Toyama · Uozu / Kintarō Onsen
Kintarō Onsen Karuna no Yakata
金太郎温泉 カルナの館
Ten minutes by car from Kurobe-Unazuki-Onsen Station on the Hokuriku Shinkansen, a large day-spa wing of the lone inn Kintarō Onsen in Uozu. Its sulfur-rich sodium-calcium chloride water is among the most concentrated in Hokuriku, gushing at 1,800 litres a minute. A giant rock bath built from Tateyama boulders, open-air baths, a carbonated bath, rock-bath rooms and four private baths; open daily 8:30–23:30. Admission ¥1,100.
- Price (adult)
- ¥1,100
- Hours
- 8:30–23:30 (last entry 23:00)
- Closed
- Open daily
- Access
- 10 min by car from Kurobe-Unazuki-Onsen Station (Hokuriku Shinkansen); shuttle bus from Uozu Station (see official timetable)
- Water type
- Sulfur spring
- Tattoos
- Ask ahead
- Admission
- 3-hour course: adults ¥1,100, children (3 to elementary) ¥550; all-day course ¥1,300 / ¥650 (lunch-inclusive courses available). Show an ETC or JAF card and the all-day course costs the 3-hour price (up to 4 people per card). Four private baths from ¥1,800 per 60 min (plus admission; booking 10:00–20:00). Loungewear ¥110. Cash only at the desk. Remove jewellery — the sulphur tarnishes metal
- Baths
- A vast 3,600 m² bath hall: a dramatic rock bath modelled on the Tateyama range, an expansive garden rotenburo, a hot sauna and many tubs. Four private baths. Large rest areas, an inexpensive restaurant, a summer pool. Adjoining hotel Kofukaku. Razors, shampoo and body soap provided; bring or hire towels. Shuttle bus from Uozu Station
- Water
- Sulphur-bearing sodium-calcium chloride spring (hydrogen-sulphide type; hypertonic, neutral, high-temperature), 73.5°C at source, about a tonne a minute, 100% free-flowing. A nationally rare blend of salt and sulphur springs, strongly sulphurous and milky white — the only cloudy sulphur bath on Toyama's lowlands. Indicated for neuralgia, high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, cuts, burns, skin disease, poor circulation and rheumatism. Listed among 'Japan's 100 Best Onsen'
- Parking & access
- Free parking for 150 cars. Free shuttle bus (check times) or about 10 min by car from Uozu Station (Ainokaze Toyama Railway). About 10 min by car from Kurobe-Unazuki-Onsen Station on the Hokuriku Shinkansen. About 5 min from Uozu IC on the Hokuriku Expressway. About 40 min by car from central Toyama
- Phone
- 0765-24-1221
- Official site
- kintarouonsen.co.jp ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
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Why go
- Hokuriku's richest sulfur-salt water
- 1,800 L/min flow
- Open daily 8:30–23:30
A tonne a minute of sulphur-and-salt water in a 1,100-tsubo bath hall
Kintaro Onsen Karuna-no-yakata is a large day-spa set among the paddies on the outskirts of Uozu, Toyama, forming with the hotel Kofukaku the lone-inn spa of 'Kintaro Onsen'. The source, at 73.5°C, yields about a tonne a minute of sulphur-bearing sodium-calcium chloride water — a nationally rare blend of salt spring and sulphur spring, pungent and milky white, said to be the only cloudy sulphur bath on Toyama's lowlands. Pouring this water, 100% free-flowing, through a bath hall of some 3,600 m² is a spectacle that has kept it on the 'Japan's 100 Best Onsen' list, and with hours from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., locals and travellers come and go all day.
A rock bath modelled on Tateyama and a vast garden rotenburo
Entering the hall, the first thing you see is the giant rock bath piled up to evoke the Tateyama range, with a string of tubs of differing heat and shape in front of it. Because the water is at once a milky sulphur spring and a heavily saline salt spring, it is billed as a 'beauty bath' — the sulphur lifting old skin cells, the salt laying down a warming, moisturising film — and the sulphur smell lingers on you for a while afterwards. Silver and copper jewellery blackens, so be sure to take it off. The garden rotenburo outside sprawls among lawns and trees, with several rock tubs to wander between, and there is a hot sauna. The four private baths cost from ¥1,800 per hour on top of admission.
Practical details and how to save
Hours are 8:30–23:30 (last entry 23:00), open every day. The 3-hour course is ¥1,100 for adults and ¥550 for children, the all-day course ¥1,300 / ¥650, and the front desk takes cash only. Show an ETC card or JAF membership and the all-day course costs the 3-hour price (up to four people per card) — don't forget it. Bring or hire towels; shampoo, body soap and razors are provided. Evenings, especially 17:00–19:00 on Saturdays, are busiest. There is a free shuttle from Uozu Station, and it is 10 minutes by car from Kurobe-Unazuki-Onsen Station on the Hokuriku Shinkansen, so it slots neatly into an Unazuki Onsen itinerary as 'the milky sulphur bath of the plains'.
Before you go
- No official tattoo policy is published — ask at reception.
- Last entry is 30–60 minutes before closing.
Features
Sauna & wellness
Rules & private
Who with
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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