83 Facilities6 Prefectures34 Onsen towns
The oldest inn in the Nyuto Onsen area, a hidden hot spring dating to the Edo period. The thatched 'Honjin' building and the large milky-white mixed rotenburo are its iconic scene. Day bathing 10:00–15:00; on Mondays the rotenburo is closed for cleaning and only indoor baths are open. Rooms sell out months ahead. From Tazawako Station take the bus, then the inn shuttle from Alpa Komakusa.
In the Hakkoda mountains, bathing since 1684 and Japan's first National Recuperation Onsen. A vast all-cypress mixed bath hall (about 260 m²) fed by four sources. Women-only hour 8–9 am daily; bathing garments sold on site.
A communal bath with over a thousand years of history as the shrine's sacred spring. Milky acidic sulfur water pours like a waterfall from log flumes into cypress tubs. ¥300; bring your own soap.
A terraced open-air bath along a mountain stream that holds 200 people, with bluish-white strongly acidic sulfur water. Open late April to late November only; closed in winter. Summer starlight sessions at night.
A Kengo Kuma-designed communal bath at the entrance to Ginzan's Taishō-era street. Hot water with drifting mineral flakes for ¥500. The one place day visitors can bathe in Ginzan's water — reception closes at 3:30 pm.
The innermost of Nyūtō's seven baths — a cluster of thatched bath huts. Two separate sources feed a mixed open-air pool and gender-separated indoor/outdoor baths of milky sulfur water. Day use 9 am–4 pm, the longest window of the seven; closed mid-November to mid-April.
The most polished of the seven Nyūtō inns, beside the Sendatsu stream and popular with women. Two sources — rusty 'gold' and clear 'silver' — in open-air baths above the rushing river. Day-use reception is short (10:30 am–2 pm), so come early.
A communal bath using a spring that Waseda University students struck during fieldwork in 1948. Architect Osamu Ishiyama's yellow avant-garde building is unmistakable; descend the stepped 'sajiki' gallery to the bathroom. The modern counterpart to Taki-no-yu.
A log-cabin-style communal bath at the top of Takayu-dōri. Zao's three public baths (Kamiyu, Shimoyu, Kawarayu) all cost ¥200, paid into an honesty box. No washing stations — just rinse and sink into the strongly acidic milky sulfur water.
The large ryokan at the entrance to Ginzan. Indoor, open-air and lie-down outdoor baths — far roomier than Shirogane-yu. Day use 11:30 am–2 pm (last 1:30), ¥1,500, closed Thursdays; day bathing has been suspended and resumed repeatedly, so check the website. Cash only.
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.
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.
Twenty minutes by train from Aomori, a panoramic bath on the 5th floor of the roadside station at Asamushi Onsen on Mutsu Bay. Big windows frame Yunoshima island and the bay — sunset is the prime slot. Salt- and sulfate-rich water keeps you warm afterwards. Just ¥360, open 7:00–21:00 every day. The ground-floor market sells Aomori souvenirs. Two minutes' walk from Asamushi-Onsen Station.
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.
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.
The only communal bath in Akiu Onsen, Sendai's classic hot-spring retreat. Among upscale ryokan charging ¥1,000-plus for day use, this humble bathhouse offers free-flowing chloride spring water for ¥300. Near the Yakushi-do temple at the source, it has a single tub and a mostly local crowd; soap is sold, not provided, and a sign asks for 40-minute stays. About 55 minutes by bus from Sendai Station, right by the Yumoto stop.
A lone inn in a primeval beech forest on the southern flank of Mt. Hakkoda. Spring water wells up directly through the gaps in the hiba-cypress boards on the tub floor — 'free-welling', so you bathe in water that has never touched air, a rarity even in Japan. The all-hiba 'Kyuan-no-yu' bathhouse from 1918 is magnificent. Day use 10:00–15:00, ¥1,000; may close early when busy. Combine with the hour-long trail around Tsuta-numa pond, famous for autumn colour. Closed in winter.
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.
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.
A modern cure-bath inn fed by Tamagawa Onsen, Japan's most acidic spring at pH 1.2. The hiba-cypress bathhouse lines up 15 tubs — 100% source, 50% diluted, mildly acidic and more — so you can choose by condition. Day use 10:00–15:00, ¥1,000 (revised April 2026). An indoor stone-slab bath (¥800) is also available, and unlike the original Tamagawa it stays open all winter for snowbound soaking. About 70 min by bus from Tazawako Station.
The signature communal bath of Tōgatta, gateway to the Zao range on the Miyagi side. A wooden bathhouse with nothing but two indoor tubs — a 'hot' one around 44°C and a 'mild' one at 42°C — fed free-flowing by a 400-year-old source. The sodium-calcium sulfate-chloride water is reputed for cuts and skin complaints and keeps you warm long afterwards. ¥400, 9:00–20:30. The source and Tōgatta Shrine sit behind it and a free footbath in front; combine with a stroll through the kokeshi-doll village.
The highlight of any Gonō Line journey: a lone inn famous nationwide for its 'seaside open-air bath' set right at the water's edge of the Sea of Japan. Iron-rich chloride water, rust-red and cloudy, seems to merge with sea and sky. Day use is ¥600 — the seaside bath 8:00–16:00 (last entry 15:30), the main-building indoor 'Kogane-no-yu' 8:00–20:00. The mixed outdoor bath allows bathing wear (rental fee); a women-only outdoor bath sits alongside. Sunset soaks are for overnight guests only, so stay if you want one of Japan's 100 best sunsets from the tub.
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.
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).
A single inn at the end of the Nyūtō bus line, wrapped in old-growth beech forest and named for the river crabs once abundant in the nearby stream. Unusually for Nyūtō, the water is clear and colourless — a bicarbonate spring with drifting white flakes and a gentle feel. The signature is Karako-no-yu, a mixed open-air pool some 50 m from the building in the woods, magical in snow season; there are also separate indoor wooden and rock baths. Day use 9:00–16:30, ¥800. Covered by the Yumeguri-chō pass (¥2,500, valid one year) for all seven Nyūtō inns — the classic combo is with Tsuru-no-yu and Taenoyu. About 50 minutes by bus from Tazawako Station to the Nyūtō Onsen stop.
A large hot-spring hotel in Sakunami Onsen on the upper Hirose River, 40 minutes by car from Sendai Station, taking walk-in day bathers in two sessions: 7:00–10:00 and 15:00–24:00 (last entry 22:00). ¥900 weekdays, ¥1,200 weekends and holidays (¥1,400 on peak dates, taxes included); towels rent for ¥330. There is an open-air bath over the mountain stream and a spacious indoor hall. Add the dinner buffet with bathing (17:00–21:30, from ¥4,200 weekdays, reservation required) for a half-day dinner-and-onsen plan. Shuttle from Sakunami Station on the Senzan Line (confirm ahead). Many combine it with a tour of the Nikka Whisky Miyagikyō distillery.
A wooden inn founded in 1789 at Kamasaki Onsen, a mountain cure spa in Shiroishi, Miyagi, where villagers are said to have struck hot water with the tip of a sickle more than 600 years ago. Its iron-bearing sulphate water, known as the 'medicinal bath of Ōu', turns tea-brown and has long been trusted for cuts and bruises. Gleaming dark corridors, glass shōji and traces of the old self-catering cure wing make it irresistible to lovers of retro Japan. Day use 11:00–14:00, ¥800; bring a towel. Fifteen minutes by car from Shiroishi-Zaō Station — a convenient stop with Shiroishi Castle, the Yajirō kokeshi village or the start of the Zaō Echo Line. Day bathing is sometimes suspended when busy or for cleaning, so phone ahead.
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.
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.
Hijiori Onsen, 1,200 years old, is a cure-spa where inns huddle at the bottom of a caldera in Ōkura village, Yamagata. Right in the middle of the street stands Kami-no-yu, the only communal bath open to visitors. A small bathhouse with an attendant's counter, it has slightly hot free-flowing sodium-chloride/bicarbonate water and a tiny Yakushi shrine in the corner of the tub. Adults pay ¥400 (free for guests of the village inns); open 08:00–18:00 (until 17:00 in winter), no bathing on Thursday mornings for cleaning. The Hijiori way is to pair it with the morning market that sets up from about 5–6 am (Apr–Nov). In winter this is one of Japan's snowiest places, and just walking the street between snow walls is an experience. About 55 minutes by bus from Shinjō Station.
The communal bath at the heart of Nuruyu Onsen in Kuroishi, Aomori, a spa with more than 400 years of history. It is ringed by 'kyakusha' — simple self-catering cure lodgings with no baths of their own, whose guests all walk over here — a form of spa life now rare even in Tōhoku. The bathroom is as roomy as a sentō, with 100% source water (sodium chloride-sulphate) cooled by a special method without dilution and split into hot and lukewarm tubs. Adults pay ¥350; open long hours from 05:00 to 22:00 (last entry 21:30), daily (occasional closures in April and November). No soap provided. Kokeshi-doll workshops and the Tsugaru Kokeshi Museum are nearby. About 25 minutes by bus from Kuroishi Station.
A lone inn in a steaming fumarole field at about 1,000 m on the Akita side of Hachimantai. One of Tōhoku's great cure spas — 'arrive on horseback, leave on your own two feet', as the saying went — it is also famous for its ondol-heated cure wing. The main bathhouse lines up seven kinds of tubs: the signature box steam bath, a mud bath, a cascade bath, a 'volcano bath' and an open-air bath, all fed by milky acidic sulphur water. Day use 10:30–15:00 (last entry 14:00), ¥800 for adults, closed Tuesdays (plus maintenance days). Behind the inn a nature trail loops past mud volcanoes and vents in about 40 minutes. About 1 h 55 min by bus from Tazawako Station on the Hachimantai summit line (usually late Apr–mid-Oct); in winter come by local bus from Kazuno-Hanawa Station or by car.
Yunohama Onsen is a seaside spa on the Sea of Japan in Yamagata's Shōnai region. This municipal communal bath sits on the ground floor of the 'Cospa' community centre on the roundabout at the centre of the resort and is the locals' everyday bath. It uses a blend of Yunohama's springs — sodium-calcium chloride water — free-flowing with only a little dilution, in a single no-frills indoor tub. Adults pay ¥400; open in two sessions, 06:00–07:00 and 10:00–21:30, closed 2nd and 4th Thursdays. Soap and shampoo sold for ¥200, towels ¥100. The beach is two or three minutes' walk away, and the best plan is to watch the famous Yunohama sunset before soaking. About 35 minutes by bus from Tsuruoka Station.
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 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.
A lone hidden spring at the end of a forest road in the hills of Ikarigaseki, Hirakawa, near the Aomori–Akita border. Famed nationwide for its gushing flow — said to be 500 litres a minute — the overflow from the tub streams across the entire washing floor like a river, and the place once topped a fan vote for the best free-flowing bath in Japan. The sodium-calcium-chloride-sulphate water is pale yellow-brown with an iron tang, and the local way to enjoy it is 'todo-ne': lying flat on the floor and letting the running water wash over you like a sea lion. After a long closure it reopened, renovated, in December 2025: day bathing adults ¥600, children ¥200, 09:00–20:30. Lodging is bed-and-breakfast or room only. Pick-ups from Ikarigaseki Station and Yunosawa can be arranged (contact in advance). Facilities are basic and days and hours can change, so check by phone or on the official social media. About 15 minutes by car from JR Ikarigaseki Station or Ikarigaseki IC; beware of deep snow in winter.
The representative drop-in bath of the Mizusawa spa cluster on the Tazawako plateau, on the road up to Nyūtō Onsen. Less famous than Nyūtō's hidden inns, it nonetheless runs an abundant sulphur-calcium-magnesium-sulphate-chloride spring free-flowing, and its bluish milky water is praised as 'silky and moisturising'. The standout is an open-air bath about a metre deep in which you soak standing up — one of only two such deep outdoor baths in the area. Men and women each have two indoor and two outdoor baths, and the waterfall massage runs all the time. Adults ¥900, primary-school children and under free; open 10:00–20:00 (building closes 21:00), irregular closures (open through Golden Week, Obon and New Year). Lodging is available, and it makes a good alternative when Nyūtō is crowded or a stop after Tazawako ski slopes or a climb of Mt Akita-Komagatake. About 25 minutes by Ugo Kōtsū bus for Nyūtō Onsen from JR Tazawako Station to 'Mizusawa Onsenkyō', right by the stop; 60 parking spaces.
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.
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.
A day bath at the entrance to Sakunami Onsen, 'Sendai's back parlour' up the Hirose River about 40 minutes by car from Sendai Station. Among Sakunami's large ryokan it is a rare place to drop in without staying, though it has lodging too. The bathroom is compact, but the clear, soft water is 100 % natural spring, free-flowing and quietly overflowing. A set with the natural-stone bedrock bath costs ¥2,000, and the women's powder room stocks cosmetics and even face masks, which guests appreciate. Day bathing: adults ¥800, children ¥600 (a ¥500 rate for under an hour); open 10:00–19:00 (last entry 17:00), closed Wednesdays and Thursdays. Bath towels can be hired. About 5 minutes by car from Sakunami Station on the Senzan Line, or by Sendai city bus to 'Sakunami Onsen Iriguchi', right by the stop. Combine with a tour of the Nikka Miyagikyo whisky distillery or the autumn colours of the Hōmei Forty-eight Falls.
The oldest of the communal baths surviving in the spa town of Kaminoyama, a former castle and post town about 10 minutes on foot from Kaminoyama-Onsen Station on the Yamagata Shinkansen. Moved to its present site in 1624, it is said to have been used by the Zen master Takuan. The big tub is split into hot and tepid halves, filled free-flowing with clear sodium-calcium-chloride-sulphate water. With its flagstone washing area and old-style attendant's counter, it charges an astonishing ¥150 for adults and ¥100 for children (hair washing ¥100 extra), and the tatami hall upstairs can be used for a day's rest for ¥300. Open 06:00–22:00 (from 06:30 December–February; last entry 21:30), every day. Take a morning or evening dip with locals while touring Kaminoyama Castle, the samurai-house street and the town's five foot baths. About 25 minutes by car from Yamagata city, 40 minutes from Zaō Onsen. No soap is provided, so bring your own; park in the shopping-street car park opposite.
A town-run community centre at the gateway to Ōwani Onsen, a spa with 800 years of history south of Hirosaki. Just 2 minutes on foot from Ōwani-Onsen Station on the JR and Kōnan lines, its day bath Wani no Yu has an indoor pool, open-air bath, bubble bath and sauna. The clear sodium-calcium chloride and sulfate spring warms you to the core, and in winter the outdoor bath becomes a snow-viewing tub. Admission is a modest ¥550 for adults and ¥270 for children (town residents ¥400/¥200), and long hours of 9:00–22:00 are a strong point; two reservable family baths, Hagikatsura and Kawasemi, rent by the hour. Closed the third Thursday. Inside are a farm-produce corner, free rest areas with tables and tatami, and a lunch-only restaurant serving dishes and souvenirs made with the famous Ōwani onsen bean sprouts. Free parking for 80 cars. Open late enough to drop by after dinner in Hirosaki – a handy base for Hirosaki Castle or the Ōwani ski slopes.
A day bath inside Alpa Komakusa, the Semboku city complex where buses depart for the 8th station of Mt. Akita-Komagatake. Sharing the building with the mountain information centre and volcano disaster station, it bustles with hikers and Lake Tazawa sightseers. The 'Nature Onsen Hall' has two lookout open-air baths, one of rock and one of hiba cypress, gazing down on the lapis-blue surface of Lake Tazawa – Japan's deepest – and the sweep of the mountains. The milky simple sulfur spring rises from the same range as Nyūtō and Mizusawa onsen and warms a chilled body thoroughly with a soft sulfur scent. Admission is a modest ¥550 for adults and ¥300 for children. Hours are 9:00–19:00 (last entry 18:00) from April to November, 9:30–17:30 (last entry 17:00) from December to March, and 9:00–18:00 on Thursdays and Fridays; open daily except Thursdays from November to April. Rest corner and light meals available, with a large car park. From JR Tazawako Station take the Ugo Kōtsū bus bound for Nyūtō Onsen about 35 minutes to the Alpa Komakusa stop. Perfect for a soak on the way to or from Nyūtō or after climbing Komagatake.
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.
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.
Day bathing at the annex of Kosekiya, an inn of some 500 years standing beside the Ginzan river in the middle of the Taisho-era streetscape. It resumed on 16 May 2026 and takes day bathers only on Saturdays and Sundays, 11:30–14:00 (last entry 13:30), at ¥1,000 for adults and ¥700 for children; towels are sold for ¥200 and bath towels rented for ¥300. To ease crowding each bath admits six people at a time, bathing runs 30 minutes to an hour from check-in, and payment is cash only. The indoor baths draw straight from the source.
One of the three public baths of Zao Onsen, set quietly up the Yu-no-Ka lane. It is a 'foot-of-the-spring' bath where water rises directly beneath the slatted floor, with no added water and no recirculation — a full flow-through. Open 6:00–22:00 with no closing day, it is unmanned: you put ¥300 (¥100 for children) in the box at the entrance. There are no showers or taps, only a rinse before entering, but the strongly acidic sulphur spring is exactly as it comes from the ground. It is run by the Zao Onsen tourist association, and inns in Zao sometimes hand out free bathing vouchers.
A public bath at Nakayamadaira Onsen, at the western end of the Naruko onsen cluster. High-temperature source water is run through a wooden flume about 200 m long to cool it naturally, with no added water and no recirculation. At pH 9.4 it is alkaline, and the silky feel is where the name 'Shintoro' comes from. Open 9:00–20:30 (last entry 20:00) with no closing day, at ¥500 for adults, ¥250 for elementary pupils and free for younger children. There are separate indoor baths for men and women; lockers cost ¥100. Towels are sold for ¥400 and bath towels for ¥700. A local-produce shop, Yunokei Shintoro, shares the grounds.
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.
One of the two public baths in the Togatta spa street, in a building raised by a shrine carpenter to recreate an Edo-period bath house. The source rises at 68 degrees, so water is added, and the bath runs flow-through with the water spilling constantly over the rim. It costs 400 yen for adults and 150 yen for elementary pupils and under, and is open 12:00 to 20:30 with last entry at 20:00. Soap and shampoo are not provided, so bring your own, and Kaminoyu is a short walk away, which makes it easy to do both.
A leading toji spa of Japan, where a strongly acidic spring of pH 1.2 rises. Hokutolite, a mineral found nowhere else in the country, sits here along with outdoor rock bathing, a nature study path and the steam vent called Obuki, so the culture of curative bathing comes through intact. Day bathing is 1,000 yen for adults and 500 yen for children, accepted 10:00 to 15:00 with last entry at 14:30, and the large rest hall is 1,500 yen. Being a snowy highland, it opens only from mid-April to late November.
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.
A refined inn in the Hayama district of Kaminoyama Onsen, known for a temple-like main bath built of Towada stone. Day bathing is received from 3:00 in the afternoon to 9:00 at night, at 1,100 yen for adults and 550 yen for children, with a bath towel and face towel included. The water is mildly alkaline, drawn from the Hayama no. 1 and no. 2 sources. As a high-grade inn it does not accept day bathers on some weekend days, so a phone call ahead is needed.
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.
A resort hotel standing at Jogakura Onsen, opened in 1965. It lies only two kilometres from Sukayu Onsen, known for its acidic sulphur spring, yet here a clear and mild water rises, said to be easy on the body and suitable even for sensitive skin. Day bathing is received from 11:30 to 15:00, last entry 14:30, at 1,000 yen for adults, 500 yen for elementary pupils and 300 yen for infants. The open-air bath runs straight from the source and, unusually for Hakkoda, can be used all year. The main bath has a cold bath, a mist sauna and a whirlpool, while the indoor bath is adjusted with added water, heating and circulation. Hand towels are sold for 200 yen and bath towels are not lent out.
A village-run bath house at Hijiori Onsen, which counts 1,200 years, known for a soda-like carbonated spring whose bubbles cling to the skin. It is received from 9:30 to 19:00 between April and November and from 10:00 to 16:30 between December and March, with last entry 30 minutes before closing. Prices are 500 yen from junior high age, 200 yen for elementary pupils and free for infants. It closes on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, or the following day when those fall on a holiday.
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 hidden-spring inn standing in the bleak Jigoku valley on the slopes of Hachimantai. It is known for wild open-air baths where you bathe watching steam rise from the ground. Day bathing is received from 10:00 to 15:00, at 800 yen for adults and 400 yen for children. It closes under snow from early November to late April. Besides single-sex baths there is a mixed open-air bath.
A hidden-spring inn on the slope of Mt Kurikoma, whose observation bath at 1,100 metres looks down on autumn colour and alpine scenery. The water is a strongly acidic alum-vitriol spring, milky white. Day bathing runs from 10:00 to 16:30, last entry 16:00, at 800 yen from junior high age, 450 yen for elementary pupils and free before school age. It is closed in winter from early November to late April. It is the Akita-side inn paired with Sukawa Kogen Onsen on the Iwate side.
An inn of more than a hundred years at Asamushi Onsen, where you bathe looking at a garden with a falling stream. Day bathing is from noon to 4:00, reception until 3:00, at 500 yen for adults and 300 yen for children. The water is a sodium-calcium sulphate-chloride spring running straight from the source. It is easy to reach, about 20 minutes from Aomori Station by the Aoimori Railway.
The inn at Oshuku Onsen that stays open latest, until 9:00 at night, at 600 yen for adults and 400 yen for children. The water is an alkaline simple spring that feels soft on the skin. It opens from 10:00 in the morning into the evening, so it suits the end of a day. Sources differ on the price (500 to 600 yen), so checking before a visit is the safe course.
A large onsen resort representing Akiu Onsen, taking day bathers for 1,320 yen. It has a large open-air bath facing a Japanese garden, along with several tubs and a sauna, so it fits between the parts of a day. It receives from 10:00 to 15:00, last entry at 14:00.
A large onsen inn on the shore of Lake Gosho, taking day bathers for 1,200 yen on weekdays and 1,400 yen on weekends and holidays. On weekdays it receives from 11:00 to 16:00, and until 15:00 on weekends and holidays, each with a last entry time. The main bath is open from 5:00 until 1:00 and switches between men and women daily, with a sauna and a garden open-air bath.
A healing-spring inn some 400 years old, set deep in the Hakkoda mountains and counted among Japan's three great hidden onsen. It has two baths fed by springs that well up from the bath floor: a clear 38°C 'lower bath' and a milky, sulphur-clouded 42°C 'upper bath'. Alternating between them suits both cool-soak and hot-soak bathers. Day use is 800 yen for adults.
A long-established onsen hotel founded in 1925 in Owani Onsen, Owani-machi, Aomori. Its calcium-sodium chloride-sulfate spring fills a grand open-air bath with massive rocks and an open large bath, all free-flowing, and day bathing is accepted.
An onsen inn in Yunohama Onsen, Tsuruoka, Yamagata. Its chloride spring (Yunohama Onsen) fills a 2nd-floor large bath overlooking the Sea of Japan, and day bathing is accepted.
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.
A nine-room family-run inn in Nuruyu Onsen, Kuroishi, Aomori, opened in the Meiji era. Its signature is a spout shaped like a bandit's face, and the free-flowing natural-spring indoor bath overlooks the Asaseishi River. The communal bath Tsuru no Meiyu is right across the way, and day bathing is a bargain at 250 yen.
A hotel on a hill in the Fukaura Station area, where the World Heritage Shirakami Mountains meet the Japan Sea coast. It draws Nabeishi Onsen from the town - an iron-bearing sodium-chloride strong brine whose salty taste warms the body. The baths sit in a separate building called Benten-no-Yu at the end of a long corridor, a Benten statue watches over the bath from its center, and the panoramic open-air baths for men and women look out over sunsets on the Japan Sea.
A day-trip onsen attached to Michi-no-Eki Ikarigaseki Tsugaru Sekinosho, a 3-minute walk from JR Ikarigaseki Station. The simple spring flows straight from the source (kake-nagashi) into a large bath lined generously with fragrant Aomori hiba cypress - a calm, wood-wrapped space. Alongside the gender-separated indoor baths, a private bath (1,500 yen per hour, reservation required) is popular, and at 400 yen for adults it has long been a local favourite. There is no open-air bath, but bathing in the scent of hiba quietly melts away travel fatigue. Afterwards you can browse local food and produce at the road station, and the Ikarigaseki IC is close by - a convenient stop on any trip.
One of the seven baths of the Nyuto Onsen village in Semboku, Akita, a secret spa known as the mountain's medicinal bath. After closing for renovation from 2023, it was reborn as Magoroku Onsen Rokuan, resuming day bathing in February 2025 and lodging that April. Lodging and bath houses stand apart in a rustic layout; of its four sources, the indoor Ishi-no-Yu and Karako-no-Yu are waku-to baths where water wells up through the tub floor. A simple sulfur spring (Ishi-no-Yu, 51.6°C) and a simple spring (Karako-no-Yu, 49.9°C) flow free - faintly green clear water and milky-white water alike. Besides separate indoor and open-air baths there are mixed-bathing indoor, open-air and sauna baths (said to be among Nyuto's easier mixed baths). Day bathing runs roughly 10:00-15:00 in two tiers: 700 yen for the indoor baths only, 3,000 yen for all baths. A bath-hopping booklet covering Tsurunoyu and Kuroyu can also be used.
A wooden public bathhouse in the heart of Zao Onsen in Yamagata City, a spa said to have been opened 1,900 years ago. Zao has three communal bathhouses - Kamiyu, Kawarayu and Shimoyu - long used by locals and long-stay cure guests. Zao's water is among Japan's most strongly acidic sulfur springs (around pH 1); Shimoyu blends the Jaaragawa-Orikuchi, Inkyo and Kaminokawa sources in full free-flow. Because the water barely meets air, it stays clear rather than milky. An unmanned style - drop coins in the red box at the entrance - with simple gender-separated indoor tubs, no showers, just ladle-water for rinsing. At 300 yen it delivers Zao's intense spring water straight, and many rate it the most quintessentially Zao of the three bathhouses. A lukewarm footbath adjoins. About 3 minutes on foot from the Zao Onsen Bus Terminal, open 6:00-22:00 year-round.
A private-rental communal bath in Ginzan Onsen, Obanazawa, Yamagata - the Taisho-romance gaslamp street famous nationwide. Renovated from the former Kaminoyu public bathhouse, it is the only bathhouse in the spa town you can book out entirely for one party. The free-flowing sulfur water carries a faint sulfurous scent with yunohana drifting on the surface, and its crisp, hot soak (around 44°C to the touch) sinks right into you. The tub room of roughly eight tatami fits four or five adults, and even the wash taps run spring water. Use is 2,000 yen for 50 minutes; check in at the Haikara-san Curry Pan shop on the main street - no advance reservations, same-day only (10:00-17:50, last entry 17:00, irregular closures). A rare chance for families and couples to have Ginzan's water entirely to themselves. Ginzan has evening entry restrictions in winter, so check current rules before visiting.
One of the lodges of the Nyuto Onsen village in Semboku, Akita, uniquely housed in a relocated wooden school building. Hallways and stairs from its school days remain inside, giving it a nostalgic air beloved by secret-onsen fans. The green-tinged water - an acidic, bitter-tasting spring known as the wound bath and skin bath - flows free from the source, and there is an open-air bath usable even in winter. Beside the entrance stands the only footbath in Nyuto (roughly April to October). Day bathing runs 9:00-16:30 at 600 yen for adults (300 yen under junior high), and the Nyuto bath-hopping booklet is accepted. About 45-50 minutes by the Ugo Kotsu Nyuto-line bus from JR Tazawako Station, one minute from the Nyuto Onsen stop - a perfect base for touring all seven baths alongside Tsurunoyu, Kuroyu and Magoroku. Note that lodging is currently suspended; only day bathing is available.
A day-bathing-only open-air facility beside the spring-fed stream just below the Zao Onsen Grand Open-Air Bath in Yamagata City. Its motto is always the first-bath welcome, and the tubs - fed by some of Zao's most abundant flow - pride themselves on spotless cleanliness. The water is Zao's signature strongly acidic sulfur spring (acidic, sulfur-bearing aluminum sulfate-chloride), free-flowing; praised for joint pain and skin troubles, it is also known as a beauty-skin bath. The spacious rotenburo offers autumn foliage by day and light-ups by night, with yunohana drifting through the milky water. Admission is 550 yen for junior high and up, 300 yen for elementary, free for preschoolers; open 10:00-19:00 (Wednesdays from 14:00). A few minutes by car from the Zao Onsen Bus Terminal - a fine companion to a communal-bath tour.
An inn right in front of the Zao Onsen Bus Terminal in Yamagata City, running 100% free-flowing water from its own self-springing source - a certified natural-hot-spring display facility of the Japan Spa Association. That source feeds the main bath, the open-air bath and all four private baths: a lavish use of water. The bath is Zao's classic milky, strongly acidic sulfur spring, and the sulfurous halls live up to the inn's name - enjoying onsen through the five senses of sight, touch, scent, sound and taste. Day bathing runs 12:30-17:00 (last entry 16:30) at 800 yen for adults and 400 yen for ages 3-12, covering the indoor and open-air baths. The four characterful private baths are available for 2,500 yen per 50 minutes (12:00-17:00, until 15:00 when crowded). An ideal base for the Zao Ropeway and the communal-bath tour, with free parking for 30-40 cars.
The most modern, resort-style lodge among the secret baths of Nyuto Onsenkyo, in Semboku, Akita. Its signature is two spring sources under one roof: indoors you soak in free-flowing Nyuto-no-Yu (sodium bicarbonate) and Tazawako Kogen-no-Yu (simple sulfur), while the open-air bath runs Nyuto-no-Yu. With source temperatures of 70°C indoors and 44.5°C outdoors, you can choose the soak that suits you. Uniquely among the seven Nyuto baths it sits outside the bath-hopping booklet scheme, which also makes it the easiest for day visitors: 11:00-15:00 (last entry, leave by 15:30), 800 yen for adults and 400 yen for ages 4 to elementary. About 45 minutes by Ugo Kotsu bus from JR Tazawako Station, right at the Kyukamura-mae stop. A handy base for climbing Mt. Komagatake or viewing snow monsters, with snowshoe tours in winter.