Yamanashi · Shimobe Onsen
Shimobe Onsen Shimobe Hotel
下部温泉 下部ホテル
The leading large ryokan of Shimobe Onsen in Yamanashi, the 'hidden bath' of warlord Takeda Shingen. Its hallmark is three springs of differing character (including the tepid original Shimobe water) served in eleven tubs, seven of them open-air — a mini bath-hopping circuit with streamside rotenburo and Shingen lore. Day use 11:00–15:00, ¥1,200; resting in the tatami hall is free, and lunch-and-rest plans start at ¥5,000. Irregular closures, so confirm ahead. Just 3 minutes on foot from Shimobe-Onsen Station on the JR Minobu Line — easy by rail, and a natural pairing with Kuonji temple on Mt Minobu, the Fuji River or a Lake Motosu / Fuji Five Lakes drive.
- Price (adult)
- ¥1,500
- Hours
- 11:00–15:00
- Closed
- Tuesdays (subject to change — please confirm)
- Access
- 3 min on foot from Shimobe-Onsen Station (JR Minobu Line); 5 min by car from Shimobe-Onsen-Hayakawa IC; about 3 h from Shinjuku by limited express and Minobu Line
- Water type
- Alkaline simple
- Tattoos
- Ask ahead
- Admission
- Day bathing adults ¥1,500, children ¥750 (raised in 2025–26 from ¥1,200/¥600). Yukata ¥330 and bath towel ¥300 to rent; shampoo and amenities provided. Day meal plans: breakfast buffet ¥3,850 (bath 7:00–10:00, reservation required), dinner buffet ¥7,700 (bath 16:00–21:00, same-day booking possible), kaiseki from ¥7,700 (15 or more). May be unavailable on holidays and their eves
- Baths
- A large onsen hotel right by Shimobe-Onsen Station in Minobu, Yamanashi, in the Shimobe spa area known as Takeda Shingen's 'hidden hot spring'. It draws two sources — the traditional roughly 30°C 'Shimobe communal spring' (long tepid soaks in the toji tradition) and the 50°C-plus 'Shimobe Oku-no-yu high-temperature source' — into two bath halls, 'Mountain Bath' and 'Forest Bath', with twelve indoor and outdoor tubs. Sauna, garden, a nightly taiko drum show and firefly viewing in June are hotel traditions. A base for Minobu-san Kuon-ji temple and Fuji River rafting
- Spring water
- Shimobe communal spring: an alkaline simple spring of about 30°C filled untouched into a 'nuru-yu' tepid bath for the toji tradition of 30–60-minute soaks — Shingen's 'hidden spring' for healing wounds and fractures. Oku-no-yu high-temperature source: a simple spring in the 50s °C used unheated in outdoor and indoor tubs. Colourless, odourless and mild. Indicated for cuts, burns, fractures, neuralgia, rheumatism and fatigue. The hotel recommends alternating between the two sources
- Access & parking
- 1–5 min on foot from Shimobe-Onsen Station on the JR Minobu Line (right by the station). About 2 h 40 min from Shinjuku via Kofu and the Fujikawa limited express, about 1 h from Fuji Station in Shizuoka by limited express. By car 3 min from Shimobe-Onsen-Hayakawa IC on the Chubu-Odan Expressway, about 2.5 h from Tokyo, 50 min from Shin-Shimizu IC on the Shin-Tomei. Free parking. Minobu-san Kuon-ji 20 min, Fujisan Hongu Sengen Taisha 1 h by car
- Phone
- 0556-36-0311
- Official site
- shimobe.co.jp ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
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Why go
- Shingen's hidden bath; 3 springs, 11 tubs
- 7 open-air baths, ¥1,200 day use
- 3 min walk from Shimobe-Onsen Station
Shingen's hidden spring: a 30°C tepid source, a hot source and twelve tubs
Shimobe Hotel is the flagship large onsen hotel of the Shimobe spa area, set in a gorge on a tributary of the Fuji River in Minobu, Yamanashi, right in front of Shimobe-Onsen Station on the JR Minobu Line. Shimobe is known for the legend of Takeda Shingen healing his wounds from the Battle of Kawanakajima in this 'hidden spring', and the toji culture of soaking for thirty minutes to an hour in the roughly 30°C tepid source to mend wounds and fractures continues today. The hotel draws both this traditional 'Shimobe communal spring' and the 50°C-plus 'Oku-no-yu high-temperature source' drilled in 2006, into two bath halls, 'Mountain Bath' and 'Forest Bath', with twelve tubs — outdoor, indoor, tepid and sauna — and recommends alternating between tepid and hot. Day bathing is 11:00–15:00 at ¥1,500 for adults (raised in 2025–26), with yukata and towels to rent and day plans combining breakfast or dinner buffets. It is a family-style hotel famous for its nightly taiko show and June firefly viewing, but day visitors too can fully enjoy the contrast of the two sources and the gorge scenery, and it is a handy base for Minobu-san Kuon-ji (head temple of Nichiren Buddhism), Fuji River rafting and drives toward the Fuji Five Lakes.
'Mountain Bath' and 'Forest Bath': alternating tepid and hot
Enter the hotel from the station forecourt, pay ¥1,500 at the front desk and you will be directed to the baths (towels ¥300 to rent, or bring your own). There are two halls, 'Mountain Bath' and 'Forest Bath', which may swap between men and women by time of day, so check the signs. Wash first; the hotel's recommended order is to warm up in the hot-source indoor tub (around 42°C) and then settle for a long soak in the tepid bath filled untouched from the roughly 30°C 'Shimobe communal spring'. It feels cool at first, but after five minutes it merges with your body heat and you can stay for tens of minutes — this 'Shimobe-style' bathing is the heart of the Shingen legend of healing wounds. The rotenburo opens toward the forested gorge and is lit at night, and with a sauna, plunge and jacuzzi it takes a good hour to tour all twelve tubs. Day bathing is confined to 11:00–15:00, so crowds are light and you leave before guests check in at 15:00. The morning plan (bath 7:00–10:00 plus breakfast buffet, ¥3,850, reservation required) or the evening plan (bath 16:00–21:00 plus dinner buffet, ¥7,700) lets you catch the taiko show too, for an experience close to staying over. The lobby shop sells Minobu's famous manju, yuba (tofu skin) products and Yamanashi wine.
Practical details and a Minobu–Fuji River route
Day bathing is 11:00–15:00, closed Tuesdays (hours and closures can change, so check the official news page or phone ahead); adults ¥1,500, children ¥750 (raised in 2025–26; many sources still show ¥1,200). Yukata ¥330 and bath towel ¥300 to rent; the breakfast-buffet plan (¥3,850, reservation required) and dinner-buffet plan (¥7,700) may be unavailable on holidays and their eves. Access is right in front of Shimobe-Onsen Station on the JR Minobu Line, about 2 h 40 min from Shinjuku by limited express via Kofu, or 3 minutes by car from Shimobe-Onsen-Hayakawa IC on the Chubu-Odan Expressway, with free parking. Suggested routes: (1) an overnight from Tokyo — north up the Fuji River gorge on the Shin-Tomei and Chubu-Odan, Minobu-san Kuon-ji (the 287-step Bodai-tei stairway, ropeway, weeping cherries in early April), a night or day bath at Shimobe Hotel, then the Fuji Five Lakes (the ¥1,000-note view of Fuji from Lake Motosu) and Kawaguchiko; (2) a day trip — down the Minobu Line from Kofu, bathe, then the Shinkansen from Fuji Station; (3) summer — Fuji River rafting near Hayakawa IC, then the bath. Besides the hotel, the Shimobe spa area has the communal 'Shimobe Onsen Kaikan' at around ¥500 and traditional toji inns such as Motoyu Hashimotoya for a deeper taste of the tepid-bath culture. Minobu Line trains are infrequent (one every one to two hours), so check the timetable first, and since the gorge is cold in winter, warm up thoroughly with alternating baths before leaving.
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
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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