Ōita · Nagayu Onsen
Nagayu Onsen Gozen-yu
長湯温泉療養文化館 御前湯
The flagship bathhouse of Nagayu Onsen in Ōita, which bills itself as Japan's best carbonated spring. Its European look comes from a sister-city tie with Bad Krozingen in Germany, and inside the water flows straight from the source with no heating or dilution. The rust-brown sodium-bicarbonate water is rich in iron and CO₂, and fine bubbles cling to your skin in the tub. Gender-separated indoor and open-air baths on the 1st and 3rd floors swap daily. Open 06:00–21:00 (last entry 20:00) — great for an early soak; closed the 3rd Wednesday of each month. Adults from outside the city pay ¥700; a private family bath is ¥2,400 for 50 minutes. Cards and QR payment accepted. 25 minutes by car from JR Bungo-Taketa Station.
- Price (adult)
- ¥700
- Hours
- 06:00–21:00 (last entry 20:00)
- Closed
- 3rd Wednesday
- Access
- About 25 min by car from JR Bungo-Taketa Station, or about 60 min by Ōita Bus (Nagayu line) to 'Gozenyu-mae'; about 50 min by car from Yufuin IC
- Water type
- Bicarbonate spring
- Tattoos
- Ask ahead
- Admission
- Adults (non-residents) ¥700 / elementary ¥300 / under 6 free (residents ¥500). Four private baths ¥2,400 per 50 min (up to 4). Soap and shampoo provided; towels sold. Ground-floor cafeteria (10:00–17:00). The town-run “Spa Therapy Culture Hall”
- Baths
- Opened 1998; a three-storey German-style building designed for light and ventilation. The two bath halls swap daily: the ground floor has a rotenburo on the Seri River, the 3rd floor a panoramic hall with sauna. Each has several tubs at different temperatures (by source). Four private baths. Big tatami lounge; Gani-yu is visible across the river
- Water
- Magnesium-sodium bicarbonate spring (CO₂-bearing) from three private sources at 29.9–48.1 °C, 510 litres a minute. Free-flowing without heating or dilution, each tub on its own source temperature — brownish, iron-rich, with carbonic bubbles in the cooler tubs. Drinkable. Nagayu promotes German-style spa therapy: long soaks in tepid water
- Parking
- About 50 free spaces. Centre of the spa town; bus ~50 min from Bungo-Taketa Station to “Nagayu”, then 3 min on foot
- Phone
- 0974-64-1400
- Official site
- gozenyu.com ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
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Why go
- Japan's top carbonated spring, free-flowing
- Rust-brown bath open from 6 am
- Private bath ¥2,400 / 50 min
Hub of German-style spa therapy — a town-run bathhouse with each tub at its own source temperature
Gozen-yu is Nagayu’s town-run “Spa Therapy Culture Hall”, built in German style on the Seri River in 1998 and named after the “Gozen” bath reserved for the lords of Oka domain in the Edo period. Nagayu is twinned with Bad Krozingen in Germany and practises German-style spa therapy — long soaks in tepid water — and this is its hub: three private sources (29.9–48.1 °C, 510 litres a minute) are run unheated and undiluted into separate tubs, each at its own temperature, so you can warm up in a hot tub and then spend 30 minutes or more in a cool one amid carbonic bubbles, exactly as “nagayu” (long bathing) prescribes. The brownish, iron-scented magnesium-sodium bicarbonate water is drinkable too. The ground-floor hall has a riverside rotenburo, the 3rd-floor hall a panoramic bath with sauna; they swap daily, so a two-night stay covers both, and across the river you can see Gani-yu, Nagayu’s famous free mixed outdoor bath. For ¥700 you also get a large tatami lounge, a cafeteria and four private baths — the ideal place to unwind after the intense fizz of Ramune Onsenkan. Open from 06:00 for a morning bath.
Tips & cautions
- Closed 3rd Wednesday. Reception until 20:00.
- Halls swap daily — check the sign at the entrance for whether you get the riverside rotenburo (1F) or the panoramic bath with sauna (3F).
- German-style routine: 3–5 min hot, then 20–30 min tepid; drink water often.
- Iron-rich water can stain white towels brown.
- Start with half a cup at the drinking fountain.
- Private baths take up to 4 for 50 min at ¥2,400 — good for families or bathers with tattoos; sign up on site.
- An hour by car from Oita or Kumamoto; public transport is sparse — a rental car is recommended.
Getting there
Ono-Taketa bus ~50 min from Bungo-Taketa Station (JR Hohi line) to “Nagayu”, then 3 min on foot (Nagayu 7962-1, Naoiri-machi, Taketa). ~1 h by car from Oita Station or Kumamoto/Aso. About 50 free spaces. Tel. 0974-64-1400.
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.
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