Nagano · Yudanaka-Shibu Onsen
Yudanaka Ekimae Onsen Kaede-no-yu
湯田中駅前温泉 楓の湯
One minute from the Yudanaka station gate: a free-flowing day bath with two bathrooms (each with an open-air tub) that swap monthly. The lounge overlooks the platform — perfect while waiting for the train back from the snow-monkey park.
- Price (adult)
- ¥500
- Hours
- 10:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30); foot bath 07:30–22:00
- Closed
- 1st Tuesday (next day if a holiday)
- Access
- 1 min walk from Yudanaka Station
- Water type
- Simple spring
- Tattoos
- Ask ahead
- Admission
- Adults ¥500 / elementary ¥300. Soap, shampoo and dryers free; towels ¥250, bath towels ¥700; lockers ¥100 refundable. Free foot bath out front. Apple bath and other events on the 26th
- Baths
- Built on the site of the 1927 Yudanaka Station building, facing the platform. Two differently styled bathrooms, each with a rotenburo, swap between men and women monthly. Five washing stations; the indoor bath is hot. The rest room overlooks trains arriving. Next door: the registered heritage “Kaede-no-yakata” (old station) and a 400-year-old maple
- Water
- Sodium chloride-sulfate spring (hypotonic, mildly alkaline), 93.3 °C at source, 100% free-flowing. Clear and warming
- Parking
- Free, 17–19 spaces beside the building; on holidays the town-hall and school-kitchen lots may also be used
- Phone
- 0269-33-2133
- Official site
- info-yamanouchi.net ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
Stay in this onsen town
Compare and book stays in Yudanaka-Shibu Onsen. Day bathing itself needs no booking.
Opens partner booking site (affiliate)
Why go
- 1 min from the station — bathe while you wait
- Open-air bath for ¥500
- The snow-monkey return ritual
A bath while you wait for the train, right by the Yudanaka platform
Kaede-no-yu (“maple bath”) is a town-run day spa beside the platform of Yudanaka, the Nagaden terminus, on the site of the 1927 station building. Its great asset is location: drop in while waiting for a train or bus after the Jigokudani monkey park or Shiga Kogen. Trains arrive and depart outside the rest-room window, and there is a free foot bath out front. Undiluted 93 °C+ source water makes the indoor bath decidedly hot; the two bathrooms with rotenburo swap genders monthly. Soap and shampoo are provided, so for ¥500 you can wash properly — unlike the soap-free public baths of Yudanaka and Shibu.
Tips & cautions
- The indoor bath is very hot (tough in summer, reviewers say) — start outdoors.
- Closed 1st Tuesday. In ski season and monkey-park peak, 15:00–18:00 gets crowded with tour groups.
- Lockers ¥100 refundable; bring a towel or buy one (¥250). Only five washing stations, so expect a wait.
- Heading for Shibu’s nine baths? Wash here, then just soak there.
- The foot bath (7:30–22:00) is free — if the train is imminent, do that alone.
Getting there
Right beside Nagaden Yudanaka Station (1 min, Hirao 3227-1); ~45 min from Nagano by the Snow Monkey limited express. ~10 km / 15 min from Shinshu-Nakano IC via Route 292. Free parking, 17–19 cars.
Before you go
- No official tattoo policy is published — ask at reception.
- Payment is usually by ticket machine in cash — bring coins.
- Last entry is 30–60 minutes before closing.
Features
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.
More in this area
Jigokudani Onsen Korakukan
A Meiji-era inn at the entrance to the Jigokudani Monkey Park, famous worldwide for wild macaques that climb into its rotenburo in winter. Day bathing is only 12:00–15:00, so most visitors combine it with the monkey park. It's a 30-minute mountain trail from Shibu Onsen — wear grippy shoes in winter.
O-yu (Nozawa outer bath)
The centerpiece of Nozawa's 13 public baths, a traditional bathhouse in the middle of the village. Local 'yunakama' associations have cleaned it daily since the Edo period; payment is a donation in the box at the door. Two pools, hot and 'mild' — though even the mild one exceeds 42°C. Adding cold water is bad manners: rinse first, then keep soaks short. No soap or shampoo.
Shirahone Onsen Awanoyu
The signature inn of Shirahone, famous for milky-white water. Its highlight is a large mixed-gender open-air bath — the water is so opaque that women find it comfortable. Day use at midday only.
