Okayama · Yunogo Onsen
Yunogo Onsen Sagi Onsen-kan
湯郷温泉 湯郷鷺温泉館
The source bath of Yunogo Onsen, where legend says the monk Ennin found an egret healing its wounds some 1,200 years ago. One of the three famed Mimasaka hot springs, an hour by car from Okayama. The town-run bathhouse charges ¥960 for indoor and open-air baths across two bathing wings linked by a moving walkway, alternating daily. Open 8:00–21:00; the 'all-day rest' plan lets you come and go until closing. Bring your own food.
- Price (adult)
- ¥960
- Hours
- 08:00–21:00 (last entry 20:20)
- Closed
- 2nd Wed (next day if holiday; 1st Wed in Aug)
- Access
- 80 min by express bus from JR Okayama Station to Yunogo-Onsen, then 5 min walk; 10 min by car from Mimasaka IC
- Water type
- Simple spring
- Tattoos
- Ask ahead
- Admission
- 960 yen per bath for adults, 500 yen for children aged three to elementary school and 860 yen from age 75, revised on 1 August 2026. A family bath is 4,800 yen for up to three people for an hour, and a full-day rest is 2,400 yen for adults. Special discounts such as the JAF rate continue.
- Baths
- Yunogo Onsen’s source bath, run by Mimasaka city. Two bathhouses, “Do-no-yu” and “Sei-no-yu”, swap between men and women every Sunday — a main bath, a terraced rotenburo where water cascades like a waterfall between rocks (four small tubs), an auto-aufguss dry sauna at 90 °C and a 16 °C cold plunge (sauna for 8 / 5). Rest room and dining
- Water
- Yunogo Onsen — sodium-calcium chloride spring (weakly alkaline), clear and soft. Legend says the monk Ennin discovered it 1,200 years ago after seeing a white heron (“sagi”) heal its wounds — hence the name. One of the three Mimasaka spas (Yunogo, Yubara, Okutsu)
- Parking
- Free, 150 cars. ~7 min by taxi (or the Ume community bus) from JR Hayashino Station (Kishin Line); ~1 h 20 min by Chutetsu/Uno bus from Okayama Station to “Yunogo Onsen”. ~3 min from Mimasaka IC on the Chugoku Expressway
- Phone
- 0868-72-0279
- Official site
- city.mimasaka.lg.jp ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
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Why go
- Source spring of the egret legend
- ¥960, 8:00–21:00
- All-day rest plan
The source bath a heron revealed — a cascading terraced rotenburo and a 90 °C sauna
Yunogo Onsen, on the Yoshino River in Mimasaka in north-eastern Okayama, is a 1,200-year-old spa counted with Yubara and Okutsu among the “three Mimasaka spas”. Yunogo Sagi Onsenkan takes its name from the legend that the Heian monk Ennin discovered the spring when he saw a white heron (sagi) bathing an injured leg. It is the source bath in the middle of the spa street, run by Mimasaka city as a public day bath, on a site cherished as a therapeutic bath since the Meiji era. Its two bathhouses, “Do-no-yu” (dynamic) and “Sei-no-yu” (still), swap between men and women every Sunday, and the highlight is the rotenburo: water cascades like a waterfall between sculpturally piled rocks, filling four small tubs one after another from top to bottom — a bath to enjoy for the sound of water and the rockwork rather than a view. Sauna fans know it for the 90 °C dry sauna with auto-aufguss paired with a 16 °C cold plunge; the sauna is silent, good for quiet concentration. The water is a weakly alkaline sodium-calcium chloride spring, clear, soft and warming. Adults ¥800 (JAF members ¥700), open from 8:00 to 21:00, closed the second Wednesday (first Wednesday in August). Right next door, “Ryoyo-yu” is a separate facility (closed Wednesdays) offering the same source free-flowing in quieter surroundings, and enthusiasts compare the two. Yunogo is also the home town of the women’s football club Yunogo Belle, and the spa street has a Showa toy museum, a music-box museum and the free footbath Sagi-no-ashiyu. It is 1 h 20 min by bus from Okayama Station and 3 minutes from Mimasaka IC on the Chugoku Expressway — a convenient stop when driving between Okayama, Himeji and Tottori.
Tips & cautions
- 8:00–21:00 (last entry 20:20); closed the second Wednesday (next day if a holiday; first Wednesday in August).
- JAF members: buy the ¥700 discount ticket at the machine and show your card (digital OK) at reception.
- The two bathhouses swap on Sundays; both have terraced rotenburo but differ in size, and sauna capacity is 8 / 5.
- The rotenburo has no view (rock sculpture) — don’t expect scenery.
- Tattoos: municipal facility with no confirmed policy — ask at the desk.
- Compare with the neighbouring Ryoyo-yu (free-flowing, closed Wed) — separate fee.
- Buses to Yunogo run from Okayama and Tsuyama — check frequencies; taxi 7 min from Hayashino Station.
- Stroll to the free footbath Sagi-no-ashiyu and the Showa toy museum in the spa street.
Getting there
~7 min by taxi or the Mimasaka “Ume Bus” from JR Hayashino Station (Kishin Line), Yunogo 595-1, Mimasaka, Okayama. ~1 h 20 min by Chutetsu/Uno bus from Okayama Station to “Yunogo Onsen”, then 3 min on foot; ~40 min by bus from Tsuyama Station. By car ~3 min from Mimasaka IC on the Chugoku Expressway; free parking, 150 cars. Tel. 0868-72-0279.
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.
- Last entry is 30–60 minutes before closing.
Features
Mood & scenery
Price
Who with
Convenience
Amenities
✔ Verified operating: 2026-10 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
Yubara Onsen Sunayu
A natural open-air bath on the Asahi River gravel bed right below Yubara Dam, where water bubbles up through the riverbed itself — ranked the 'western grand champion' of Japan's rotenburo. Three pools at different temperatures; mixed, free and open 24 hours. Only a simple changing hut, so women are advised to wear a bathing garment (sold and rented in town). Closed Wednesday mornings for cleaning. Photography strictly forbidden.
Okutsu Onsen Hanabijin-no-Sato
A town-run day spa at Okutsu Onsen, one of the three Mimasaka hot springs and famous for the autumn colours of Okutsu Gorge. The airy, high-ceilinged main bath holds pH 9-plus alkaline 'beauty water', with a rotenburo, family baths and sauna. ¥880, 10:00–19:00, closed Thursdays. The gorge trail is within walking distance, so it fills up after leaf-viewing in autumn. Forty minutes by car from Tsuyama.
Kurashiki Yuga Onsen Hotel Santōka
A white-walled onsen hotel in the hills between Kojima, at the foot of the Great Seto Bridge, and the pilgrim path up Mt Yuga. Yuga Onsen has long refreshed worshippers at the Yuga Daigongen shrine-temple; the spacious bath hall lines up a source tub, waterfall shower, jet bath and bubble bath, with a garden that flowers through the seasons beyond the windows. Day use 11:00–15:00 (last entry 14:30), ¥1,980 including bath and face towel rental. The lunch-plus-bath set (¥3,960) is popular, with a third-floor rest room. 30 minutes by car from Kurashiki's Bikan quarter; combine with Kojima Jeans Street or the bridge. Open daily.
