Okayama

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Okayama · Yubara OnsenTattoos: Ask ahead

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.

Day-trip onsenRemote onsenDay use Donation / free

Okayama · Yunogo OnsenTattoos: Ask ahead

Yunogo Onsen Sagi Onsen-kan

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 ¥800 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.

Day-trip onsenPublic bathhouse (sento)Day use ¥800

Okayama · Okutsu OnsenTattoos: Ask ahead

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.

Day-trip onsenNatural hot springDay use ¥880

Okayama · Kurashiki & Kojima (Yuga Onsen)Tattoos: Ask ahead

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.

Day-trip onsenOnsen ryokanDay use ¥1,980

Okayama · Yubara OnsenTattoos: Ask ahead

Maga Onsenkan (Yubara Onsen area)

The communal bath of Maga Onsen, a tiny hamlet of stone stairways on a slope above a tributary of the Asahi River in the Yubara Onsen area. Legend says a defeated warrior healed his wounds here some 700 years ago. The star is the 'Makuyu', a mixed rock bath of about 1.6 × 2 m and 1.2 m deep, so you soak standing up — often called Japan's smallest mixed bath — with lukewarm 39°C water bubbling up through cracks in the rock floor. The men's and women's baths connect to it and cost ¥250; the Makuyu is ¥400 (max 8 people, one hour) and a private bath ¥1,300 for up to three. Open 08:00–21:00 (last entry 20:10), closed Tuesdays (open on holidays). No towels allowed in the mixed bath, so be prepared. About 20 minutes by car from Chūgoku-Katsuyama Station.

Day-trip onsenPublic bathhouse (sento)Day use ¥250

Okayama · Hiruzen HighlandsTattoos: Ask ahead

Hiruzen Yatsuka Onsen Kaiyūkan

A day-use hot spring at the heart of the Hiruzen highlands in northern Okayama, 500–600 m up. Its great appeal is the open-air bath, where you feel the highland breeze and look out over Jersey-cattle pastures and the three Hiruzen peaks through the seasons — cool in summer, autumn colour, snow-viewing in winter. The alkaline simple water is gentle on the skin, and the facility covers the basics: main bath, jet bath, sauna and open-air bath. Adults ¥740, children ¥420; open 10:00–22:00 (until 21:00 December–March; last entry 30 minutes before), closed Wednesdays (next day if a holiday; open during Obon and Golden Week). About 20 minutes by car from Hiruzen IC or 60 minutes by bus from JR Chūgoku-Katsuyama Station. Combine with Hiruzen yakisoba, Jersey soft-serve and a drive toward Mt Daisen. 100 parking spaces.

Day-trip onsenPublic bathhouse (sento)Day use ¥740

Okayama · Yubara OnsenTattoos: Ask ahead

Yubara Onsen Yumoto Onsenkan

A municipal day bath in the middle of the Yubara Onsen village in northern Okayama, a few minutes' walk from the famous riverside open-air 'Sunayu'. Yubara has a thousand-year history and copious water; this is its source bath, and the pH 9.3 alkaline simple spring is a slippery 'beauty water'. The three-storey building has souvenirs on the ground floor and baths on the first: for each sex an indoor bath, jacuzzi and sauna, plus a barrier-free bathroom usable by elderly and wheelchair guests, which can also be hired as a family bath (¥3,000 per hour for up to three). There is no view, but travellers value it as the place to wash and warm up properly after the mixed Sunayu. Adults ¥800, children ¥400; open 10:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30), closed Wednesdays. A tatami rest room and relaxation corner are provided. About 5 minutes by car from Yubara IC on the Yonago Expressway, or 40 minutes by bus for Hiruzen Kōgen from JR Chūgoku-Katsuyama Station to 'Sayama' then 5 minutes on foot.

Day-trip onsenPublic bathhouse (sento)Day use ¥800

Okayama · Tamano & Uno PortTattoos: Not allowed

Setouchi Onsen Tamano-yu

A stay-awhile day spa about 7 minutes on foot from JR Uno Station, right beside Uno Port where the ferries to Naoshima and Teshima depart. Jazz plays through the calm, old-farmhouse-style interior, and the great draw is the open-air bathing area gazing over the islands of the Seto Inland Sea and the boats passing between them. Outside are four baths around a large rock pool plus pot tubs; inside two pools, a sauna and cold plunge, with a rock-bed spa for an extra fee. The soft sodium-chloride spring rises from underground, and a soak in the sea breeze is the perfect cure for a day of art-island walking. Admission is on the high side – ¥1,700 for adults on weekdays and ¥2,000 on weekends and holidays (children ¥700/¥800) – but towels and loungewear are included, and a recliner lounge and restaurant serving Setouchi fish let you settle in for the day. Open 10:00–22:00 (last entry 21:00), closed the third Tuesday (the following Wednesday if a holiday), parking for 200 cars. A rare chance to bathe while waiting for the ferry back from Naoshima; about 40 minutes by car from central Okayama.

Day-trip onsenSuper sentoDay use ¥1,700