Aomori · Tsuta Onsen & Oirase
Tsuta Onsen Ryokan
蔦温泉旅館
A lone inn in a primeval beech forest on the southern flank of Mt. Hakkoda. Spring water wells up directly through the gaps in the hiba-cypress boards on the tub floor — 'free-welling', so you bathe in water that has never touched air, a rarity even in Japan. The all-hiba 'Kyuan-no-yu' bathhouse from 1918 is magnificent. Day use 10:00–15:00, ¥1,000; may close early when busy. Combine with the hour-long trail around Tsuta-numa pond, famous for autumn colour. Closed in winter.
- Price (adult)
- ¥1,000
- Hours
- 10:00–15:00 (last entry 14:30; may end early when busy)
- Closed
- Closed in winter (Nov 25–Dec 23, Jan 13–mid-Apr) and for maintenance
- Access
- About 2 h by JR 'Mizuumi' bus from Aomori Station to Tsuta-Onsen; 50 min by car from Shichinohe-Towada
- Water type
- Sulfate spring
- Tattoos
- Ask ahead
- Admission
- Day bathing: adults ¥1,000 / elementary ¥500. Hand towel ¥300, bath-towel rental ¥500. Private family bath ¥4,000 per 50 min plus admission; day use 10:00–14:00, booked on site only (no phone reservations). Day visitors cannot use guest rooms, but the rest lounge (free tea and water) is open to them
- Baths
- 'Gen-sen waki-nagashi': the tub, floored with beech boards, sits directly on the spring, so raw source water that has never touched air bubbles up beneath your feet — one of Japan's rarest foot-vent baths. Gender-separated 'Senkyo-no-yu' (12-m timber atrium, showers) and the alternating 'Kyuan-no-yu' (a re-creation of the old bathhouse, no showers; women 10:00–12:00, men 13:00–21:00), plus one private family bath
- Water
- Sodium-calcium sulphate-bicarbonate-chloride spring, source about 45°C (hot, so cold water may be added). Colourless, odourless and soft; the signature sensation is clear bubbles rising from below and breaking against your skin. Its gentleness reveals itself the second and third time in
- Parking & access
- Free parking for about 100 cars. From Aomori or Shin-Aomori Station, the JR 'Mizuumi-go' bus (for Lake Towada) takes about 2 h to 'Tsuta Onsen', 1 min on foot (reduced and partly suspended in winter). JR buses also run from Hachinohe and Shichinohe-Towada. About 1 h from Kuroishi IC on the Tohoku Expressway via Routes 102/103. Free shuttle from Shichinohe-Towada Station for overnight guests (reserve)
- Phone
- 0176-74-2311
- Official site
- tsutaonsen.com ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
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Why go
- Spring wells up beneath your feet
- All-cypress bathhouse from 1918
- Walk to Tsuta-numa's autumn colours
Raw source water rising beneath your feet — a 900-year-old foot-vent hideaway in a beech forest on the way to Oirase
Tsuta Onsen is a lone inn deep in the virgin beech forest of southern Hakkoda in Towada, Aomori — a hideaway so old that a bathing hut here is recorded in a document of 1147, lying on the road to the Oirase Gorge and Lake Towada. Its defining feature is 'gen-sen waki-nagashi', among the rarest bath types in Japan: a tub floored with beech boards sits directly over the spring, so raw source water of about 45°C that has never touched air rises beneath your feet as clear bubbles and breaks against your skin. There are two bathhouses — the gender-separated 'Senkyo-no-yu', named by the novelist Yasushi Inoue, with a 12-metre timber atrium, and 'Kyuan-no-yu', a 1990 re-creation of the old bathhouse used in alternating shifts (women 10:00–12:00, men 13:00–21:00) — plus the only private bath in Aomori with a foot-vent source (¥4,000 per 50 min, booked on site). The water is a sodium-calcium sulphate-bicarbonate-chloride spring, colourless, odourless and soft, the kind whose gentleness grows on you with each soak. Day bathing (¥1,000) runs 10:00–15:00 and closes for winter (25 Nov–23 Dec and 13 Jan to mid-April); the 2.8-km 'Tsuta Seven Marshes' trail, with Tsutanuma a 30-minute walk away, is the other reason to come, in fresh green or autumn colour.
Tips & notes
① Kyuan-no-yu alternates: women only in the morning (10:00–12:00), men from 13:00, with cleaning 12:00–13:00. Couples: arrive around 11:00, women to Kyuan and men to Senkyo, lunch, then swap after 13:00. ② Day reception closes 14:30 and may end early in October foliage season or when busy — mornings are best. ③ Kyuan-no-yu has no showers or washing stations; wash in Senkyo-no-yu. ④ The foot-vent tub floor is wooden — mind toenails and slipping, and don't walk around in the tub. ⑤ The family bath cannot be booked by phone; first come, first served at the front desk. ⑥ Check winter closure dates and inspection days on the official site. ⑦ No morning bath (7:00–9:00) in October; the buffet breakfast is a highlight of staying over.
Getting there
From Aomori Station (via Shin-Aomori), the JR Bus Tohoku 'Mizuumi-go' for Lake Towada takes about 2 h to 'Tsuta Onsen', 1 min on foot — only a few a day, reduced and partly suspended in winter (mid-Nov to mid-Apr), so check the timetable. JR buses also run from Hachinohe and Shichinohe-Towada (Tohoku Shinkansen); overnight guests get a free shuttle from Shichinohe-Towada (reserve). By car, from Kuroishi IC on the Tohoku Expressway take Route 102, then at the Yakeyama junction Route 103 towards Hakkoda for about 5 km — about 1 h in total. The classic plan is two days with the Oirase Gorge (15 min by car), Lake Towada and the Hakkoda Ropeway; fresh green peaks in late May, autumn colour mid-to-late October.
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
Mood & scenery
Convenience
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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