Okinawa · Nanjo (Southern Okinawa)
Sashiki Enjin-no-Yu Natural Hot Spring (Yuinchi Hotel Nanjo)
天然温泉 さしきの猿人の湯（ユインチホテル南城）
Thirty minutes by car from Naha Airport, a natural hot spring in a hilltop resort hotel in Nanjo, southern Okinawa. Golden water from strata about 5.4 million years old carries roughly 80% the salinity of seawater and is prized for warmth and skin care. The panoramic bath and rotenburo overlook Nakagusuku Bay and the Chinen Peninsula. Open 6:30–23:00 daily; ¥2,200 including a towel set and loungewear. Pair with Sefa Utaki or Cape Chinen.
- Price (adult)
- ¥2,200
- Hours
- 6:30–23:00 (last entry 22:30)
- Closed
- Open daily
- Access
- 30 min by car from Naha Airport; bus from Naha Bus Terminal to Shinzato, then 10 min walk
- Water type
- Simple spring
- Tattoos
- Ask ahead
- Admission
- Adults ¥2,050 plus ¥150 bath tax = ¥2,200; elementary ¥1,200; under 6 free (up to two per adult). Bath and face towels and loungewear lent free, shampoo, body soap and dryers provided — truly nothing to bring. Two private family baths (barrier-free, from ¥6,000, reservation). Free for hotel guests. Bath-plus-lunch packages. Tattoos of any kind — including stickers and small ones — are not admitted, even in the private baths
- Baths
- Hot spring (opened 2008) inside the hilltop resort 'Yuinchi Hotel Nanjo' in Sashiki, Nanjo. A panoramic main bath (gender-separated indoor) overlooking the Pacific and the Chinen peninsula, a cascade bath, a löyly sauna and cold plunge. No rotenburo — the view is through large windows. Two private baths. Lounge, restaurant and shop; hotel pool (summer), golf range and tennis. Night views over Yonabaru and Baten
- Spring water
- Iodine-bearing sodium chloride strong-salt spring, 52°C at source (used at 42°C), pumped from 1,500–2,119 m — 'fossil seawater' about five million years old. Free-flowing with no dilution or heating (no recirculation; minimal chlorination). Clear amber to brown, strongly salty with a faint oily note from the iodine; powerfully warming and moisturising, a 'heat bath'. Indicated for poor circulation, joint pain, dry skin, peripheral circulatory disorders and fatigue. Its iodine content is among the highest in Japan. The foremost natural hot spring in southern Okinawa Island
- Access & parking
- Free parking for 400 cars. By car about 40 min from Naha Airport, 30 min from central Naha, 15 min from Haebaru-kita IC on the Okinawa Expressway. By bus take route 39 (Momohara line) or 338 from Naha Bus Terminal to 'Yuinchi Hotel Nanjo' or 'Shinzato' (about 1 h–1 h 10 min). The hotel shuttle is for guests (check). Sefa-utaki 15 min by car, Cape Chinen and Okinawa World 15–20 min
- Phone
- 098-947-0111
- Official site
- yuinchi.jp ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
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Why go
- Golden water 80% as salty as the sea
- Nakagusuku Bay from the rotenburo
- 6:30–23:00, open daily
Five-million-year-old fossil seawater and a Pacific panorama in southern Okinawa
Sashiki-no Enjin-no-Yu is a natural hot spring inside the Yuinchi Hotel Nanjo, a resort perched on a hill at Sashiki in Nanjo, southern Okinawa Island. In 2008 a bore sunk 1,500–2,119 m struck 'fossil seawater' sealed in strata some five million years old — the age when the earliest human ancestors appeared, hence the name 'Ape-man's Bath'. The iodine-bearing sodium chloride strong-salt water rises at 52°C and flows through the baths without dilution or heating; its amber water holds one of Japan's highest iodine concentrations and is a 'heat bath' that keeps you warm for hours. Beyond the great windows of the panoramic main bath spread the Pacific and the Chinen peninsula, and at night the lights of Yonabaru; there is a löyly sauna and private baths too. Open 6:30 to 23:00 every day, ¥2,200 including towels and loungewear so you can arrive empty-handed, it is a natural stop on a tour of southern sacred sites such as Sefa-utaki or on the way to Naha Airport. Tattoos of any size are strictly barred.
Salty amber water and the sea through great windows — no rotenburo, but...
Pay at reception and you are handed bath and face towels and loungewear; the changing rooms stock shampoo, lotion and dryers, so you truly need bring nothing. The gender-separated panoramic baths have floor-to-ceiling glass on the sea side, a large main pool, a cascade bath, a Finnish-style sauna with löyly and a cold plunge. The lack of a rotenburo is a pity, but from the hilltop the windows frame the Pacific and the Chinen peninsula — Kudaka island on clear days — and dusk and the night lights are especially lovely. The water is a clear amber, as salty as seawater on the lips with the faintly oily scent of iodine; a few minutes in the 42°C pool brings out the sweat, and afterwards the skin feels coated and stays warm for ages. Being undiluted and strongly saline, take short dips rather than long soaks and drink plenty of water. The two-person private baths outdoors behind the pool are barrier-free and good for families and the elderly, but require reservation and a surcharge (from ¥6,000). Many finish in the lounge gazing at the sea or opt for the bath-plus-lunch plan with its Okinawan buffet.
Practical details, a southern-Okinawa route and the tattoo rule
Hours are 6:30–23:00 (last entry 22:30), open every day. Adults pay ¥2,050 plus ¥150 bath tax, ¥2,200 in all; elementary ¥1,200; under-sixes free, two per adult; towels and loungewear included. Dearer than municipal baths, but reasonable for the hotel facilities, the view and bathing empty-handed — look into the lunch-buffet set and discount schemes such as the 'Yuinchi Passport'. Parking for 400 is free; it is 40 minutes by car from Naha Airport or just over an hour by bus 39 or 338 from Naha Bus Terminal. A popular southern circuit takes in the World Heritage Sefa-utaki and Cape Chinen (15 min by car), the Niraikanai bridge, Okinawa World and Gyokusendo cave (20 min) and the Himeyuri Peace Museum (30 min) before finishing with a soak and the night view — or a morning bath on departure day before the airport. The key caveat is the tattoo rule: any size, type or sticker means refusal, private baths included, so those affected should choose elsewhere. Also note there is no rotenburo, the sauna is Finnish löyly style, and the strong salt will sting any cuts.
Before you go
- No official tattoo policy is published — ask at reception.
- Last entry is 30–60 minutes before closing.
Features
Sauna & wellness
Mood & scenery
Convenience
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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