Iwate

Onsen towns

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Iwate · Hanamaki OnsenTattoos: Ask ahead

Osawa Onsen Jisuibu Tojiya

A wooden toji (therapeutic stay) inn over 200 years old on the Toyosawa River in the Hanamaki-Minami onsen area, once frequented by poet Kenji Miyazawa. Its signature is 'Osawa-no-yu', a mixed open-air bath jutting over the river, with women-only hours. Day bathing from 7 am; ¥700 covers three baths. Many linger for lunch and sake at the 'Yahagi' dining room. Free shuttle from Hanamaki Station.

Day-trip onsenOnsen ryokanDay use ¥700

Iwate · Hanamaki OnsenTattoos: Ask ahead

Namari Onsen Fujisan Ryokan

A wooden ryokan founded in 1841 on the Toyosawa River at the far end of the Hanamaki onsen villages. Its signature is 'Hakuen-no-yu', a self-welling rock pool about 1.25 m deep that you stand in — billed as Japan's deepest rock bath. Five springs feed four bathhouses, all 100% free-flowing. Day use ¥800, 10:00–21:00. Hakuen-no-yu is mixed bathing with women-only hours. Free shuttle from Hanamaki Station by reservation.

Day-trip onsenOnsen ryokanDay use ¥800

Iwate · Oshuku & Tsunagi OnsenTattoos: Ask ahead

Oshuku Onsen Hotel Uguisu

Fifty minutes by bus from Morioka, a family-run hotel in Oshuku Onsen, a 450-year-old spa where legend says a bush warbler healed its wounds. The area is rich in hot water, and the clear alkaline spring flows freely into the indoor and open-air baths — day use just ¥600, 11:00–19:00, half price on the 26th of each month. Easy to add after Koiwai Farm, Shizukuishi ski slopes or Morioka sightseeing.

Day-trip onsenOnsen ryokanDay use ¥600

Iwate · Sukawa Onsen, Mt KurikomaTattoos: Ask ahead

Sukawa Kōgen Onsen – Dainichi-yu open-air bath

One of Tōhoku's highest hot springs, at 1,126 m on the northern slopes of Mt Kurikoma. Some 6,000 litres a minute flow like a stream; the strongly acidic alum-vitriol water (pH around 2) carries white mineral flakes and tingles on the skin. The famous big open-air Dainichi-yu is an open, rock-backed pool; day use 6:00–21:00 (until 20:00 on Wednesdays), ¥900. The indoor baths and the 'oiran' steam bath run 9:00–16:00. Because of the altitude, the road and the onsen close in winter (early November to early May). About 95 minutes by bus from Ichinoseki Station to the Sukawa Onsen terminus; it is also the Kurikoma trailhead, busiest in autumn colour season (late Sept–early Oct).

Day-trip onsenOnsen ryokanDay use ¥900

Iwate · Matsukawa Onsen, HachimantaiTattoos: Ask ahead

Matsukawa Onsen Kyōunsō

A lone inn of the Japan Association of Secluded Hot Springs, deep in Hachimantai National Park amid beech and oak forest. The open-air bath is an unusual greenish milky white — free-flowing simple hydrogen-sulphide water — with a mixed outdoor bath, a women-only outdoor bath and separate indoor baths; from the rotenburo you can see the steam of Japan's first geothermal power station. Day use 08:30–19:00 (last entry 18:00), ¥700 for adults, or ¥900 with hall rest 10:00–15:00. Open year-round, and the snow-buried outdoor bath in winter is the highlight. About 1 h 50 min by Iwate Kenpoku bus from Morioka Station to the Matsukawa Onsen terminus.

Day-trip onsenOnsen ryokanDay use ¥700

Iwate · Matsukawa Onsen, HachimantaiTattoos: Ask ahead

Tōshichi Onsen Saiunsō, Hachimantai (1,400 m)

The highest hot-spring inn in Tōhoku, at 1,400 m near the top of the Hachimantai Aspite Line. It opens only from Golden Week to late October; in winter it is buried in snow. Five mixed open-air baths scattered down the slope (plus a women-only open-air bath and separate indoor baths) are fed by sulphur water bubbling up directly through the ground, milky white, and the trademark is smearing the mud from the bottom on your skin as a 'mud pack'. Below spread Mt Iwate and a sea of forest; at dawn, cloud seas and sunrise — truly a bath above the clouds. Simple sulphur water at temperatures from tepid to hot. Day bathing: adults ¥650, children ¥350, with a long 08:00–18:00 window, busy with hikers back from the Hachimantai summit trail. The open-air baths are mixed, so bathing garments and wrap towels are allowed. About 2 hours by bus from Morioka Station or 40 minutes by car from Matsuo-Hachimantai IC. Mobile reception is poor.

Day-trip onsenOnsen ryokanDay use ¥650

Iwate · Hanamaki OnsenTattoos: Ask ahead

Dai Onsen Seika-no-Yu

A small wooden day bath in Dai Onsen, an old spa hamlet where inns huddle along a narrow valley beyond Hanamaki Onsen. Dai Onsen, over 600 years old, is known for its many hot sources, and here too the free-flowing water is served hot in a little bathroom — a tub that holds ten at a squeeze and five washing stations. There is no lounge or shop, but it opens every day from 06:00 to 22:00 (last entry 21:30) and charges only ¥480 for adults and ¥250 for children — a place that made news by cutting its price when everyone else was raising theirs. Shampoo and body soap are provided, and a handmade soba house next door serves lunch (booking needed). Under 10 minutes by car from Hanamaki Onsen, about 20 minutes by taxi from JR Hanamaki Station; 30 parking spaces. An easy way to feel the cure-resort air of Dai Onsen, a world apart from the big hotels of Hanamaki.

Day-trip onsenPublic bathhouse (sento)Day use ¥480

Iwate · Tsunagi Onsen, MoriokaTattoos: Ask ahead

Tsunagi Onsen Hotel Shion

About 25 minutes by car from Morioka Station, this large hotel is the flagship of Tsunagi Onsen, the lakeside 'back parlour of Morioka' lined with inns along Lake Gosho. Its lake-facing bathhouse, the Nambu Magariya no Yu, is modelled on the region's traditional L-shaped farmhouses, and the open-air bath on the shore frames Lake Gosho and Mt. Iwate, beautiful as the light shifts at dawn and dusk. A second bathhouse, Hitorishizuka no Yu, looks onto a stone garden, and the two swap between men and women by time of day. The clear alkaline simple spring is soft on the skin, and there is a sauna. Day bathing hours are short – 11:00–16:00 on weekdays (reception until 15:00) and 11:00–14:00 on weekends and holidays (until 13:00) – at ¥1,200 on weekdays and ¥1,400 on weekends for adults, ¥600 for children. There is no fixed closing day, but cleaning days and crowds can suspend or shorten day bathing, so check ahead. A restaurant, shop and lounge are on site with ample free parking. Iwate Kenkō bus for Tsunagi Onsen from Morioka Station's west exit takes about 30 minutes, or 15 minutes by car from Morioka IC via Route 46. Combine with Koiwai Farm or Morioka Handi-Works Square.

Onsen ryokanDay-trip onsenDay use ¥1,200