Okinawa · Motobu (Churaumi)
Hotel Orion Motobu Resort & Spa – Jurassic Onsen Churaumi-no-yu
ホテル オリオン モトブ リゾート＆スパ ジュラ紀温泉 美ら海の湯
An onsen on the fifth floor of a resort hotel facing Emerald Beach, seven minutes' walk from the Churaumi Aquarium. Chloride water is drawn from Jurassic strata some 200 million years old, and the open-air bath looks across cobalt-blue sea to Ie Island. Two bathrooms — one with a dry sauna, one with steam — alternate daily between men and women, with cold plunge and outdoor rest area. Day use ¥2,150 including towel set, 6:00–10:00 and 15:00–23:00. A rare genuine hot spring in Okinawa, best enjoyed in the late afternoon after the aquarium.
- Price (adult)
- ¥2,150
- Hours
- 6:00–10:00 (last entry 9:30) and 15:00–24:00 (last entry 23:00)
- Closed
- Open daily (maintenance closures)
- Access
- About 100 min by car from Naha Airport via Kyoda IC; Yanbaru Express bus to Hotel Orion Motobu; 7 min walk from Churaumi Aquarium
- Water type
- Simple spring
- Tattoos
- Ask ahead
- Admission
- Non-guests adults ¥2,150 (bath tax included), elementary ¥1,000, preschool free. Ocean Wing guests ¥1,650 per night, Club Wing guests free. 10-ticket book ¥18,000. Towels and amenities provided (towel set included), rest lounge. No swimwear (nude bathing). Check hotel rules on tattoos (cover conditions etc.). Resort restaurants, a summer pool and Emerald Beach adjoin
- Baths
- A panoramic onsen on the 5th floor of the Ocean Wing of a resort hotel (opened 2014) right beside the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium and in front of Emerald Beach. Gender-separated indoor halls and sea-facing rotenburo look out to Ie Island and the East China Sea horizon, with the sun setting into the sea in the evening. Sauna, cold plunge, wash stations and a glass-walled viewing lounge. Two sessions: 6–10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to midnight. A rare 'real onsen' in northern Okinawa Island, open to visitors after the aquarium
- Spring water
- Strong sodium chloride spring (hypertonic, neutral, low-temperature) from 1,500 m down in strata some 200 million years old — hence 'Jurassic Onsen'. As salty as seawater and pale yellow, with excellent heat- and moisture-retaining 'warming' qualities. The cool source is heated, with free-flow in part. Indicated for neuralgia, joint pain, poor circulation, cuts, burns, chronic skin disease and fatigue. Most Okinawan springs are chloride waters of this 'fossil seawater' type; as a resort onsen this is among the largest in northern Okinawa Island
- Access & parking
- About 1 h 50 min by car from Naha Airport (via Kyoda IC on the Okinawa Expressway; about 40 min from Kyoda IC). The Yanbaru Express bus or airport limousine (Naha Airport to Churaumi Aquarium / Orion Motobu, about 2 h 20 min to 3 h) stops at 'Churaumi Aquarium' (5 min walk) or 'Hotel Orion Motobu'. 7 min on foot from the aquarium car park, 10 min to the Bise fukugi tree avenue. Hotel parking for 200 (ask the front desk whether it is free for day bathers)
- Phone
- 0980-51-7300
- Official site
- okinawaresort-orion.com ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
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Why go
- Genuine onsen from Jurassic strata
- Ie Island and emerald sea from the bath
- 7 min walk from Churaumi Aquarium
Beside Churaumi Aquarium, soaking in 200-million-year-old water as the sun sinks into the sea
The 'Churaumi-no-yu' Jurassic Onsen at Hotel Orion Motobu Resort & Spa is a panoramic bath on the 5th floor of the Ocean Wing of a resort hotel that shares a wall with the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, Okinawa's biggest attraction, in Motobu. Opened with the hotel in 2014, it draws water from 1,500 m down in strata some 200 million years old — hence 'Jurassic' — and its strong sodium chloride spring, nearly as salty as the sea, keeps the body warm for hours and leaves skin supple. The view is the great prize: from the sea-facing rotenburo spread Emerald Beach, Ie Island and the East China Sea horizon, and because it faces west you can watch the sun sink into the ocean from the water. Genuine hot springs are scarce in Okinawa, and as virtually the only full-scale onsen in the north of the main island open to non-guests, a ¥2,150 soak after the aquarium has become an established routine. It runs in two sessions, 6–10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to midnight, and as a Japanese-style bath taken nude rather than in swimwear it is a gentle introduction to onsen culture for foreign visitors within the comfort of a resort.
Ie Island and the sunset from the 5th-floor rotenburo
From the hotel lobby take the Ocean Wing lift to the 5th floor, pay at the onsen desk (guests show their room key) and collect a towel set. The changing room is spacious and well stocked, as befits a resort, and the gender-separated baths comprise an indoor hall with the sea beyond its windows and an outdoor rotenburo. The water is pale yellow and as salty as the sea on the lips; the cool source is heated to 41–42°C, and so concentrated is the salt that five minutes warms you to the core and leaves your skin silky afterwards. Five floors up with nothing in the way, the rotenburo looks straight down on the white sand and coral sea of Emerald Beach, across to the flat profile of Ie Island with its 'Tacchu' peak, and left to Sesoko Island; at sunset (around 19:30 in summer, 18:00 in winter) you can greet the sun dropping into the sea from the water, so arriving an hour before sunset beats the start of the afternoon session. A sauna and cold plunge allow hot-cold cycles even in Okinawa's heat, and the quiet morning session (6–10 a.m.) offers a different charm in the sea glittering under the morning sun. After resting in the viewing lounge, continue to the hotel's ground-floor restaurants, the dolphin show at the aquarium's neighbouring 'Okichan Theatre' or an evening stroll down the Bise fukugi avenue. Swimwear is not allowed; the salt is strong, so remove rings and jewellery and rinse off with a freshwater shower afterwards.
Pricing and a Motobu Peninsula itinerary
Hours run in two sessions — 6:00–10:00 (last entry 9:30) and 15:00–24:00 (last entry 23:00) — open all year with occasional maintenance closures. Non-guests pay ¥2,150 for adults (bath tax included), ¥1,000 for elementary children, preschoolers free; Ocean Wing guests ¥1,650 per night, Club Wing guests free; a 10-ticket book costs ¥18,000 (valid one year). You need not stay at the hotel, but day bathing may be restricted during group stays or peak periods, so phoning ahead (0980-51-7300) is wise. Access is about 1 h 50 min by car from Naha Airport or around 2.5 hours by airport limousine or Yanbaru Express bus, alighting at 'Churaumi Aquarium' or the hotel. A suggested day: Churaumi Aquarium (opens 8:30, quieter in the morning) and Ocean Expo Park, lunch on the Motobu soba road or at a Bise café, the Bise fukugi avenue and Sesoko Beach or a drive over the Kouri Bridge in the afternoon, the Jurassic Onsen an hour before sunset, then dinner and on to lodgings in Nago or Onna — or stay at Orion Motobu and enjoy the morning session too. With the aquarium 40 minutes from Kyoda IC on the Okinawa Expressway, even Churaumi day-trippers have time for a soak; summer weekend evenings are crowded, so weekdays or the morning session are more pleasant. The water is very salty, so keep children with sensitive skin to short dips, and warn foreign companions in advance that this is nude bathing, not a swimsuit pool.
Before you go
- No official tattoo policy is published — ask at reception.
- Ryokan day-use hours are limited and may be suspended in peak season — phone the same morning.
- Last entry is 30–60 minutes before closing.
Features
Sauna & wellness
Mood & scenery
Who with
Language support
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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