Nara · Gose & Mt. Katsuragi
Kamokimi-no-Yu Natural Hot Spring
天然温泉 かもきみの湯
A large day spa in Gose, Nara, at the foot of Mt. Katsuragi on the Osaka border. Attached to a local farm park and set among rice fields, it is calm in mood yet packed with baths: a cypress stage bath, crystal bath, lie-down bath, herbal and medicinal tubs, a rotating daily bath, a salt sauna, a dry sauna around 85°C, a 16°C cold plunge and an outdoor cooling deck, with the men's and women's sides swapping daily. Adults pay ¥700 (¥800 on weekends and holidays) and children from age 3 to elementary school ¥350; a family-friendly private bath costs ¥2,500 for 90 minutes plus admission and can be booked a month ahead. Open 10:00–23:00 (last entry 22:00), daily except maintenance closures. Restaurant, shop, tatami hall, body-care salon and free parking for 220 cars. From Kintetsu Gose Station take the Nara Kotsu bus bound for Gojō Bus Center about 15 minutes to the Kamokimi-no-Yu stop. Ideal after the Katsuragi ropeway, Takakamo Shrine or a hike on Mt. Kongō.
- Price (adult)
- ¥700
- Hours
- 10:00–23:00 (last entry 22:00)
- Closed
- Open daily (maintenance closures)
- Access
- Nara Kotsu bus (for Gojō Bus Center) from Kintetsu Gose Station about 15 min to 'Kamokimi-no-Yu'; about 15 min by car from Katsuragi IC (Minami-Hanna Road) or 10 min from Gose IC (Keinawa Expressway)
- Water type
- Simple spring
- Tattoos
- Ask ahead
- Admission
- Bathing adults (junior high and up) ¥700 weekdays / ¥800 weekends and holidays, children (3 and up) ¥350, under 3 free. A 10-visit adult ticket book is ¥6,000. Two private baths (one with a tent sauna, one with a far-infrared sauna) cost ¥2,500 per 90-minute slot, bathing charged separately. Shampoo, rinse, body soap and hair dryer provided, towels lent, shoe and changing lockers ¥100 refundable. Restaurant, large hall, bodywork. Cash
- Baths
- A large day-use onsen standing in the fields of Gose, Nara, at the foot of Mt. Katsuragi, which rises on the border with Osaka. The variety of tubs is remarkable — a cypress stage bath, a crystal bath, a lying-down tub, a medicinal bath, an herb bath, a daily-changing bath and a carbonated bath — with a salt sauna, a sauna at around 85°C, a 16°C plunge and an open-air cooling area, and the men's and women's sides change daily. The private baths, easy for families, come in two kinds — a room with a tent sauna and a room with a far-infrared sauna — at ¥2,500 for 90 minutes (bathing charged separately, reservable from a month ahead). With free parking for 220 it is also among the largest in the area
- Spring water
- A sodium chloride spring drawn from the foot of the Mt. Katsuragi range. Soft water, colourless to faintly tinted, with good heat retention that warms the body well and leaves warmth after you get out. Indicated for fatigue, neuralgia, chronic skin complaints, poor circulation, joint pain and chronic digestive complaints. Its feature is that you can move around many functional baths (medicinal, herb and carbonated) in bathhouses whose men's and women's sides change daily
- Access & parking
- Nara Kōtsū bus (for Gojō Bus Center) from Kintetsu Gose Station on the Gose Line, about 15 minutes to 'Kamokimi-no-Yu', right there. By car 15 min from Katsuragi IC on the Minami-Hanna Road, 10 min from Gose IC on the Keinawa Road, 50 min from central Osaka, 40 min from Nara city. Free parking for 220. Adjoining the Mt. Katsuragi ropeway, the Takakamo Shrine and Kongōsan hiking
- Phone
- 0745-66-2641
- Official site
- kamokiminoyu.net ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
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Why go
- Many baths in the fields below Mt. Katsuragi
- Salt sauna, 16°C plunge and outdoor cooling deck
- ¥700, open till 23:00 daily; 220 parking spaces
A large onsen with many tubs in the fields below Mt. Katsuragi
Kamokimi-no-Yu Natural Hot Spring is a large day-use onsen in Gose, Nara, standing among rice fields and orchards at the foot of Mt. Katsuragi, which rises on the border with Osaka. Built as one with the local agricultural park, it is surrounded only by countryside, and from in front of the building the ridgeline of Mt. Katsuragi is right there. The onsen's feature is the variety of its tubs: a cypress stage bath built as a raised platform, a crystal bath, a lying-down tub, a medicinal bath, an herb bath, a bath whose contents change each day, and a carbonated bath, so a single visit lets you move among many kinds, and because the men's and women's sides swap daily you need two visits to see them all. There are two saunas — a salt sauna and one at around 85°C — the plunge is a cool 16°C, and outside there is an open-air cooling area, satisfying those who take 'onsen plus sauna' seriously. The water is a sodium chloride spring drawn from the foot of the Katsuragi range, colourless to faintly tinted, soft, with good heat retention that warms the body well. The private baths, easy for families, come in two kinds — a room with a tent sauna and one with a far-infrared sauna — at ¥2,500 for a 90-minute slot (bathing charged separately), reservable from a month ahead, and popular with families with children and couples. At ¥700 for adults on weekdays and ¥800 at weekends it is cheap for its size, and with hours until 11 p.m. (last entry 10 p.m.), no closures (aside from maintenance) and free parking for 220 it is easy to reach from either Osaka or Nara. The restaurant opens from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. (last order 9:30 p.m.) without a closing day, serving dishes of Nara ingredients such as the Kamokimi set meal, a Yamato beef yakiniku set and a Yamato chicken tataki and shabu-shabu set. Close to the Mt. Katsuragi ropeway, the Takakamo Shrine and Kongōsan hiking, it also serves as the onsen for washing off sweat after a walk in the hills.
A day of salt sauna, a 16°C plunge and a private bath, plus the restaurant
Enter from the free car park (220 spaces), put your shoes in a refundable ¥100 locker and pay (¥700 on a weekday). Shampoo, rinse, body soap and a hair dryer are provided and towels are lent, so you can drop in with nothing. A recommended circuit: wash and soak 10 minutes in the main tub; 10 minutes in the carbonated bath — circulation improves and the body feels lighter; 20 minutes moving between the cypress stage bath, the crystal bath and the lying-down tub; 8–10 minutes in the sauna, a minute in the 16°C plunge and 5–8 minutes on the open-air chairs, three sets; finish with the salt sauna; and rest quietly in the medicinal or herb bath. Since the men's and women's sides change daily you will find yourself in different tubs from the day before, and it takes two visits to see them all. With time to spare, reserve a private bath (90 minutes, ¥2,500, bathing charged separately) — there is a room with a tent sauna and one with a far-infrared sauna, and with children it is highly satisfying to enjoy onsen and sauna together without other eyes (start times are fixed per room, so check when reserving). The restaurant opens 11:00–22:00 (last order 21:30) without a closing day, serving dishes of Nara ingredients such as the Kamokimi set meal, a handmade tofu 'Hime' set, a Yamato beef yakiniku set and a Yamato chicken tataki and shabu-shabu set, and groups can use a Japanese-style room. With a large hall and bodywork, half a day can be spent after bathing, and with parking for 220 it is easy to park even at weekends. Notes: private baths are reservable from a month ahead and bathing is charged separately; there are occasional closures for maintenance (confirm by phone); weekend evenings are crowded; bring cash; check the season and times for the Mt. Katsuragi ropeway. With low fees, a variety of tubs, saunas, private baths and hours until 11 p.m., Kamokimi-no-Yu is the leading onsen of western Nara Prefecture.
Practical details and a Katsuragi and Gose route
Hours are 10:00–23:00 (last entry 22:00), effectively no closures (there are maintenance closures — confirm by phone); adults ¥700 weekdays / ¥800 weekends and holidays, children ¥350, ticket book ¥6,000 (10 visits), private baths ¥2,500 for 90 minutes (bathing charged separately, reserve a month ahead), free parking for 220. The restaurant runs 11:00–22:00 (last order 21:30) without a closing day. Access is 15 minutes by bus from Gose Station, 15 from Katsuragi IC, 10 from Gose IC, 50 from central Osaka. Suggested routes: (1) a day on Mt. Katsuragi — the ropeway (azaleas in May, foliage in autumn, rime in winter), a walk on the summit, a bath at Kamokimi-no-Yu, dinner in the restaurant; (2) a shrine round of Gose and Yamato-Takada — the Takakamo Shrine (among the oldest in Japan), the Nagi Shrine, Kamokimi-no-Yu, then Gose Station; (3) Kongōsan hiking — a climb of Mt. Kongō (the nearest 1,000-metre peak to Osaka), a bath, then on to Nara city; (4) families — a private bath in the morning (reserve), lunch in the restaurant, the great bath and large hall in the afternoon; (5) a sauna expedition — an afternoon bath, three sets in the 85°C sauna plus the salt sauna, the 16°C plunge, the open-air chairs; (6) a rainy day — a full day inside (meals, the large hall, bodywork). Notes: private baths need a reservation and cost extra; check for maintenance closures; weekend evenings are crowded; bring cash; check the season and times for the ropeway. Kamokimi-no-Yu is the most convenient large onsen in south-western Nara, and fits into a day's plan whether you are staying in Osaka or in Nara.
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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