14 Facilities5 Onsen towns
Salty water rising from the Noto sea, for ¥500. The community anchor of the onsen town, still operating after the 2024 Noto earthquake. Open 7:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30), and from January 2026 closed on the 25th of each month (the following Monday if it falls on a weekend). Open-air and indoor baths, a rest area, and free parking for 90.
A faithful reconstruction of the Meiji-era public bath, with stained glass and Kutani-ware tiles. No washing stations — you simply soak, the old way. The combined ticket with the adjacent Sōyu is the better deal.
The communal 'sōyu' of Yamanaka, praised by the poet Bashō as one of Japan's three finest baths. Men's and women's halls stand in separate buildings across the street; the deep, hot (~43°C) pool is the signature. 6:45 am to 10 pm, ¥500. Bring your own soap.
An all-glass communal bath on the shore of Lake Shibayama in Katayamazu, part of the Kaga onsen cluster, designed by architect Yoshio Taniguchi. The lake-facing 'Kata-no-yu' and garden-facing 'Mori-no-yu' swap between men and women on odd and even days; for ¥500 you get the Hakusan peaks and the lake to yourself. The salty chloride water keeps you warm long after. Open from 6:00 to 22:00, with a café upstairs (closed Thursdays) selling onsen eggs. About 10 min by bus from Kaga-Onsen Station.
The public bathhouse at the heart of Yamashiro Onsen's 'Yu-no-gawa' square in the Kaga hot-spring region, a spa 1,300 years old. In Kaga communal baths are called 'sōyu', and even ryokan guests walk over in yukata. The entrance reuses the gate of the old Yoshinoya inn; inside is spacious and clean, with one big tub of fresh undiluted water (sodium-calcium sulphate-chloride) flowing freely. Adults ¥500, open 06:00–22:00, closed only on the morning of the 4th Wednesday. A ¥900 combined ticket includes the 'Ko-sōyu' opposite (¥700), a recreation of the Meiji-era bathhouse with Kutani-ware tiles and stained glass — comparing the two is the classic plan. Soap and shampoo are sold, not provided. About 10 minutes by bus from Kaga-Onsen Station.
The communal bath at the centre of Yuwaku Onsen, Kanazawa's 'back parlour', about 50 minutes by bus from Kanazawa Station. The spa dates back 1,300 years, prospered as the cure resort of the Kaga lords, and is remembered as where the Taishō-era artist Takehisa Yumeji stayed with his lover; the name comes from a legend of an egret healing its wounds here. Inside, the wood-rich building is calm, with clear, smooth sodium-calcium-chloride water served fairly hot in a simple bathroom (no open-air bath or sauna). Cheap at ¥490 for adults and ¥130 for children, and open 07:00–22:00, it suits a bath-hopping circuit from the ryokan or a finish to a Kanazawa day. Closed the third Thursday (plus occasional days). Combine with the Gyokusen Lake path, the Yumeji museum and the inns' restaurants. Known as the setting of the anime 'Hanasaku Iroha', the village holds the Bonbori lantern festival in October. About 30 minutes by car from Kanazawa-Morimoto IC; parking is limited.
The communal bathhouse at the heart of Awazu Onsen in Komatsu, Hokuriku's oldest spa, said to have been founded in 718 by the priest Taichō. It stands opposite Hōshi, known as the world's oldest inn, and makes a fitting finale to a tour of the four sōyu public baths of the Kaga spa region (Yamanaka, Yamashiro, Katayamazu and Awazu). The clear, silky sodium sulfate-chloride water (mildly alkaline, high-temperature) runs hot, and soaking shoulder to shoulder with locals warms you to the core. There is no open-air bath or sauna – just an indoor pool – but that simplicity lets the water speak for itself. Adults pay ¥500, elementary pupils ¥150 and infants ¥70; open 8:00–22:00 (last entry 21:30), closed Tuesdays, parking for 10 cars. From JR Awazu Station take the Komatsu Bus for Awazu Onsen to Awazu-Onsen Kitaguchi and walk 2 minutes, or drive about 15 minutes from Kaga IC on the Hokuriku Expressway. Combine with Natadera temple, Yunokuni-no-Mori craft village and Komatsu's aviation museum.
A family-run inn close to the source of Wakura Onsen, drawing a concentrated spring in good volume. Damaged in the Noto Peninsula earthquake, it reopened on 1 July 2024. Day bathing is ¥1,000 for adults and ¥500 for elementary pupils from 14:00 to 18:30, and private baths cost ¥3,000 by reservation. You can move from the main building's great bath to the annex footbath and then to the annex's great bath. Free parking for 60; 5 minutes by Hokutetsu Noto bus from JR Wakura-Onsen Station to 'Wakura Onsen', then 3 minutes on foot. Since day-bathing arrangements differ by inn in post-earthquake Wakura, phoning ahead is wise.
A Japanese-style onsen inn near the very centre of the Wakura spa street, praised for its Noto atmosphere. Damaged in the Noto Peninsula earthquake, it reopened on 1 October 2025. Day bathing is ¥1,000 for adults and ¥500 for children from 15:00 to 21:00 (from 18:00 when busy), with irregular closures. There are separate indoor baths, a rotenburo that alternates between men and women, one private open-air bath and a lying-down tub, and day-use plans include a seafood barbecue kaiseki. Free parking for 30; 5 minutes by Hokutetsu Noto bus from JR Wakura-Onsen Station to 'Wakura Onsen', right there. Phoning ahead is wise.
Day bathing at Shirasagiyu Tawaraya, an inn of roughly 800 years overlooking the Kakusenkei gorge. The waters of Yamanaka Onsen, praised in a haiku by Matsuo Bashō, can be taken in open-air baths opening onto the valley. Day bathing is by advance reservation only, 9:00–11:00 and 15:00–18:00, at ¥1,500 (tax included) for adults, ¥1,000 for elementary pupils and free below age 2, with a towel set (bath towel and hand towel) included. The two great baths, Kakusen and Kajika, switch between men and women morning and afternoon. Overnight guests come first, so busy days are not accepted, and the private great baths are not available for day use.
A small inn at Yuwaku Onsen, the retreat in the hills behind Kanazawa, taking day bathers for 1,000 yen. There is a flow-through open-air bath where the trees and breeze can be felt, and the men's bath has a waterfall tub. It receives only from 14:30 to 16:30, so checking before setting out is needed.
An onsen hotel of the Oedo Onsen Monogatari chain in Awazu Onsen, said to have been opened by the monk Taicho some 1,300 years ago. Its own drilled spring (a chloride/sulfate spring at 54°C) fills the Enjaku-no-Yu and Myorei-no-Yu main baths and an open-air bath; day bathing needs no reservation.
An onsen inn of the Oedo Onsen Monogatari chain, famed for its scenic and herb open-air baths overlooking Lake Shibayamagata. The chloride spring of Katayamazu Onsen fills the panoramic and herb open-air baths; day bathing needs no reservation.
A legendary ryokan founded in 718 in Awazu Onsen, one of the Kaga onsen villages in Komatsu, Ishikawa. According to its opening legend, the monk Taicho discovered the spring on a divine oracle from Hakusan Gongen; for roughly 1,300 years the same family has carried on the inn, making it the oldest in Hokuriku and often introduced as the oldest surviving hotel in the world. The water is a sodium sulfate-chloride spring praised for easing neuralgia and beautifying the skin. The main bath features tubs of Shakudani stone and Indian sandstone, with indoor and open-air baths plus a sauna and private baths - the tatami-floored Taicho-no-Yu and granite Garyo-no-Yu. Day bathing runs 13:30-18:00 (last entry 17:00) at 1,700 yen with a face towel (except on busy days; calling ahead is recommended). About 7 minutes by taxi from Awazu Station on the IR Ishikawa Railway; reserved shuttle available from Kagaonsen Station.