Fukuoka · Kurume & Tanushimaru (Minou)
Minou Sansō natural hot spring (Kurume)
天然温泉 みのう山荘（久留米・田主丸）
A day-use-only onsen on the slopes of the Minou range above Tanushimaru in Kurume, fruit-picking country an hour by car from Fukuoka city. The panoramic open-air bath looks over the Chikugo plain and river, most popular at dusk and after dark for the lights. The water is a skin-smoothing alkaline simple spring. Besides the indoor and open-air baths there are family baths (indoor ¥2,500 per hour, with open-air tub ¥3,600), and the attached café is loved for weekday lunches and desserts. ¥880; open 10:00–20:00 (main bath last entry 19:30), closed Thursdays and the 1st and 3rd Wednesday (open on holidays). Ten minutes by car from JR Tanushimaru Station, 15 from Asakura IC. A fine finish to a Fukuoka-area drive with Harazuru Onsen or Yanagawa.
- Price (adult)
- ¥880
- Hours
- 10:00–20:00 (last entry 19:30 main bath, 19:00 family baths)
- Closed
- Thu & 1st/3rd Wed (open on holidays)
- Access
- 10 min by taxi from JR Tanushimaru Station (Kyūdai Line); 15 min by car from Asakura IC; about 60 min by car from Fukuoka city
- Water type
- Alkaline simple
- Tattoos
- Ask ahead
- Admission
- Panoramic main bath: adults (junior high and up) ¥880 / children (3+) ¥500. Family baths: indoor-only (4 rooms) ¥2,500 per 60 min, with open-air tub (1 room) ¥3,520 per 60 min. No phone or online booking — first come, first served via the sign-up sheet at reception
- Baths
- Gender-separated panoramic baths (indoor pool plus a rotenburo for about five, overlooking the Chikugo Plain), with a small sauna and cold plunge. The five family baths run on coin timers and are refilled for every party — 'always the first bath'. A café (weekdays 11:00–17:00) and takeaway counter on site
- Water
- Simple spring (weakly alkaline, hypotonic, hot source), free-flowing from the source. A gently slippery, soft feel; on the cool side so you can linger, yet it warms you through. Indicated for neuralgia, muscle pain, fatigue, poor circulation
- Parking & access
- Free parking for about 35 cars (often full at weekends). About 10 min by taxi from Tanushimaru Station on the JR Kyudai Line (3.5 km; 40+ min uphill on foot). By car about 20 min from Asakura IC on the Oita Expressway, 30 min from Kurume IC, 70 min from central Fukuoka
- Phone
- 0943-74-1268
- Official site
- minou-sansou.com ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
Find a stay on Trip.com
Search and book accommodation across Japan on Trip.com. Day-use bathing needs no booking.
Opens partner booking site (affiliate)
Why go
- Panoramic open-air bath over the Chikugo plain
- Family baths and café, ¥880
- Day-use onsen an hour from Fukuoka
A grown-ups' hideaway on the Minou hills
Minou Sanso is a day-use hot spring on the slopes of the Minou range, the ridge that stands like a folding screen along the south of the Chikugo Plain, in Tanushimaru, Kurume, Fukuoka. The grounds hold just two buildings — the bathhouse and a stylish café — and the baths are reached by stairs beyond reception, with separate entrances for men and women. The great draw is the view: the Chikugo Plain and river spread out below, and on clear days the mountains beyond; the open daytime panorama and the hour when lights come on across the plain at dusk are both popular. Its quiet hillside mood has earned it a local reputation as a grown-ups' hideaway, and with rising visitor numbers there can be a wait at weekends.
Free-flowing panoramic baths and always-fresh family baths
The panoramic bathhouse has, for each sex, an indoor pool, a rotenburo for about five and a small sauna with cold plunge. The weakly alkaline simple spring flows straight from the source; it feels softly slippery and runs on the cool side, so you can linger over the view and stay warm long after. The family baths comprise four indoor-only rooms and one with an open-air tub, all on coin timers, so the tub is emptied and refilled between every party — the 'always the first bath' the house advertises. As there is only one open-air room, a queue forms before opening; the local way is to write your name on the sign-up sheet and wait in the car park.
Tips
Open 10:00–20:00 (last entry 19:30 for the main bath, 19:00 for family baths), closed Thursdays and the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays (open on holidays). Adults ¥880, children ¥500; family baths ¥2,500 per hour (¥3,520 with open-air tub). Neither the baths nor the café take reservations or timed bookings. The café runs weekdays 11:00–17:00 (to 15:00 on Fridays) with takeaway until 19:30 — coffee on the terrace looking over the plain after your bath is the classic routine. Parking holds only about 35 cars, so arrive early at weekends. Public transport is awkward (3.5 km uphill from Tanushimaru Station), so a car or taxi is the realistic option.
Before you go
- No official tattoo policy is published — ask at reception.
- Last entry is 30–60 minutes before closing.
Features
Rules & private
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.
More in this area
Futsukaichi Onsen Hakatayu
Thirty minutes by train from Fukuoka, next to Dazaifu, this communal bath belongs to Futsukaichi Onsen, a spring with 1,300 years of history. A single tub in a wooden building, but 100% free-flowing alkaline water leaves skin slick and smooth, and locals keep coming. ¥350 weekdays, ¥450 weekends. Upstairs rest room, plus onsen coffee and hot-spring eggs. Increasingly paired with a visit to Dazaifu Tenmangu.
Harazuru Onsen Kosen
An hour by car from Fukuoka city, a day-bathing facility in Harazuru Onsen, where ryokan line the Chikugo River. The water is both alkaline and sulfurous — a 'double beauty bath' — for ¥600, 10:00–19:00. Day packages with a rest room are also offered. Combine with summer cormorant fishing on the river or the triple waterwheels of Asakura in spring. Registered with the Fukuoka onsen association. Closed Wednesdays.
Minato Onsen Namiha-no-yu
A natural onsen inside Bayside Place Hakata at the port, 15 minutes by bus from Hakata Station. Chloride 'heat water' gushes at 400 litres a minute from 800 m down, filling a free-flowing lukewarm pool and a hot outdoor bath. Sauna, seven stone-sauna rooms and private baths (¥3,900 for 90 min, up to four people). It shares the site with the ferry terminal for Shikanoshima and Nokonoshima. ¥1,100 weekdays, open until midnight.
