13 Facilities3 Onsen towns
A public bath in the heart of Gero, one of Japan's three famous springs. The alkaline simple spring (pH over 9) leaves skin silky — the classic 'beauty bath' — for just ¥470. Indoor pool only, popular with locals. Combine it with the ¥1,500 'yumeguri' pass that admits you to three ryokan baths. 10 minutes on foot from Gero Station.
The largest day-use facility in Okuhida. Sixteen open-air pools (7 men's, 9 women's) scattered through the forest, all fed directly from the source. Hida beef restaurant on site. The classic stop after Kamikochi or Shin-Hotaka.
A public bath that is entirely open-air, on the Hida River. No indoor pool — six outdoor tubs including a waterfall shower, box steam and pot baths. Gero's silky pH 8.9 water with a river breeze.
A bathhouse-style onsen behind Gero Station with seven baths — waterfall, open-air, jets, sauna — for less than half a ryokan's day-use fee. Bring soap or buy it from the vending machine.
A huge boulder-lined mixed open-air bath on the Gamata riverbed, looking up at the Northern Alps and a suspension bridge. Open only late April to the end of October; swimwear or bathing gowns allowed. Pay a cleaning donation of about ¥300.
A rustic day-onsen near the Shinhotaka trailhead with a canteen where model trains run past your table. The open-air bath faces Mt. Shakujō and Mt. Kasa, and fills with hikers fresh off the mountain. Closes in winter depending on snow.
Takayama's largest day-use onsen, ten minutes by car from the old town, using free-flowing mildly alkaline water from 1,000 m underground. A 'hot-spring health land' with ten kinds of baths — indoor, open-air, walking bath, electric bath — plus sauna, a cheap restaurant with a hundred Japanese, Western and Chinese dishes, basic lodging from ¥2,500 a night, karaoke and Korean-style body care. Open 7:30–23:00 (last entry 22:30; open-air bath 15:30–22:00), every day; ¥1,150, or ¥750 for the night bath after 21:00. About 10 minutes by car from Takayama Station, with local buses too. Handy for guesthouse stayers with tiny bathrooms, or on the way back from Shirakawa-gō and Okuhida drives.
An open-air-only public bath on the gravel banks of the Gamata River at Tochio Onsen in the Okuhida valley. The rock-ringed men's and women's pools have no screen on the river side, so the rushing Gamata and the Northern Alps fill the view — starry skies at night, snow scenes in winter, wild Okuhida all year. Free-flowing simple spring water; there are changing huts but no reception — drop a donation (about ¥300) in the wooden box at the entrance. Open 8:00–22:00 (from 12:00 Mon, Wed and Fri for cleaning); no closing days, but suspended when the river is high. Bring a towel. An easy stop between the Shinhotaka Ropeway and Hirayu, or a night soak for anyone staying in Tochio's inns.
A day-use bathhouse right beside the Shinhotaka Ropeway base at the trailhead into the Northern Alps. Descended from a mountain hut, it is unusual in having two different springs — a simple spring and a bicarbonate spring — each served free-flowing. The open-air bath, with the murmur of the Gamata River and the rock peaks of Kasa-ga-take and Shakujō-dake in view, fills with hikers coming off the mountain and sightseers back from the ropeway. Adults ¥1,000, children ¥500; open 09:00–18:00 (last entry one hour before closing), irregular closing days. There is a rest room and a restaurant serving Okuhida fare such as Hida beef and soba. About 90 minutes by bus from Takayama Nōhi Bus Center to 'Shinhotaka Onsen', then 2 minutes on foot; parking for 11 cars (pay car parks nearby).
Three minutes on foot from JR Gero Station, this is the day-bathing option at Suimeikan, one of Gero Onsen's landmark ryokan. Entry is taken 11:00–14:00 at ¥1,500 for adults and ¥1,000 for children aged 3 to elementary school, with a face towel and bath towel included. You may use either the open-air bath on the first floor of the Sansuikaku wing or the viewing great bath on the ninth floor of the Hisenkan wing, one visit to one of them. Its alkaline simple spring feels smooth, and being this close to the station is the draw. Cash only.
A large onsen hotel close to the centre of Takayama, taking day bathers for 1,500 yen. By day it receives from 11:00 to 14:00, and in the evening from 15:00 to 22:00, and in the daytime the bath used changes with the day of the week. It has open-air and indoor baths, a high-concentration carbonated bath and a sauna.
The onsen of a resort hotel standing on high ground above the town of Takayama, taking day bathers for 1,500 yen, which includes towel rental. It receives in two parts, from 7:00 to 11:00 and from 13:00 to 21:00, and the open-air baths on the fifth and seventh floors switch between men and women daily.
A free spring-water spot on the bed of the Hida River, the symbol of Gero Onsen - one of Japan's three great onsen. Gero's source water flows free into an open rock basin with no enclosure at all; once loved as a mixed open-air bath in swimwear, bathing has been prohibited since December 1, 2021, and it is now a foot-bath-only spot. Dipping your feet in the pH ~9.2 alkaline simple spring - the famous beauty-skin water - while the river murmurs beside you is a Gero-only experience. Just a 3-minute walk from JR Gero Station and usable around the clock (briefly closed for cleaning around 7:00-8:00; unavailable when the river runs high). For a full bath, head to nearby Shirasagi-no-Yu (370 yen), the Qua Garden open-air baths, or a ryokan covered by the bath-hopping booklet. A perfect starting point for strolling the onsen town.