Shiga · Kita-Ōmi & Takatsuki (North Nagahama)
Kita-Ōmi Resort Kita-Ōmi-no-Yu
北近江リゾート 天然温泉 北近江の湯
A stay-as-long-as-you-like hot spring resort among the fields of Takatsuki, in northern Nagahama near the top of Lake Biwa. The chloride spring pumped from 1,500 m underground is gentle on the skin and keeps you warm, earning it the nickname 'beautiful-skin water', enjoyed in indoor and open-air baths. The men's side has a high-temperature sauna and bubble bath, the women's an herbal mist sauna and jet bath, each with a cold plunge and outdoor cooling area. Inside are a lounge with co-working space, nap 'nest rooms', a restaurant and even lodging, and the complex is open around the clock (bathing suspended during cleaning). The basic bathing course without loungewear costs ¥900 for adults on weekdays and ¥1,200 on weekends and holidays (children ¥500/¥700, valid 6:00–24:00); the relaxed course with loungewear and towels is ¥1,600/¥1,800, with a surcharge from midnight to 6 am. Closed the second and fourth Wednesdays. About 1.9 km from JR Takatsuki Station or 5 minutes by taxi from Kinomoto Station, and close to the Kinomoto IC on the Hokuriku Expressway – a good base for the Kohoku Kannon temples, Nagahama and Lake Yogo.
- Price (adult)
- ¥900
- Hours
- 06:00–24:00 (complex open 24 h)
- Closed
- 2nd & 4th Wednesdays
- Access
- About 5 min by taxi from JR Kinomoto Station (Hokuriku Line); about 25 min on foot (1.9 km) from Takatsuki Station; about 5 min by car from Kinomoto IC on the Hokuriku Expressway
- Water type
- Simple spring
- Tattoos
- Ask ahead
- Admission
- Bathing course adults ¥900 weekdays / ¥1,200 weekends and holidays, children aged 4–12 ¥500/¥700. Relaxing course (lounge wear and towel set included) ¥1,600/¥1,800, children ¥800/¥900, under 3 free, with a surcharge for staying between midnight and 6 a.m. Shampoo and body soap provided, towels charged, plus a coworking lounge, restaurant and bread bakery. Cash and cards
- Baths
- A stay-over onsen resort in Takatsuki, Nagahama, on the shore of Lake Biwa, standing among rice fields beside National Route 8. A sodium chloride and hydrogen carbonate spring from 1,500 m underground is enjoyed in the indoor bath and the rotenburo; the men's side has an auto-löyly high-temperature sauna plus a far-infrared sauna while the women's has a far-infrared sauna and a mist sauna, with a plunge and open-air cooling. With a coworking lounge and nest rooms for napping, it is a place to spend a whole day in the onsen
- Spring water
- A sodium chloride and hydrogen carbonate spring (hypotonic, weakly alkaline) welling from 1,500 m underground. Slick to the touch, it softens the skin and the body does not cool quickly, so it is called a beauty-skin spring. The saunas include an auto-löyly high-temperature sauna, a far-infrared sauna and a mist sauna, and there is a plunge and an open-air cooling area, so it suits those who alternate between onsen and sauna
- Access & parking
- By car 3 km and 5 minutes from Kinomoto IC on the Hokuriku Expressway via Route 8, 10 minutes from JR Takatsuki Station, 5 by taxi from Kinomoto Station, 25 from Maibara Station, an hour and a half from Kyoto or Osaka. Free parking for 330, so cyclists and motorcyclists are comfortable too. Close to the Tōganji Kannon-dō with its National Treasure eleven-faced Kannon, Lake Yogo and the old post-town streets of Shiotsu, it works well as a base for the Kohoku area
- Phone
- 0749-85-8888
- Official site
- kitaoumi.com ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
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Why go
- Chloride 'beautiful-skin' spring from 1,500 m down
- Open 24 h with lounge and nap rooms
- Bath-only ¥900 weekdays; closed 2nd & 4th Wed
A 24-hour onsen resort on the north shore of Lake Biwa
Kita-Ōmi-no-Yu is a stay-over onsen resort in Takatsuki, Nagahama, Shiga, standing among rice fields a few minutes from National Route 8 and Kinomoto IC on the Hokuriku Expressway. 'Kita-Ōmi' is the old name for the north of Lake Biwa, and although it is only some 90 minutes by car from Kyoto or Osaka, the surroundings are nothing but fields and hills, with no city noise at all. The onsen is a sodium chloride and hydrogen carbonate spring (hypotonic, weakly alkaline) from 1,500 m underground, slick to the touch and slow to leave the body cold — the classic 'beauty-skin spring'. The baths have jets, a lying-down tub and a jacuzzi indoors and out, and the men's and women's sides differ: the men's has an auto-löyly high-temperature sauna and a far-infrared sauna, the women's a far-infrared sauna and a mist sauna, so couples and families each get a different sauna, and with a plunge and an open-air cooling area it fully serves a visit aimed at onsen plus sauna. What makes the place special is its stay-over equipment. The bathing course (¥900 on a weekday) alone lets you enjoy the onsen, but the relaxing course (¥1,600 weekdays, ¥1,800 weekends and holidays) adds lounge wear and a towel set and free use of a coworking lounge with Wi-Fi, power sockets and free drinks, plus nest rooms where you can lie down — so working in the morning and taking the onsen in the afternoon is possible. The restaurant (Kita-Ōmi Shokudō) serves a chef's plate and 'sauna meals', and the on-site bakery sells fresh bread from 9 a.m., useful for breakfast. The complex itself is open 24 hours, but bathing runs 6 a.m. to midnight, a surcharge applies to staying between midnight and 6 a.m., and it closes the second and fourth Wednesdays. With free parking for 330, not only drivers but cyclists and motorcyclists can drop in easily, and with the Tōganji Kannon-dō — home of a National Treasure eleven-faced Kannon — and Lake Yogo nearby, it makes a good base for the Kohoku area.
A day of onsen, sauna and coworking
Enter from the free car park (330 spaces) and choose the bathing course (¥900 on a weekday) or the relaxing course (¥1,600). If you plan to stay more than half a day the relaxing course pays off, since it includes lounge wear, a towel set and use of the coworking lounge. A recommended circuit: wash and soak 10 minutes indoors; loosen up in the jets and the lying-down tub; 8–10 minutes in the sauna, a minute in the plunge and 5 minutes of open-air cooling, three sets (in the men's bath it pays to time this to the auto-löyly); 15 minutes in the rotenburo; and finish with the jacuzzi. The sodium chloride and hydrogen carbonate water is slick with good heat retention, especially good in winter, and the contrast with the plunge and open air after the sauna is satisfying. Afterwards work in the relaxing lounge (free Wi-Fi, power sockets, free drinks) or nap in a nest room, and eat a chef's plate or a 'sauna meal' of Kohoku ingredients in the restaurant to fill the day. If you come in the morning, combining the morning bath with fresh bread from the bakery, which opens at 9, works well, and travellers arriving at night to sleep in a car or stay in the complex should plan around the surcharge for staying between midnight and 6 a.m. Notes: closed the second and fourth Wednesdays; bathing is 6:00–24:00 (the complex is open 24 hours); a surcharge applies to overnight stays; towels are charged (included in the relaxing course); weekend afternoons are crowded; cash and cards accepted. Kita-Ōmi-no-Yu solves cheap bathing, saunas and a place to stay all day in one spot, making it the onsen base of northern Shiga.
Practical details and an onsen and sightseeing route in Kohoku
Bathing runs 6:00–24:00 (the complex is open 24 hours but bathing is closed during cleaning), it closes the second and fourth Wednesdays, and the rates are: bathing course adults ¥900 weekdays / ¥1,200 weekends and holidays, children ¥500/¥700; relaxing course ¥1,600/¥1,800 (children ¥800/¥900); under 3 free; a surcharge between midnight and 6 a.m.; free parking for 330. Access is 5 minutes from Kinomoto IC, 10 from Takatsuki Station, 5 by taxi from Kinomoto Station. Suggested routes: (1) a day in Kohoku — the Tōganji Kannon-dō (National Treasure eleven-faced Kannon), Lake Yogo, a bath at Kita-Ōmi-no-Yu, then soba in Kinomoto; (2) Nagahama — Kurokabe Square and Nagahama Castle, a bath, an overnight in the onsen; (3) a sauna expedition — an afternoon bath, three sets in the auto-löyly sauna with the plunge and open-air cooling, then a sauna meal; (4) a workation — the coworking lounge in the morning, lunch in the restaurant, onsen and a nest room in the afternoon; (5) cycling — a bath in the middle of the Lake Biwa loop (the Kohoku section), leaving luggage in a locker before setting off again. Notes: closed the second and fourth Wednesdays; towels are charged (check whether your course includes them); overnight surcharge; weekend crowds; cash and cards accepted. Kita-Ōmi-no-Yu works both as a day trip from Kyoto or Osaka and as the base for a journey through Kohoku.
Before you go
- No official tattoo policy is published — ask at reception.
- Last entry is 30–60 minutes before closing.
Features
Sauna & wellness
Price
Who with
Amenities
✔ Verified operating: 2026-10 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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