Tochigi · Shiobara Onsen
Shiobara Akatsuki-no-Yu
塩原温泉 塩原あかつきの湯
A day-use hot spring in Sekiya, Nasushiobara, near the Yunoka Shiobara roadside station at the gateway to the Shiobara spa valley. The source flows at 68.4°C and 250 litres a minute, so the open-air bath runs 100% free-flowing spring water. The slightly tea-coloured, silky alkaline simple spring is known as a skin-beautifying bath; the indoor pool seats about 20 and the outdoor one about 10, both roomy. There are a sauna, cold plunge, jet lounger and a swimwear spa pool popular with families. Adults pay ¥800 on weekdays and ¥1,000 on weekends and holidays (children 4 to elementary age ¥400/¥500); after 5 pm on weekdays the evening rate drops to ¥600. Open 10:00–22:00 (last entry 21:00), closed the third Wednesday (next day if a holiday). Restaurant, rest room, massage and free parking for 150 cars. About 20 minutes by car from JR Nishi-Nasuno Station or 10 minutes from the Nishinasuno-Shiobara IC on the Tōhoku Expressway – a handy last stop after a drive through the Shiobara gorge or Nasu.
- Price (adult)
- ¥800
- Hours
- 10:00–22:00 (last entry 21:00); evening rate after 17:00 on weekdays
- Closed
- 3rd Wednesday (next day if holiday)
- Access
- About 10 min by car from Nishinasuno-Shiobara IC via Route 400; about 20 min by car from JR Nishi-Nasuno Station; JR bus for Shiobara Onsen to 'Sekiya', then 10 min on foot
- Water type
- Alkaline simple
- Tattoos
- Ask ahead
- Admission
- Admission adults ¥800 weekdays / ¥1,000 weekends and holidays, elementary and younger ¥400/¥500, evening rate (from 17:00) adults ¥600 weekdays / ¥800 weekends and children ¥300/¥400, under 3 free. The bade pool (swimwear) is charged separately — check. Shampoo provided, towels sold or rented, lockers available. Restaurant, rest room, bodywork, shop. Cash and cards
- Baths
- A day-use onsen in Sekiya, Nasushiobara, near the road station 'Yunoka Shiobara' at the gateway to the Shiobara spa district. Both the indoor bath (for about 20) and the rotenburo (about 10) are spacious, and the rotenburo is built of natural Tochigi stone with 100% free-flowing spring water. There is a bubble lying-down tub, a sauna, a plunge and nine washing places, and the swimsuit bade pool (34°C warm water, 40 m around, jacuzzi in the middle) is open year-round with aqua lessons led by an instructor. With a restaurant, a large rest room, bodywork and a shop, half a day can easily be spent here
- Spring water
- An alkaline simple spring (hypotonic, alkaline, high-temperature) at 68.4°C and 250 litres a minute from 1,500 m beneath the Nasu volcanic belt, pH 9.2. Faintly brown (golden) and slick, it is called a beauty-skin spring, and the source vents right beside the building, so the rotenburo runs with no heating, no added water and no circulation. Indicated for chronic skin complaints, arteriosclerosis, cuts, burns, neuralgia, muscle pain and fatigue
- Access & parking
- By car 10 min from Nishinasuno-Shiobara IC on the Tōhoku Expressway via Route 400, 20 min from JR Nishi-Nasuno Station, 20 min by taxi from JR Nasu-Shiobara Station, an hour from Utsunomiya. JR bus for Shiobara Onsen to 'Sekiya', then 10 min on foot. Free parking for 150. Adjoining the road station 'Yunoka Shiobara' and the Shiobara gorge
- Phone
- 0287-35-2711
- Official site
- acatsuki.co.jp ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
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Why go
- Free-flowing open-air bath; 250 L/min source
- Silky alkaline 'beautiful-skin' water
- ¥800 weekdays, ¥600 after 5 pm; open till 22:00
250 litres a minute running straight through an onsen at the gateway to Shiobara
Shiobara Akatsuki-no-Yu is a day-use onsen in Nasushiobara, Tochigi, standing at the gateway to the Shiobara spa district, which appears after some 10 minutes up the national road from Nishinasuno-Shiobara IC on the Tōhoku Expressway. Shiobara is a large spa area with eleven hot springs scattered along a gorge, but this is the closest to the expressway and has the widest parking, so it is the one most often chosen when there is only half a day. Its strength is the quantity and quality of the water. The source wells up from 1,500 m beneath the Nasu volcanic belt at 68.4°C and an abundant 250 litres a minute, and because the vent is right beside the building, the rotenburo overflows with 100% spring water — no heating, no added water, no circulation. At pH 9.2 it is an alkaline simple spring, faintly brown (golden in some light) and slick to the touch, the classic 'beauty-skin spring': within minutes of entering you feel the skin soften, and the warmth stays long after. The baths centre on an indoor tub (for about 20) and a rotenburo of natural Tochigi stone (about 10), with a bubble lying-down tub, a sauna, a plunge and nine washing places, all spacious. The other feature is the swimsuit bade pool: 34°C warm water (using the spring) fills a pool 40 m around with a jacuzzi in the middle, open all year, and aqua lessons led by an instructor are held — many people use it for rehabilitation or to counter lack of exercise, so three generations of a family come together. Admission is ¥800 for adults on weekdays and ¥1,000 at weekends, falling to ¥600 after 5 p.m. on weekdays, which makes it easy to drop in on the way back from Nasu or the Shiobara gorge. Hours run to 10 p.m. (last entry 9 p.m.), closed the third Wednesday (the next day if a holiday).
A 100% source rotenburo, a bade pool, and moving through it with three generations
Enter from the free car park (150 spaces) and pay (¥800 for adults on a weekday). Towels can be bought or rented, shampoo is provided, and anyone using the bade pool should bring swimwear or check whether it is rented. A recommended circuit: wash in the indoor bath (for about 20) and soak 10 minutes — the water is strongly alkaline so it cleans well and little soap is needed; relax in the bubble lying-down tub; step outside to the rotenburo and spend 15–20 minutes among the natural Tochigi stone — with 100% free-flowing source water the current is always fresh; 8–10 minutes in the sauna and a minute in the plunge; and finish indoors. At pH 9.2 the alkaline simple spring is clearly slick, and in winter the contrast with the cold air of the rotenburo is especially refreshing. With children or seniors, add the bade pool (34°C warm water, swimwear, year-round) — walking the 40 m circuit is exercise in itself, and you can rest in the central jacuzzi or join the instructor's aqua lesson. Afterwards eat in the restaurant (last order 20:00), rest in the large rest room or take bodywork to fill half a day, and buy local goods from Nasu and Shiobara in the shop. After 5 p.m. on weekdays the rate falls to ¥600 (¥800 at weekends), so an evening visit pays particularly well, and Montbell Club members and Nifty Onsen coupons get ¥100 off. Notes: closed the third Wednesday (the next day if a holiday); the bade pool needs swimwear; last entry 21:00; weekend afternoons are crowded; cash and cards accepted. It is the easiest place in the Shiobara spa district to meet the spring exactly as it comes, and scores highly as the finish to a drive around Nasu and Shiobara.
Practical details and a Nasu and Shiobara gorge route
Hours are 10:00–22:00 (last entry 21:00), restaurant last order 20:00, closed the third Wednesday (the next day if a holiday); adults ¥800 weekdays / ¥1,000 weekends and holidays, evening rate (from 17:00) ¥600/¥800, children ¥400/¥500, under 3 free, free parking for 150. Access is 10 minutes from Nishinasuno-Shiobara IC, 20 from Nishi-Nasuno Station and 20 by taxi from Nasu-Shiobara Station. Suggested routes: (1) a day in Nasu — the Nasu highlands (ropeway, animal kingdom), Nasu-Yumoto Onsen, a bath at Akatsuki-no-Yu, then Nasu-Shiobara Station; (2) the Shiobara gorge — a walk in the gorge (Momijidani suspension bridge, Shiobara dam), Akatsuki-no-Yu, local goods at the road station 'Yunoka Shiobara'; (3) an evening bath — the Nasu outlets in the afternoon, a bath after 5 p.m. at the evening rate (¥600), then dinner; (4) families — an aqua lesson in the bade pool in the morning, lunch in the restaurant, onsen and the rest room in the afternoon; (5) foliage in November — the gorge foliage, a bath, Nasu onsen manjū. Notes: closed the third Wednesday; the evening rate starts at 5 p.m.; bring swimwear for the bade pool; weekend afternoons are crowded; cash and cards accepted. With a 100%-source rotenburo, a swimsuit onsen pool and hours until 10 p.m., Akatsuki-no-Yu is the most convenient day-use onsen in northern Tochigi.
Before you go
- No official tattoo policy is published — ask at reception.
- Payment is usually by ticket machine in cash — bring coins.
- Last entry is 30–60 minutes before closing.
Features
Sauna & wellness
Price
Who with
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.
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