Wakayama · Nanki-Shirahama Onsen
Saki-no-Yu
崎の湯
An open-air-only bath at the edge of the Pacific. One of Japan's oldest springs, mentioned in the 8th-century Nihon Shoki; on rough days sea spray reaches the tubs. No roof, no wash stations.
- Price (adult)
- ¥500
- Hours
- 08:00–17:00 (Apr–Jun & Sep 08:00–18:00; Jul–Aug 07:00–19:00; last entry 30 min before)
- Closed
- Open daily (occasional maintenance and rough-weather closures)
- Access
- Bus from JR Shirahama to Yuzaki, then 5 min walk
- Water type
- Simple spring
- Tattoos
- Ask ahead
- Admission
- Flat ¥500 for ages 3 and up (disabled free). Towels ¥200, coin lockers ¥100. Vending machines
- Baths
- A town-run bath that is nothing but rock rotenburo facing the Pacific. Two to three tubs per gender at different temperatures; the lowest is so close to the sea that waves spray in (the men’s side is completely unfenced). No washing area or showers, no hair or body washing, no soap. Changing rooms provided
- Water
- Sodium chloride “Miyuki” spring, free-flowing and undiluted; slightly salty with a faint sulfur note. This is the “Muro no yu” visited by Empress Saimei and Emperor Tenji in 658, recorded in the Nihon Shoki and Man’yoshu — one of Japan’s oldest baths, 1,350+ years
- Parking
- Free, ~15 cars (often full in peak season). Set on the rocks by the sea, reached down steps from the road
- Phone
- 0739-42-3016
- Official site
- town.shirahama.wakayama.jp ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
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Why go
- Rock baths at the water's edge
- Mentioned in the Nihon Shoki
- Open until 7 pm in summer
Waves at the tub’s edge: a 1,350-year-old sea bath
Saki-no-yu is a town-run open-air bath on the rocky shore of Shirahama’s Yuzaki district, famed as “the onsen closest to the sea in Japan” — Pacific waves break on the rocks right beside the tubs. This is the “Muro no yu” the Nihon Shoki records Empress Saimei visiting in 658, giving it 1,350+ years of history alongside Arima and Dogo as one of Japan’s three ancient baths. Facilities amount to changing rooms and two or three rock pools at different temperatures — no washing area, no showers, no soap — yet sitting in the undiluted, salty Miyuki spring and gazing at the horizon, you understand why emperors travelled this far. The men’s side has no fence at all, merging with the sea; the women’s side sees the waves over a low wall.
Tips & cautions
- Soak-only: no hair washing or soap. Wash at your inn or nearby Muro-no-yu (same source, with washing area).
- Closed in rough seas and typhoons; the lowest tub can turn lukewarm from spray.
- The men’s side is visible from the sea and fishing boats pass — the price of the openness. The women’s side has a wall.
- Summer (Jul–Aug) hours extend to 7–19; winter closes at 17. Last entry 30 min before. Sunset is the popular slot.
- Only 15 parking spaces — walk from Yuzaki bus stop (5 min) in peak season.
- Salt water stings the eyes. Lockers ¥100.
Getting there
Meiko bus ~18 min from JR Shirahama Station toward Sandanbeki/Shin-Yuzaki to “Yuzaki”, then 5 min on foot (Yuzaki 1668). ~10 min by car from Nanki-Shirahama Airport, ~15 min from Nanki-Shirahama IC. Free parking for ~15.
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
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.
More in this area
Shirahama Onsen Muro-no-yu
Shirahama's other classic public bath, on the Yuzaki seafront near Saki-no-yu. Its draw: two distinct springs — Mabuyu and Miyukiyu — under one roof. 7 am to 10 pm, ¥420.
Ryujin Onsen Motoyu
The source bath of Ryujin Onsen, counted with Yunokawa and Kawanaka among Japan's 'three beauty baths'. It stands on the Hidaka River deep in the Kii mountains, with a cypress indoor bath and a rock rotenburo overlooking the stream. The silky bicarbonate water is famous for leaving skin smooth. ¥800, 7:00–21:00, open daily. An hour by car from Koyasan via the Koya-Ryujin Skyline, or about 80 minutes by bus from Kii-Tanabe.
Yunomine Onsen Tsuboyu
The only hot spring inscribed as a World Heritage Site that you can actually bathe in, listed together with the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage routes. A tiny hut over the stream in Yunomine — said to be Japan's oldest onsen at 1,800 years — shelters a tub hollowed from natural rock that fits two adults. The sulfurous water is said to change colour seven times a day and served pilgrims for ritual purification. Private 30-minute slots, ¥800, sign up at the public bathhouse (6:00–21:00). Waits of several hours are common on holidays; boil onsen eggs in the hot-spring trough while you wait.
