Tokushima · Kamiyama Onsen
Kamiyama Onsen Hotel Shiki-no-Sato & Iyashi-no-Yu
神山温泉 ホテル四季の里＆いやしの湯
A hot-spring resort in Kamiyama, a mountain town up the Akui River about an hour by car from Tokushima city, known for its newcomers and IT satellite offices. At its heart is the town-run bath 'Iyashi-no-yu', a contemporary building of local cedar and cypress notable for tatami mats laid throughout the bathroom, changing room and lobby. The sodium-chloride-bicarbonate cold mineral water feels mellow, then leaves the skin refreshed. Bubble bath, jet bath, waterfall massage, lie-down bath, herbal bath, sauna, cold plunge and a children's bath, with towels provided. Day bathing: adults ¥680, children ¥340, 10:00–20:00, closed the fourth Tuesday (open on holidays, Golden Week, Obon and New Year). The Kawasemi restaurant uses local produce, and private rest rooms and overnight stays are available. Combine with sudachi citrus, Amagoi Falls and Shōsan-ji, temple 12 of the Shikoku pilgrimage. About 60 minutes by Tokushima bus (Kamiyama line) from JR Tokushima Station to 'Kamiyama Onsen-mae'.
- Price (adult)
- ¥680
- Hours
- 10:00-20:00
- Closed
- 4th Tuesday of each month (open if a holiday)
- Access
- Tokushima bus (Kamiyama line) from JR Tokushima Station, about 60 min to 'Kamiyama Onsen-mae' then 3 min on foot; about 45 min by car from Aizumi IC; about 70 min from Tokushima Airport
- Water type
- Bicarbonate spring
- Tattoos
- Ask ahead
- Admission
- Day bath adults ¥680, children (3 to 6th grade) ¥340. Towels, bath towels, razors and shower caps provided (included), shampoo and body soap in the bathroom, lockers. Sauna, banquet hall, shop and gift shop, restaurant. Overnight stays from ¥11,660 (with two meals). Cash and cards
- Baths
- An onsen attached to a resort hotel cradled in a gorge of the Sanagochi highlands in Kamiyama, Tokushima, notable as a 'tatami onsen' — tatami matting throughout the bathroom, changing room and lobby, so you move barefoot and can lie or sit to rest, a form rare among Japanese onsen. A sodium-chloride and bicarbonate cold-mineral spring that is rich yet refreshing. Kamiyama is a mountain village known for its art project, terraced fields and buckwheat; combine with Okunomiya Onsen, the Kamibunki gorge, the Kamiyama Forest Park and Oasahiko Shrine (a 400-year-old cherry). An hour by bus from central Tokushima
- Spring water
- Kamiyama Onsen, a sodium-chloride and bicarbonate cold-mineral spring (the low-temperature source is heated), with a dual character — rich yet refreshing — that leaves the skin smooth and the body warm for a long time. Indicated for rheumatism, neuralgia, muscle pain, allergic dermatitis, poor circulation, cuts and fatigue
- Access & parking
- About 60 min by Tokushima Bus Kamiyama line from JR Tokushima Station to 'Kamiyama', then a short walk; about ¥8,000 by taxi. 45 min by car from Aizumi IC on the Tokushima Expressway, 70 min from Tokushima Airport, 2 h 10 min from Awaji Island (Naruto Bridge). Free parking for 180. In front of the Kamiyama Onsen bus stop, the Kamibunki gorge 15 min by car, Oasahiko Shrine 10 min, central Tokushima 50 min
- Phone
- 088-676-1117
- Official site
- kamiyama-spa.com ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
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Why go
- Tatami-floored 'tatami onsen'
- Local cedar and cypress in a satoyama town
- ¥680; towels provided
Tatami underfoot and a gorge onsen — a mountain resort of Tokushima
Kamiyama Onsen Hotel Shiki-no-Sato and Iyashi-no-yu is the onsen of a resort hotel cradled in a gorge in Kamiyama, Tokushima, reached by leaving Awaji Island, passing through Tokushima city and heading into the mountains. Its greatest feature is the 'tatami onsen': tatami matting throughout the bathroom, changing room and lobby lets you move barefoot and lie or sit to rest before and after bathing — a form rare in Japan, and especially good for families with children or anyone who wants to lie down and unwind. The bathhouse inside the modern building, which makes generous use of local Kamiyama cedar and cypress, is wide and bright, with a sauna, a rotenburo and a great bath. The water is a sodium-chloride and bicarbonate cold-mineral spring; the source is cold so it is heated, and its signature is a dual character — rich yet refreshing — giving both the cling of soft water on the body and freshness afterwards, leaving the skin smooth and said to help rheumatism, neuralgia and allergic dermatitis. Day bathing is a modest ¥680 for adults and ¥340 for children, with towels, bath towels, razors and shower caps included; hours are 10:00 to 20:00 and it is closed the fourth Tuesday of each month (open if a holiday). Kamiyama is a mountain village known for its art residencies, terraced fields, buckwheat and yuzu, with the Kamibunki gorge, the Kamiyama Forest Park and Oasahiko Shrine (a 400-year-old cherry tree) nearby, at their best in spring blossom and autumn colour. An hour by bus from Tokushima Station and 70 minutes by car from Tokushima Airport, it is a convenient base for a journey combining Awaji Island, the Naruto whirlpools, Tokushima's Awa-odori festival and a mountain onsen.
How to use a tatami onsen, and moving around mountain Kamiyama
Ask for the day bath at the hotel entrance and pay ¥680 at reception, where you are handed towels and a bath towel (included). The changing room is tatami, so you take off your shoes and enter, stow your things in a locker, and the tatami floor (a moisture-resistant special tatami) continues into the bathroom, where you walk barefoot. The bathhouse has a wide great bath (main tub and bubble bath), a rotenburo and a sauna, with several places to sit or lie on the tatami to rest — the pleasure of lying down between soaks, a 'tatami method' available only here, is its charm. The water is a comfortable 40–41°C, colourless to faintly tinted and soft; the rich feel on entering and the freshness afterwards arriving together is the signature of a sodium-chloride bicarbonate cold-mineral spring, and two or three soaks of 20–30 minutes keep you warm for a long time. Keep to the dry seats at the edges so as not to wet the tatami, and afterwards rest in the lobby's tatami lounge or buy Kamiyama yuzu products, buckwheat and mountain vegetables at the shop. The restaurant serves Kamiyama mountain vegetables, amago river fish, Tokushima's 'sobagome' (buckwheat-rice) dishes and set meals, and overnight stays (from ¥11,660 with two meals) and banquets are possible. Closed the fourth Tuesday of each month (open if a holiday) and shutting at 20:00, evening visits must be early, and as it is an hour by bus from central Tokushima, plan the round trip against the bus timetable. In spring there is the 400-year-old cherry at Oasahiko Shrine (early April), in summer the gorge stream at Kamibunki, in autumn the foliage of the forest park, and in winter the rotenburo amid snow; the mountain road needs chains or winter tyres in winter.
Practical details and a Tokushima–Awaji route
Hours are 10:00–20:00, closed the fourth Tuesday of each month (open if a holiday); adults ¥680, children ¥340 (towels and bath towels included), overnight stays from ¥11,660 with two meals, free parking for 180. Access is 60 minutes by bus from Tokushima Station, 45 minutes from Aizumi IC, 70 minutes from Tokushima Airport. Suggested routes: (1) two days at Awaji and Tokushima — Awaji Island (the Naruto whirlpools, Awaji Yumebutai), the Naruto Bridge, central Tokushima (the Awa-odori hall, night views from Mt Bizan), a night in Kamiyama at the Hotel Shiki-no-Sato, a morning bath, then the Kamibunki gorge and Oasahiko Shrine, on to Iya or home; (2) a mountain day — Oasahiko Shrine (its cherry and giant cedars), the Kamiyama Forest Park (views), a walk in the Kamibunki gorge, a bath, Kamiyama soba for lunch, back to Tokushima; (3) an art tour — Kamiyama's installations and galleries in old farmhouses by rental bicycle, then a bath; (4) spring (early April) — the 400-year-old cherry at Oasahiko Shrine and the tunnel of blossom in its grounds; (5) summer — playing in the gorge stream at Kamibunki (check the safe zones), then a bath. Notes: closes at 20:00 (no late nights); closed the fourth Tuesday; few buses (check the last one); the mountain road ices in winter; the restaurant in the hotel is the main place to eat (few shops nearby); cash and cards accepted. Kamiyama Onsen's strengths are the unusual 'tatami onsen' form and the quiet of the mountain village, making it the best onsen with which to close a day quietly on a Tokushima and Awaji journey.
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.
- Payment is usually by ticket machine in cash — bring coins.
- Last entry is 30–60 minutes before closing.
Features
Baths
Sauna & wellness
Mood & scenery
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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