Nara · Totsukawa Onsen
Totsukawa Onsen Ikoi-no-yu
十津川温泉 南部老人憩の家「憩の湯」
A village-run public bath on the shore of Futatsuno Dam lake in Totsukawa, the village that declared all its baths 100% free-flowing. Attached to a seniors' centre, it's plain but pours 70°C bicarbonate-chloride water straight in with no recirculation. Handy on Tuesdays when nearby Iori-no-yu is closed. ¥600, 9:00–21:00, closed only Jan 1–2. Five minutes' walk from Totsukawa-Onsen bus stop.
- Price (adult)
- ¥600
- Hours
- 09:00-21:00
- Closed
- Jan 1–2
- Access
- 5 min walk from Totsukawa-Onsen bus stop (Nara Kotsu)
- Water type
- Bicarbonate spring
- Tattoos
- Ask ahead
- Admission
- Adults ¥600 / elementary and infants 3+ ¥300 / under 3 free (revised April 2024). Attached to the village’s “Southern Elders’ Rest House” but open to everyone. Check on site whether soap is provided; bring a towel
- Baths
- A municipal bath in the Totsukawa spa street, a few minutes’ walk from Iori-no-yu. One indoor tub per gender (large and bright); no rotenburo or sauna. Tatami rest room. Open latest in the village (until 21:00) and every day except 1–2 January
- Water
- Totsukawa Onsen source — sodium bicarbonate-chloride spring, 70 °C, pH 7.9, free-flowing (village declaration). Clear and silky, the same water as Iori-no-yu
- Parking
- Free parking. 3–5 min on foot from the Nara Kotsu “Totsukawa Onsen” bus stop
- Phone
- 0746-64-0043
- Official site
- totsukawa.info ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
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Why go
- Free-flowing village charter
- Open all year but Jan 1–2
- Tuesday alternative to Iori-no-yu
The village bath open till 9 p.m. — your “second bath” on a night in Totsukawa
Ikoi-no-yu is a village-run bath in the Totsukawa spa street — formally the bathhouse attached to the “Southern Elders’ Rest House”, but open to any traveller for ¥600. Despite the name, the bathrooms are large, bright, gender-separated indoor baths filled with the same Totsukawa source as Iori-no-yu: sodium bicarbonate-chloride water rising at 70 °C, run without recirculation or chlorination under the village’s free-flowing declaration, and silky on the skin. Its value lies in its hours: it stays open until 21:00, the latest of the village baths, and closes only on 1–2 January, so it is your fallback on Tuesdays when Iori-no-yu is shut, or when you want “one more” soak after dinner at your inn. In the big tatami lounge village elders and travellers rest side by side, with the Totsukawa hills in the window. There is no rotenburo or sauna and none of the polish of a tourist facility — just the “real onsen” that a mountain village of 3,000 people has preserved, experienced as everyday life. It is 3–5 minutes on foot from the “Totsukawa Onsen” stop on the Yagi–Shingu bus, and together with Iori-no-yu (lake view) you can cover both of Totsukawa Onsen’s public baths in a day.
Tips & cautions
- 9:00–21:00; closed only 1–2 January — the alternative on Tuesdays when Iori-no-yu is shut.
- Attached to a welfare facility for the elderly — keep quiet; many local seniors use it in the daytime.
- Soap and shampoo provision uncertain — bring your own, and a towel.
- Hot source water — follow guidance on the cold-water tap.
- Tattoo policy unconfirmed — ask at the desk.
- If staying at an inn, come as an after-dinner stroll (within the spa street; few streetlights, a torch helps).
- Bus travellers: mind the last departure toward Shingu.
- Combine with the Tanize suspension bridge (40 min by bus) and the Kumano Kodo.
Getting there
3–5 min on foot from the “Totsukawa Onsen” stop on Nara Kotsu’s Yagi–Shingu line (Hiratani, Totsukawa, Nara, within the spa street). ~4 h 30 min from Kintetsu Yamato-Yagi, ~2 h from JR Shingu. By car ~3 h from Osaka via Route 168; free parking. Tel. 0746-64-0043.
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.
- Payment is usually by ticket machine in cash — bring coins.
- Last entry is 30–60 minutes before closing.
Features
Mood & scenery
Price
Who with
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
Totsukawa Onsen Iori-no-yu
At the southern tip of Nara, directly opposite the Totsukawa Onsen bus center where Japan's longest local bus route (Yagi–Shingu) stops. A small all-timber bathhouse looking down on the Futatsuno dam lake. The whole village has pledged 'free-flowing spring water only', so nothing is recirculated. Free foot bath, hand bath and drinking fountain. Combine with the Kumano Kodo and Tanize suspension bridge.
Tōsenji Onsen Izumi-yu (Totsukawa)
The village-run public bath of Tōsenji Onsen, the oldest spring in Totsukawa. pH 9.1 alkaline sulfur water flows fresh from the source even through the taps, leaving a faint sulfur scent and slippery skin. Just a stone open-air bath facing the gorge and an indoor tub—simple and ¥600. Handy on Route 168 en route to the Tanize suspension bridge or Kumano Hongū Taisha.
Dorogawa Onsen Visitor Center
A village-run day bath in the Dorogawa onsen street at 820 m, the trailhead for sacred Mt Ōmine. Reopened in April 2024 after renovation, it heats its water with a wood boiler burning local forest thinnings. Yoshino-cedar indoor bath, open-air bath and a rest room; the mildly alkaline water leaves skin silky. ¥800, 11:00–20:00, closed Wednesdays. Pair it with the lantern-lit wooden inns, the 'Gorogoro' spring water (one of Japan's 100 famous waters) and Menfudō limestone cave for one of Kansai's best retro onsen strolls. Busy as a summer retreat.
