Iwate · Tsunagi Onsen, Morioka
Tsunagi Onsen Hotel Shion
つなぎ温泉 ホテル紫苑（日帰り入浴）
About 25 minutes by car from Morioka Station, this large hotel is the flagship of Tsunagi Onsen, the lakeside 'back parlour of Morioka' lined with inns along Lake Gosho. Its lake-facing bathhouse, the Nambu Magariya no Yu, is modelled on the region's traditional L-shaped farmhouses, and the open-air bath on the shore frames Lake Gosho and Mt. Iwate, beautiful as the light shifts at dawn and dusk. A second bathhouse, Hitorishizuka no Yu, looks onto a stone garden, and the two swap between men and women by time of day. The clear alkaline simple spring is soft on the skin, and there is a sauna. Day bathing hours are short – 11:00–16:00 on weekdays (reception until 15:00) and 11:00–14:00 on weekends and holidays (until 13:00) – at ¥1,200 on weekdays and ¥1,400 on weekends for adults, ¥600 for children. There is no fixed closing day, but cleaning days and crowds can suspend or shorten day bathing, so check ahead. A restaurant, shop and lounge are on site with ample free parking. Iwate Kenkō bus for Tsunagi Onsen from Morioka Station's west exit takes about 30 minutes, or 15 minutes by car from Morioka IC via Route 46. Combine with Koiwai Farm or Morioka Handi-Works Square.
- Price (adult)
- ¥1,200
- Hours
- 11:00–16:00 (last entry 15:00; weekends & holidays 11:00–15:00, last entry 14:00)
- Closed
- Irregular (day bathing suspended on cleaning days, group stays and busy days — phone ahead)
- Access
- Iwate Kenkō bus for Tsunagi Onsen from JR Morioka Station west exit about 30 min to 'Tsunagi Onsen', then 5 min on foot; about 15 min by car from Morioka IC via Route 46; about 25 min by car from Morioka Station
- Water type
- Alkaline simple
- Tattoos
- Ask ahead
- Admission
- Day bathing adults ¥1,200 weekdays, ¥1,400 weekends and holidays, children ¥600 (tax included, one face towel provided). Since 1 June 2025 day visitors may use only the 2nd-floor main bath 'Hitorijime-no-yu' (the 3rd-floor 'Nanbu Magariya-no-yu' is for overnight guests). The private rotenburo (45 min ¥2,000) is also guests-only. Reception may be cut to 11:00–14:00 when crowds are expected
- Baths
- An upmarket inn on the shore of Lake Gosho at Morioka's Tsunagi Onsen. The 2nd-floor 'Hitorijime-no-yu' available to day visitors comprises two bath halls, 'Hinoki-no-yu' and 'Kinu-no-yu', swapped between the sexes by time, each with indoor pool, rotenburo, sauna (dry 95–100°C on the men's side, mist on the women's), an 18°C cold plunge and an outdoor-air rest area, looking over the lake to Mt Iwate. The 3rd-floor 'Nanbu Magariya-no-yu' (Akamatsu-no-yu and Oiwa-no-yu, free-flowing source, swapped daily) is guests-only, 5:00–22:00. Shampoo, conditioner, body soap and dryers provided; shop and massage
- Spring water
- Alkaline simple spring (hypotonic, alkaline, high-temperature), an abundant 'beauty water'. Colourless, odourless and silky, gentle enough for children and the elderly. Tsunagi's roughly 950-year history traces to 1057, when the warlord Minamoto no Yoshiie is said to have tethered (tsunagi) his horse to a stone and bathed here. The 2nd-floor baths use recirculation and heating; the 3rd-floor Nanbu Magariya-no-yu is free-flowing. Indicated for neuralgia, muscle pain, poor circulation, stiff joints, fatigue and convalescence
- Access & parking
- Free parking for 200 cars. By car about 15 min (8 km) from Morioka IC on the Tohoku Expressway via Route 46. By bus about 30 min on the Iwate Kenkotsu Tsunagi Onsen service from the west exit of JR Morioka Station — alight at 'Tsunagi Onsen' (5 min walk) or 'Hotel Shion-mae'. Station shuttle for overnight guests (book ahead). Koiwai Farm 20 min and Morioka Handicraft Village 5 min by car
- Phone
- 019-689-2288
- Official site
- hotel-shion.com ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
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Why go
- Lakeside open-air bath facing Lake Gosho and Mt. Iwate
- Stone-garden second bathhouse; sides swap by time
- ¥1,200 weekdays; 11:00–16:00 (to 14:00 weekends)
A lakeside luxury bath that lets you 'have Lake Gosho to yourself'
Hotel Shion is the flagship luxury inn of Tsunagi Onsen, on the shore of Lake Gosho 20 minutes by car from central Morioka, Iwate. Tsunagi takes its name from the legend that in 1057 the warlord Minamoto no Yoshiie tethered (tsunagi) his horse to a stone and bathed here, and its pride is the view across the reservoir lake to Mt Iwate. Day visitors bathe in the 2nd-floor 'Hitorijime-no-yu' ('the bath you have all to yourself'), which combines indoor pool, rotenburo, sauna, cold plunge and an outdoor-air rest space; the rotenburo opening onto the lake has won a reputation among sauna lovers as a 'spectacular cool-down'. For ¥1,200 on weekdays (¥1,400 weekends and holidays), towel included, you get the silky 'beauty water' of an alkaline simple spring — a fine half-day indulgence while sightseeing in Morioka.
Hinoki-no-yu, Kinu-no-yu and the sauna — what changed in June 2025
'Hitorijime-no-yu' consists of two halls, 'Hinoki-no-yu' and 'Kinu-no-yu', swapped between men and women by time slot; each has a spacious indoor pool, a rotenburo facing the lake, a sauna, a cold plunge at around 18°C and an outdoor-air rest space with chairs. The saunas differ — a 95–100°C dry sauna on the men's side and a mist sauna on the women's (changing with the rotation) — and cooling down outside with Lake Gosho and Mt Iwate before you is the highlight. The water is a colourless, odourless alkaline simple spring that clings silkily to the skin and, being non-irritating, suits children and the elderly; the 2nd-floor baths use recirculation and heating for hygiene. Note that since 1 June 2025 day visitors are limited to this 2nd-floor bath, while the free-flowing 3rd-floor 'Nanbu Magariya-no-yu' (Akamatsu-no-yu and Oiwa-no-yu, swapped daily) and the ¥2,000 45-minute private rotenburo are reserved for overnight guests. If you must try the free-flowing bath, consider staying (from ¥12,100 with two meals). Shampoo, conditioner, body soap and dryers are provided and you receive a face towel, so you can come empty-handed.
Reception hours, prices and a Morioka-area route
Day-bathing reception is 11:00–16:00 on weekdays (last entry 15:00) and 11:00–15:00 on weekends and holidays (last entry 14:00); it is shortened to 11:00–14:00 when the hotel or car park is expected to be busy, and suspended on bath-cleaning days (weekly for the main bath) and group-booking days, so a call ahead (019-689-2288) is wise. Adults ¥1,200 weekdays, ¥1,400 weekends and holidays, children ¥600. The bus for Tsunagi Onsen from the west exit of Morioka Station takes about 30 minutes; by car it is 15 minutes from Morioka IC, with ample parking for 200. Combine it with the lakeside promenade and the foot bath in the Tsunagi spa street, Morioka Handicraft Village 5 minutes away (Nanbu ironware and rice-cracker workshops) and Koiwai Farm 20 minutes away for a half or full day, then return to the city for Morioka's 'three great noodles' — wanko soba, reimen and jajamen. The outlook changes with the seasons: cherry blossom in spring, fireworks over the lake in August, autumn colour and a snow-capped Mt Iwate in winter.
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
Sauna & wellness
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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