Saitama · Kawagoe
Chiisana Tabi Kawagoe Onsen
小さな旅 川越温泉
A natural hot spring to visit after strolling Kawagoe's 'Little Edo' warehouse street. Its own sodium-chloride spring from 1,200 m fills indoor and open-air baths in two zones, 'Wood' and 'Stone', which swap between men and women daily. Nine baths and three saunas in all — a carbonated bath made by dissolving CO₂ into the spring water, a free-flowing source bath, bedrock-bath rooms and a private family bath — make for an in-house bath-hopping course. Adults ¥850 on weekdays, ¥950 on weekends and holidays; open 10:00–24:00 (from 09:00 on weekends and holidays, last entry 23:00), no regular closing day apart from maintenance. Body soap and shampoo provided; a soba-and-udon restaurant, massage and body scrub are on site. Seibu bus from Hon-Kawagoe Station (Seibu Shinjuku Line) to the 'Hōmukyoku' stop; 150 free parking spaces.
- Price (adult)
- ¥850
- Hours
- 10:00–24:00 (from 9:00 on weekends/holidays)
- Closed
- Open daily (closes for maintenance)
- Access
- Seibu bus (for Kasumino) from Hon-Kawagoe Station to 'Hōmukyoku', right by the stop; about 10 min by taxi from JR/Tōbu Kawagoe Station; about 10 min by car from Kawagoe IC
- Water type
- Simple spring
- Tattoos
- Not allowed
- Admission
- Adults ¥850 weekdays / ¥950 weekends and holidays, children ¥450 (¥800-level before 2022). Towel-set rental charged (about ¥250), shampoo provided; keep your shoe-locker key or leave it at the front desk. Bedrock bath extra (about ¥500–600 incl. loungewear), private family bath 50 min charged and by reservation, restaurant (soba, set meals), rest room, massage chairs, scrubs. Scheduled loyly sessions. No tattoos
- Baths
- A natural hot-spring super-sento on the outskirts of Kawagoe, Saitama. True to its name 'A Little Journey', it is laid out as a 'bath pilgrimage' through nine tubs and three saunas; the two bathhouses, 'Ki-no-yu' (wood) and 'Ishi-no-yu' (stone), alternate between men and women on odd and even dates. An open-air free-flowing source bath (brown chloride water), a high-concentration carbonated bath, and a sauna with one of Kanto's largest picture windows overlooking the rotenburo, with loyly. 15 min by car from Kawagoe's 'Little Edo' sights (the warehouse district, Kashiya Yokocho, Kita-in temple) and 7 min from Kawagoe IC — convenient after sightseeing
- Spring water
- Kawagoe Onsen, a strong sodium-chloride spring (hypertonic, weakly alkaline, about 40°C at source from 1,200 m down). Brown 'fossil seawater' type with a salty taste and strong heat retention; the open-air free-flowing pool is near-unheated at 39–40°C. Indicated for poor circulation, neuralgia, muscle pain, cuts, dry skin and fatigue. The high-concentration carbonated bath (artificial) boosts circulation
- Access & parking
- Free shuttle about 15 min from the west exit of Kawagoe Station (Tobu Tojo Line / JR; 1–2 an hour, check the timetable) or 10 min by taxi; shuttle also from Hon-Kawagoe on the Seibu Shinjuku Line. 30 min from Ikebukuro by Tojo Line express. By car 7 min from Kawagoe IC on the Kan-etsu Expressway, near Route 16. Free parking for 150–160. Little Edo warehouse district 15 min, Kita-in 10 min by car
- Phone
- 049-249-4126
- Official site
- kawagoe-onsen.com ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
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Why go
- Own-source onsen to end a Kawagoe day
- 9 baths, 3 saunas, carbonated bath
- Open till midnight; from 9 am weekends
A 'little journey' after Little Edo: nine baths and three saunas at Kawagoe Onsen
'Chiisana Tabi Kawagoe Onsen' — 'A Little Journey' — is a natural hot-spring super-sento on the outskirts of Kawagoe, Saitama, fifteen minutes by car from the 'Little Edo' sights famous for their Edo-period warehouse streets. As its name suggests, the concept is a small bath pilgrimage: nine tubs and three saunas spread across two bathhouses of different mood, 'Ki-no-yu' (wood) and 'Ishi-no-yu' (stone), which swap between men and women on odd and even dates so that each return visit offers something new. The brown strong-chloride water from 1,200 m underground is salty and highly heat-retaining, and the open-air 'free-flowing source bath' runs the 39–40°C spring through with minimal heating, letting you enjoy a 'real onsen' at length so close to the capital. A sauna with one of the Kanto region's largest picture windows overlooking the whole rotenburo holds regular aroma-loyly sessions, and with a high-concentration carbonated bath, bedrock baths, a private family bath and a restaurant it satisfies families, couples and sauna fans alike. At ¥850 on weekdays and ¥950 on weekends and holidays, open until midnight, with a free shuttle from Kawagoe Station — 30 minutes from Ikebukuro by Tojo Line plus 15 by bus — it is an easy trip from Tokyo and especially recommended as the 'onsen finale' after touring Kawagoe's warehouse district, Kashiya Yokocho, Kita-in and Hikawa Shrine.
Alternating wood and stone baths, a picture-window sauna and brown free-flowing water
Stow your shoes (keep the key or leave it at the desk), pay at the front and receive a locker key. Check the sign at the entrance to see whether the men's side that day is 'Ki-no-yu' or 'Ishi-no-yu' (women get Ki-no-yu on odd dates). Ki-no-yu features a cypress-scented indoor bath and a wooden-deck rotenburo; Ishi-no-yu a wilder rock-built one; both have the brown 'free-flowing source bath' outdoors. The recommended order: wash, warm up in the indoor high-concentration carbonated bath (37–38°C; stay ten minutes to feel the bubbles), then the open-air source pool. Fifteen to twenty minutes in the salty 39–40°C brown water heats you from the core, so you can sit outside even in winter, and the salt left on the skin keeps you warm for ages. The sauna is a 'view sauna' (80–90°C) behind a huge window over the rotenburo, with scheduled loyly sessions (aroma water on the stones, hot air fanned with towels — timetable posted), plus a medium-heat salt sauna, a steam sauna, a plunge and outdoor chairs, busy with sauna-goers even on weekday nights. Round off with the pot tubs, reclining bath and jet bath and your nine-bath pilgrimage is complete. The bedrock baths (extra charge, loungewear) have rooms with no time limit, a cool room and a rest area, and the family bath (50 min, reservation) is handy with small children. The restaurant serves soba, udon, set meals and draught beer, plus Kawagoe's famous sweet-potato desserts. Crowds peak 15:00–21:00 on weekends with possible waits for wash stations; after 9 p.m. on weekdays or right at the 9 a.m. weekend opening is most comfortable. Check the last shuttle, and note tattoos are not permitted.
Practical details and a Little Edo Kawagoe route
Hours are 10:00–24:00 on weekdays and 9:00–24:00 on weekends and holidays (last entry around 23:00–23:30), open year-round (maintenance closures announced); adults ¥850 weekdays / ¥950 weekends and holidays, children ¥450, bedrock bath and towels extra, parking free. Access is the free 15-minute shuttle from the west exit of Kawagoe Station (1–2 an hour) or 10 minutes by taxi; 7 minutes by car from Kawagoe IC; from Tokyo 30 minutes by Tojo Line express from Ikebukuro or 45 by Seibu Shinjuku Line limited express. Suggested routes: (1) a Little Edo day — Hon-Kawagoe Station in the morning, the warehouse streets, the Toki-no-kane bell tower and Kashiya Yokocho sweet alley, lunch of sweet-potato dishes or eel, Kita-in (500 rakan statues) and Hikawa Shrine (matchmaking, summer wind-chime festival), shuttle from Kawagoe Station to the onsen, back to Tokyo at night; (2) a kimono stroll — rent a kimono near the station for photos in the warehouse district, then rest at the onsen after returning it; (3) bathe on the night of the Kawagoe Festival (third weekend of October, float procession, UNESCO intangible heritage) to escape the crowds; (4) a drive — a bath right by Kawagoe IC on the way back from Chichibu and Nagatoro on the Kan-etsu; (5) compare Saitama's springs — the brown chloride waters of 'Yura-no-sato Kawagoe' and 'Hatsukari Onsen' in the same city. The baths swap on odd and even dates, so pick your date if you want 'Ki-no-yu', and since weekend evenings are crowded, a late visit after sightseeing is more comfortable. Miss the last shuttle (around 10 p.m.) and a taxi takes 10 minutes.
Before you go
- Tattoos are explicitly not allowed, even if covered.
- Last entry is 30–60 minutes before closing.
Features
Sauna & wellness
Rules & private
Who with
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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