Niigata · Senami Onsen, Murakami
Senami Onsen Yumoto Ryūsen
瀬波温泉 野天風呂 湯元龍泉
A mainly day-use hot-spring house at Senami Onsen in Murakami, Niigata, famous for sunsets over the Sea of Japan. Its own source 180 m down yields abundant water at about 94 °C, and although it is a seaside spa the water has a faint whiff of sulphur and leaves the skin silky. There is an indoor bath, a rugged rock-built outdoor bath and a mist sauna, and even the showers run spring water; in winter the outdoor bath becomes a snow-viewing bath. Private family baths, rentable rooms, weekday day plans with a meal (from ¥4,800) and overnight stays are also available. Adults ¥900, children ¥500, towel hire ¥210; open 09:00–22:00 (last entry 21:00), irregular closures. About 10 minutes by bus from JR Murakami Station or 12 minutes by car from Murakami-Senami-Onsen IC; 100 parking spaces. Combine with Murakami's salmon cuisine, its merchant townhouses and a sunset walk on Senami beach.
- Price (adult)
- ¥900
- Hours
- 9:00–22:00 (tickets until 21:00)
- Closed
- Irregular (check the official site)
- Access
- About 10 min by bus for Senami Onsen from JR Murakami Station (Uetsu Line); about 12 min by car from Murakami-Senami-Onsen IC
- Water type
- Simple spring
- Tattoos
- Ask ahead
- Admission
- Day bathing adults ¥900, children ¥500 (older listings of ¥700/¥400 are out of date). Towel rental ¥210, yukata ¥300. Private family baths extra; private-room and hall rest plans; weekday day-trip meal plans from ¥4,800. Buy a ticket at the machine and hand it in with your shoe-locker key. Shampoo and body soap provided
- Baths
- A day-spa at Senami Onsen that also takes overnight guests (5 rooms). Its pride is an outdoor 'wild bath' billed as the largest on the Sea of Japan coast — a broad rock-edged pool with bubble and waterfall sections, steam rising from the source derrick right beside it. Also a bright, sunlit main bath (one indoor pool per sex), mist sauna, private family baths handy for children, rest room, private rooms and a restaurant. No sea view, but snow-viewing in winter. Even the showers run on spring water
- Spring water
- Private source 'Lapis No. 1', a very hot 89–94°C spring from 180 m underground: sulphur-bearing sodium chloride water (formerly 'sulphurous salt spring'), mildly alkaline at pH 8.7, about 3 g of dissolved minerals. Though a seaside spring near the Sea of Japan it carries a faint sulphur scent, with Senami's characteristic volatile oily note only mild; the alkalinity makes the skin slippery-smooth. Because of the heat it is diluted and recirculated with disinfection. Indicated for cuts, burns, chronic skin disease, poor circulation, depressive states, atopic dermatitis and psoriasis. Senami's spring burst forth in 1904 during oil drilling
- Access & parking
- Free parking for 100 cars. About 10 min by bus for Senami Onsen or 10 min by taxi (3 km) from Murakami Station on the JR Uetsu Line. By car about 12 min from Murakami-Senami-Onsen IC on the Nihonkai-Tohoku Expressway, 10 min from Kanbayashi-Iwafune-ko IC. Senami beach 5 min on foot, the castle town of Murakami 10 min by car
- Phone
- 0254-52-5251
- Official site
- ryusen.org ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
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Why go
- 94 °C private source, sulphur-scented by the sea
- Rock outdoor bath; snow-viewing in winter
- ¥900; 9 am–10 pm; family baths
One of the Sea of Japan coast's biggest wild baths, open all day beside the source derrick
Senami Onsen Yumoto Ryusen is a day-spa at the back of the Senami Onsen resort in Murakami, Niigata, a town famed for sunsets over the Sea of Japan. Senami's spring was born in 1904 when hot water erupted during oil drilling, and source derricks still stand around the town; Ryusen has one right beside its baths, drawing on its own source 'Lapis No. 1', which rises at 89–94°C from 180 m down. Its boast is a rock-built wild bath said to be the largest on the Sea of Japan coast, with bubble and waterfall sections to keep families happily occupied, backed by a bright main bath, a mist sauna, private family baths ideal with children, a rest room and a restaurant — easily half a day's worth. Open from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. for ¥900, it is an easy stop after exploring Murakami or watching the sunset from Senami beach.
Mildly sulphurous alkaline salt water, family baths and snow views
Buy a ticket from the machine and hand it to reception with your shoe-locker key. The main bath is a bright indoor pool lit through big windows; step outside and a broad rock-edged wild bath opens up, steam rising from the source derrick beside it in true 'yumoto' (spring-head) style. The pool has a bubbling section and a waterfall that pounds the shoulders, with depths varying by zone, so children stay entertained. The water is a mildly alkaline (pH 8.7) sulphur-bearing sodium chloride spring; despite the seaside setting it smells faintly of sulphur and feels slick under the hand. Senami's typical volatile oily note is mild here, so newcomers find it easy, but since the source is a scalding 90°C or so the water is diluted, recirculated and disinfected — do not expect pure free-flow. A mist sauna, private family baths (extra charge, popular with babies), a rest room and private rooms let you linger with a meal plan, and in winter snow piles on the rocks for a snow-viewing soak. That even the showers run on spring water is a small point of pride.
Prices, hours and enjoying Murakami and Senami
Hours are 9:00–22:00 (tickets until 21:00), with irregular closures — check the official site (ryusen.org). Adults ¥900, children ¥500; towel rental ¥210, yukata ¥300; weekday-only day plans with a meal (from ¥4,800) and private-room rest plans are available. It is 10 minutes by bus from Murakami Station or 12 minutes from Murakami-Senami-Onsen IC on the Nihonkai-Tohoku Expressway, with parking for 100. Senami's highlight is the sun setting into the Sea of Japan, so see it off from the beach (5 minutes on foot) and bathe afterwards; by day, fill the itinerary with salmon cuisine and Murakami beef, the castle town of Murakami — 'little Kyoto of the north', with its black-walled lane and the March–April 'Machiya Hina Doll Tour' — and the Sasagawa-nagare sightseeing boats (April–November). Many Senami ryokan open their panoramic rotenburo to day visitors only briefly, so late-opening Ryusen is a dependable choice.
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
Mood & scenery
Rules & private
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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