Tochigi · Nasu Onsen
Kojika-no-yu
小鹿の湯
A day-use facility on the same source as Shika-no-yu, open every day until 9 pm with an open-air bath and private rooms. Ideal for families or anyone daunted by Shika-no-yu's rituals — the milky water is identical.
- Price (adult)
- ¥500
- Hours
- 09:00-21:00(last entry 20:00)
- Closed
- Open daily
- Access
- Bus from JR Kuroiso Station (35 min) to Nasu-Yumoto Onsen, 5 min walk
- Water type
- Sulfur spring
- Tattoos
- Ask ahead
- Admission
- Adults ¥500 / children (3 to elementary) ¥300, same on weekends. 7-visit weekday book ¥2,800. Lockers ¥100 (non-refundable)
- Baths
- Indoor wooden tubs plus open-air baths (wooden for men, ceramic for women); rotenburo until 19:00. Showers and washing area — unlike Shika-no-yu you can wash here
- Water
- Free-flowing water piped from the same source as Shika-no-yu (simple acidic sulfur, hydrogen-sulfide type). Milky, and gentler in temperature than Shika-no-yu, so good for longer soaks; praised for silky skin
- Entry limits
- Entry may be restricted 14:30–18:30 on Saturdays and holidays when crowded. Attached to the Tachibanaya Hanaya Hotel on the Nasu highway; free parking for 10–15
- Phone
- 0287-76-2333
- Official site
- kojikanoyu.com ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
Stay in this onsen town
Compare and book stays in Nasu Onsen. Day bathing itself needs no booking.
Opens partner booking site (affiliate)
Why go
- Same source as Shika-no-yu, open till 9 pm
- Open-air and private baths
- Family and beginner friendly
Shika-no-yu’s water, with showers and time to linger
Kojika-no-yu (“fawn bath”), three minutes from Shika-no-yu and attached to the Tachibanaya Hanaya Hotel on the Nasu highway, uses free-flowing water from the same strongly acidic sulfur source. The difference is how you bathe: where Shika-no-yu is a hot cure bath with no washing area, here you get showers, a washing area and gentler temperatures for an unhurried soak in the milky water. There are wooden indoor tubs and open-air baths (wood for men, ceramic for women), and it stays open until 21:00 — ideal for washing off after Shika-no-yu’s heat, or for families with children and seniors.
Tips & cautions
- Reception until 20:00; rotenburo until 19:00. Possible entry limits on Saturday/holiday afternoons — go in the morning or after 19:00.
- Same strongly acidic sulfur water: tarnishes silver, mind your eyes, smell lingers, stains white towels.
- Lockers ¥100, not refunded. Bring a towel.
- Pair with Shika-no-yu (¥500) for a ¥1,000 “cure plus wash” combo. Right by the “Yumoto 1-chome” bus stop.
Getting there
Bus ~27–35 min from JR Kuroiso Station toward Nasu-Yumoto to “Yumoto 1-chome”, right there (Yumoto 77). ~10 km / 15 min from Nasu IC. Free parking for 10–15.
Before you go
- No official tattoo policy is published — ask at reception.
- As a communal bath there is no soap or shampoo — bring your own or buy at the shop.
- The water runs hot (43–45°C). Don't add cold water; take short repeated dips instead.
- Payment is usually by ticket machine in cash — bring coins.
- Last entry is 30–60 minutes before closing.
Features
Price
Convenience
Rules & private
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
Moto-yu Shika-no-yu
The 1,300-year-old birthplace of Nasu Onsen. Inside the wooden bathhouse, tubs are graded from 41 to 48°C, all fed with milky, strongly acidic sulfur water. No showers, no soap — start with the traditional head-dousing ritual.
Kinugawa Onsen Niouson Plaza (day bathing)
A small riverside hotel on the south side of Kinugawa Onsen, five minutes from Tobu World Square Station. While the big hotels stop day bathing around 15:00, this one welcomes walk-ins 9:00–21:00 for ¥700. Its own alkaline sulfur spring (43.6 °C) flows 100% free into a quirky set of baths: a rotenburo made from an actual Kinugawa river-cruise boat, a rock rotenburo, indoor baths and a swimsuit mixed bath. The slightly cool, silky water is highly rated by onsen fans.
Ōmaru Onsen Ryokan, Oku-Nasu (River Bath)
A lone inn at 1,300 m, the last stop in the Nasu hot-spring range. Spring water gushes out behind the building in such volume that it forms a river, dammed into the vast outdoor 'Kawa-no-yu' — nothing else like it in Japan. Mixed bathing since the inn's founding, but bathing wear is included so beginners can relax. Day use is limited to three hours (reception 11:30–14:30), ¥1,300 with face towel and bathing wear. The outdoor bath closes in bad weather or for cleaning, so phone ahead. Autumn colour and snow seasons are the draw.
