19 Facilities7 Onsen towns
A municipal public bath two minutes from Bandai-Atami Station. Two pools of free-flowing spring water — a lukewarm one at about 36°C and a hot one — with silky alkaline water made for long soaks. Unusually, admission is highest in the morning and drops to ¥400 from 14:00 and ¥300 from 16:00. No towels or soap; bring your own.
Twenty-five minutes by local train from Fukushima, the emblematic communal bath of Iizaka Onsen, where the poet Basho is said to have bathed. Rebuilt in 1993 as a faithful copy of one of Japan's oldest wooden bathhouses, its granite tub runs with free-flowing spring water above 45°C. Locals don't cool it with tap water; visitors get guidance. ¥400, from 6 am. No soap or shampoo. Start here for a crawl of the town's nine public baths.
Thirty minutes by car from Fukushima city, the communal bath of Takayu Onsen at 750 m on Mt. Azuma. Every bath is open-air, filled with milky-white sulfur water that is neither diluted nor heated. There's a timber men's bath, a rock women's bath and a reservable private rotenburo. A ¥500 gateway to a spa town that has kept its water free-flowing for 400 years. Closed Thursdays; one-hour limit. At the foot of the Bandai-Azuma Skyline — ideal with an autumn drive.
An inn with its own spring midway along the Yukawa gorge, where the ryokan of Higashiyama Onsen line the river 10 minutes by car from central Aizu-Wakamatsu. Day visitors get the riverside open-air bath facing a waterfall and the main bath for ¥1,100 including a small towel, 13:00–20:00. Private panoramic baths (¥1,650) and lunch packages are also offered. With 1,300 years of history, Higashiyama was the retreat of artists such as Takehisa Yumeji and poet Yosano Akiko — a natural finish to a day at Tsuruga Castle and the Byakkotai sites on Iimoriyama. Reception hours may shorten when busy.
A public bathhouse (doubling as a self-catering lodge) in the centre of Dake Onsen, about 600 m up the slopes of Mt Adatara. The acidic spring is rare nationally; piped roughly 8 km from the source, the water cools on the way and arrives milky white with a slight tingle. The basement bath is indoor only but 100% free-flowing. Day use 10:00–19:00 (last entry), ¥400 for adults, closed Tuesdays. The sloping resort street keeps traces of the town's playful 'Nikoniko Republic' era and has a free foot bath. About 25 minutes by bus from Nihonmatsu Station; popular with hikers coming down Mt Adatara and skiers.
The signature 92-room ryokan of Dake Onsen, at about 600 m on the flank of Mt Adatara. The source is piped 8 km from near the Kurogane hut in the mountains and cools naturally in a yubatake on the way, arriving at bathing temperature — a nationally rare acidic spring with a bracing, skin-tightening feel. The 'Haiku' main bath and the 'Moon-viewing' and 'Blossom-viewing' open-air baths look out on the Adatara range. Day bathing: adults ¥1,000, children ¥500, 12:00–20:00 (last entry 19:30; from 15:00 on Wednesdays, 12:00–16:00 on Saturdays and days before holidays), with entry limits when crowded. Day plans with a buffet are popular too. About 15 minutes by car from Nihonmatsu IC or 25 minutes by bus from JR Nihonmatsu Station. Combine with the cherry-tree avenue of Himalaya-dōri and Chieko's hometown sights.
The public bath at the centre of Tsuchiyu Onsen, a spa village in the fold of the Azuma range about 40 minutes by bus from Fukushima Station. Rebuilt in 2018 in fragrant timber, it faces the Arakawa mountain stream. The alkaline bicarbonate water is used free-flowing without heating or recirculation — clear and soft but decidedly hot, so adding cold water to taste is the local custom. Besides separate indoor baths there is a private bath (¥1,500), handy for families and couples. Adults ¥500, children ¥250; open 09:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30), closed Tuesdays (open over New Year). The village has foot baths, workshops making Tsuchiyu kokeshi dolls, the steaming Arakawa source and another communal bath, Kajika-no-yu, so a stroll with a kokeshi-painting session fills a pleasant half day. 82 free parking spaces. About 20 minutes by car from Fukushima-nishi IC, and a convenient gateway to the Bandai-Azuma Skyline.
The largest and most storied inn of Ashinomaki Onsen, a spa strung along the Aga (Ōkawa) river gorge south of Aizu-Wakamatsu. Its soaring lobby 'floating stage', where live shamisen echoes each evening, became famous for resembling the bathhouse of a beloved animated film. The star is the 'superb-view open-air bath' cantilevered over the gorge, looking down on the river and the mountainsides through the seasons – spectacular in autumn colour and winter snow. The clear sodium-calcium sulfate-chloride water warms deeply and holds its heat. Day bathing runs 11:00–15:00 (reception until 14:00) for ¥1,800 per adult and ¥900 for ages 3–12, tax and bathing tax included with a face towel, open every day. The 'sky open-air bath' can be booked privately for ¥3,300 per 45 minutes (two slots each at 13:00 and 14:00), and day plans with lunch in a private room from ¥5,500 are popular. Free parking for 150 cars, pick-up from Ashinomaki-Onsen Station on the Aizu Railway, or about 40 minutes by car from Aizu-Wakamatsu IC via Route 118. A natural stop between Ōuchi-juku and the Tō-no-Hetsuri cliffs.
A large hotel at the heart of Bandai-Atami Onsen, using alkaline simple spring water at 52 to 58 degrees. There are several bathing places, including an open-air bath set in a garden, and the open-air bath is the women's side in the morning and the men's in the afternoon. Day bathing is for one visit, in the morning or the afternoon, at 1,500 yen for adults and 700 yen for children aged 2 to elementary school (taxes included). Reception is 10:00 to 17:00 on weekdays and 10:30 to 17:00 on weekends and holidays, and bathing runs 10:00 to 18:00. From 12:30 to 13:00 the baths change over and cannot be used. Towels are 300 yen to buy and 300 yen to rent, and a private bath can be added for 3,000 yen per group.
An inn in the older part of Bandai-Atami Onsen, the quarter that runs along a river gorge. Day bathing is accepted 10:00 to 19:00 at 1,000 yen for adults and 700 yen for children. The private open-air bath is 2,000 yen for 45 minutes for one to five people, by reservation, and runs flow-through. Guests may share the shuttle bus of the sister hotel, Hotel Hananoyu, which makes Bandai-Atami Station easy to reach. The spa opened some 800 years ago, and its name is said to come from Atami in Izu, the homeland of the lord who came to rule this land.
An inn of Iizaka Onsen with its own spring, where an open-air bath facing a Japanese garden is the signature. Day bathing needs no reservation and is taken from 11:00 to 14:00, with use until 15:00, at 1,000 yen for adults and 500 yen for elementary pupils, tax included. Coloured yukata rent for 300 yen, which makes it easy to combine the bath with a walk around the spa street. A shuttle to the station is available.
An inn right in front of Iizaka-Onsen Station, with a hinoki view bath called Tenshu-no-yu on the ninth floor, known as a place to see stars at night. Day bathing needs no reservation and is taken from 12:00 to 17:30 at 1,000 yen for adults and 500 yen for elementary pupils, free for infants, with a face towel included. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, for maintenance, reception starts at 14:00.
An inn whose emblem is a thatched bath hut some 150 years old, keeping the form it had when the inn opened. The water is drawn 100 percent from the source and released in full flow, with no added water and no heating. Day bathing is 1,000 yen for adults and 600 yen for children, consumption and bathing tax included, split into two sittings of 11:00 to 14:00, last entry 13:30, and 16:00 to 20:00, last entry 19:30. Only the midday sitting closes on Wednesdays. The garden holds open rock baths, a women-only open-air bath and a foot bath.
A large inn facing the two-tiered falls of the Arakawa river. It has a flow-through open-air bath and main bath, five private baths and a 25-metre indoor pool. Day bathing is received from 10:00 to 14:30, last entry 13:30, at 2,000 yen for adults and 1,500 yen for children aged three to twelve, with a bath towel and face towel included and use of the lounge drinks and snack buffet.
An old inn with 1,300 years behind the spring and more than 140 behind the house, whose open-air bath faces the Fushimigataki falls. Day bathing is received on weekends and holidays from 13:00 to 15:00, leaving by 16:00, at 1,200 yen for adults with a face towel included. A reservation by email is needed by the day before, giving the date, the number of guests and how you will arrive, and same-day visits are not accepted. Those with tattoos cannot enter.
Three minutes on foot from the bus stop of Tsuchiyu Onsen, an all-tatami inn drawing its own source. Day bathing is received from 10:00 in the morning to 8:00 at night, later than most places in the spa, at 1,000 yen for adults and 600 yen for children. Each side has a single indoor bath, with a cloudy green-white bicarbonate spring. There is also a sauna and a cold bath of around 18 degrees for alternating. Towels are sold for 200 yen, and there is no open-air bath.
An inn standing halfway up Mt Azuma at 750 metres, known for the wide open-air bath Taiki-no-yu set along a mountain stream. Day bathing is received from 10:30 to 14:30, last entry 13:00, for 90 minutes from reception, at 1,500 yen for adults, 750 yen for ages four to twelve and free under three. It closes on Tuesdays and Fridays and on the inn's own holidays, which change each month, so checking ahead is needed. There are two main baths, Higashi-no-yu and Nishi-no-yu, which change between men and women daily. Coffee, tea and lemon water are free in the lounges.
An inn in the Tsuchiyu spa that can be entered for 900 yen, receiving day bathers from 2:00 to 5:30 in the afternoon. It suits a later afternoon visit. The water is a simple spring typical of Tsuchiyu. Groups can mean it is closed to day visitors, so checking is needed.
A large onsen inn representing Ashinomaki Onsen in Aizuwakamatsu. Its valley-view grand bath features a 30-meter streamlined tub, with big windows overlooking the Okawa gorge. The spring is a calcium-sodium sulfate-chloride spring, and day bathing is accepted.