separate); adults ¥850, children ¥400, private-room set ¥2,000, Hall tour ¥400, parking free. From Shinjuku the Azusa limited express reaches Kami-Suwa in about 2 h 10 min; walk 8 minutes from the east exit toward the lake, or 15 minutes by car from Suwa IC. Suggested routes: (1) a Tokyo day trip — arrive by Azusa in the morning, Suwa Taisha Kamisha Honmiya (car or bus), lunch near the station (Suwa smelt, miso dishes), a bath and Hall tour at Katakurakan, a lakeside walk and Takashima Castle, the platform footbath, Azusa home; (2) the four Suwa Taisha shrines with a night — Kamisha Honmiya and Maemiya (Chino), Shimosha Harumiya and Akimiya (Shimo-Suwa, whose communal bath Tanga-no-yu is also a draw), stay in Kami-Suwa, then Katakurakan; (3) the Lake Suwa fireworks on 15 August — 40,000 shells, among Japan's largest; the station and shore are jammed, so bathe at midday before claiming a spot (book lodging months ahead); (4) winter — the 'omiwatari' ice ridges when the lake freezes (every few years, weather permitting) and illuminations; (5) nearby — Kirigamine plateau and Kurumayama (summer day-lilies), the Venus Line drive, Matsumoto Castle (30 min by train). Inns at Kami-Suwa sometimes offer guest discount coupons, so ask at the front desk; and as an Important Cultural Property it asks for manners — no photography in the bath, quiet voices, no camping out in the lounge.
Before you go
- No official tattoo policy is published — ask at reception.
- Last entry is 30–60 minutes before closing.
Features
Baths
Mood & scenery
Price
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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