
Gunma · Shima Onsen
Shima Onsen Sekizenkan – Genroku-no-yu (day use)
四万温泉 積善館「元禄の湯」(日帰り入浴)
Founded in 1691 and regarded as Japan's oldest surviving hot-spring inn building, this Shima Onsen institution in Gunma stands across a red bridge; the main house, said to be one of the models for the bathhouse in Spirited Away, is an Important Cultural Property. The celebrated Genroku-no-yu, built in 1930 in Taishō-romantic style, has five tubs set into a stone floor lit by arched windows, with water welling up from below. Shima's sulphate water is counted among Japan's three great baths for digestive ailments and can be drunk. Day use 10:00–17:30 (last entry 17:00), ¥1,500 with face towel, covering Genroku-no-yu, the mixed rock bath and private baths. Tattoos accepted if covered with stickers. About 40 minutes by bus from Nakanojō Station to the Shima Onsen terminus.
- Price (adult)
- ¥1,500
- Hours
- 10:00–17:30
- Closed
- Open daily (occasional maintenance closures)
- Access
- About 40 min by Kan'etsu Kōtsū bus from JR Nakanojō Station to the Shima Onsen terminus, then 3 min on foot; 60 min by car from Shibukawa-Ikaho IC; direct 'Shima Onsen-gō' bus from Tokyo Station about 3 h 30 min
- Water type
- Sulfate spring
- Tattoos
- OK if covered
- Phone
- 0279-64-2101
- Official site
- www.sekizenkan.co.jp ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
Stay in this onsen town
Compare and book stays in Shima Onsen. Day bathing itself needs no booking.
Opens partner booking site (affiliate)
Why go
- Japan's oldest inn building, Cultural Property
- 1930 arched-window Genroku-no-yu
- ¥1,500; tattoos OK with stickers
Before you go
- Tattoos are fine if covered with a sticker sold at reception (size limits apply).
- There is a mixed-gender area. Check the description for bathing garments and women-only hours.
- 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 ニフティ温泉(日帰り10–17:30 受付17時・大人1,500円タオル付)/TRAIN ONSEN(タトゥーはシールで可)
Prices and hours change. Check official sources before visiting.
More in this area
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Otakinoyu
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Gozanoyu
Right in front of the Yubatake, a wooden recreation of the Edo–Meiji communal baths. Wood and stone bath halls alternate between men and women daily, with two sources (Yubatake and Bandaiko). The upstairs hall looks down on the Yubatake.