Fukushima · Takayu Onsen
Takayu Onsen Attaka-yu
高湯温泉 共同浴場 あったか湯
Thirty minutes by car from Fukushima city, the communal bath of Takayu Onsen at 750 m on Mt. Azuma. Every bath is open-air, filled with milky-white sulfur water that is neither diluted nor heated. There's a timber men's bath, a rock women's bath and a reservable private rotenburo. A ¥500 gateway to a spa town that has kept its water free-flowing for 400 years. Closed Thursdays; one-hour limit. At the foot of the Bandai-Azuma Skyline — ideal with an autumn drive.
- Price (adult)
- ¥500
- Hours
- 9:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30)
- Closed
- Thu (next day if holiday)
- Access
- 40 min by Fukushima Kotsu bus from JR Fukushima Station to Takayu-Onsen
- Water type
- Sulfur spring
- Tattoos
- Ask ahead
- Admission
- Adults (12+) ¥500 / children (1+) ¥250. Private rotenburo ¥1,500 extra per 50 min (two or more people; book by phone from the morning before, walk-ins if free, Dec–Mar same-day booking only). No soap or shampoo provided. Cash
- Baths
- All baths are open-air (semi-covered): a wood-themed men's bath, a rock-themed women's bath and one barrier-free private rotenburo (wheelchair access to the wash area). Japanese-style building modelled on an old cure-house; rest room and lockers. No showers
- Water
- Acidic sulphur-bearing aluminium-calcium sulphate spring (sulphur spring, around pH 2.7). 100% source water, free-flowing with no dilution or heating. Just 60 m from the source, so it is very concentrated — bluish milky-white with a strong sulphur smell. Indicated for high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, poor circulation, rheumatism, diabetes, skin conditions
- Parking & access
- Free parking (generous for a communal bath). From the west exit of JR Fukushima Station, Fukushima Kotsu bus for Takayu about 40 min to the terminus 'Takayu', right there. About 25 min from Fukushima-Nishi IC on the Tohoku Expressway / 30 min from Fukushima-Iizaka IC towards the Bandai-Azuma Skyline
- Phone
- 024-591-1125
- Official site
- takayuonsen.jp ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
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Why go
- All-open-air milky sulfur baths
- ¥500, one-hour limit
- Start of the Bandai-Azuma Skyline
At 750 m — Takayu Onsen's only communal bath
Takayu Onsen Attaka-yu is the only communal bath at Takayu Onsen, which sits at about 750 m at the foot of the Azuma range in Fukushima city, near the entrance to the Bandai-Azuma Skyline and opposite the Adachiya inn. Takayu, with 400 years of history, is famous for the fact that every inn uses its naturally gushing sulphur water without dilution or heating — the resort has issued a formal 'free-flowing source declaration' — and Attaka-yu receives that water from a source only 60 m away. Housed in a Japanese-style building modelled on an old cure-house bath hut, it draws about 90,000 visitors a year; 50 m up the slope is the Attaka Onsen Park with its milky hot-spring pond.
All open-air — a dense blue-white sulphur bath
Every bath here is open-air (semi-covered): because the water gives off strong hydrogen-sulphide gas, no indoor bath was built for safety. There are three tubs — a wood-themed men's bath, a rock-themed women's bath and one barrier-free private rotenburo. The water is an acidic sulphur spring around pH 2.7, 100% free-flowing from the source; being so close to the spring it is a dense bluish milky white with a strong sulphur smell that lingers on the skin afterwards. Long prized by cure-seekers, it is indicated for high blood pressure, poor circulation, rheumatism and skin conditions. With only three wash stations and no showers you may have to wait when busy, and you need to bring your own soap.
Tips
Open 9:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30), closed Thursdays (the next day if a holiday). At ¥500 for adults and ¥250 for children, this water quality is some of the best value in Fukushima. The private rotenburo costs admission per person plus ¥1,500 per 50-minute session, for two or more people only; phone from the morning before (December–March same-day only, and it is sometimes closed). The strongly acidic sulphur water calls for a plain-water rinse afterwards, and silver jewellery will blacken, so take it off. 40 minutes by bus from Fukushima Station, right at the terminus. Perfect as the start or finish of a drive along the Bandai-Azuma Skyline to Jododaira, and the milky rotenburo amid winter snow is something special.
Before you go
- No official tattoo policy is published — ask at reception.
- As a communal bath there is no soap or shampoo — bring your own or buy at the shop.
- The water runs hot (43–45°C). Don't add cold water; take short repeated dips instead.
- Payment is usually by ticket machine in cash — bring coins.
- Last entry is 30–60 minutes before closing.
Features
Mood & scenery
Rules & private
Price
Convenience
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
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Iizaka Onsen Sabako-yu
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Aizu Higashiyama Onsen Harataki
An inn with its own spring midway along the Yukawa gorge, where the ryokan of Higashiyama Onsen line the river 10 minutes by car from central Aizu-Wakamatsu. Day visitors get the riverside open-air bath facing a waterfall and the main bath for ¥1,100 including a small towel, 13:00–20:00. Private panoramic baths (¥1,650) and lunch packages are also offered. With 1,300 years of history, Higashiyama was the retreat of artists such as Takehisa Yumeji and poet Yosano Akiko — a natural finish to a day at Tsuruga Castle and the Byakkotai sites on Iimoriyama. Reception hours may shorten when busy.
