3 Facilities
A town-run day bath in the middle of the Minakami hot-spring street. Just one small indoor pool per gender, but 100% spring-fed sulfate water — an easy stop while strolling the town. Rest room, small shop and coin laundry give it the feel of a tourist office with a bath. 15 minutes on foot from Minakami Station. No soap provided.
A large inn in Minakami, formerly Gensen-yu no Yado Matsunoi, now part of the Oedo Onsen Monogatari Premium line. Three open-air baths face a garden of 10,000 tsubo, Akane-no-yu, Aono-yu and Wakaba-no-yu, with great baths as well. Akane-no-yu switches between men and women, and the men's open-air bath has a barrel sauna. Day bathing needs no reservation and runs 7:00 to 10:00 and 15:00 to 24:00 with last entry at 22:00, at 1,150 yen for adults on weekdays, 1,400 yen on weekends and holidays and 1,600 yen on peak days. Towels rent for 330 yen. People with tattoos may use the great baths only if they are fully covered with the designated cover stickers, which are sold on site.
A single ryokan beside the Takaragawa River deep in the Minakami onsen area of Gunma. Its crowning feature is a colossal open-air bath complex totalling about 470 tatami mats, fed by four sources flowing 1,800 litres a minute, free-flowing - a world-class onsen chosen as one of Japan's best by overseas guidebooks. Along the river stretch the mixed-bathing Maka-no-Yu (~120 mats), Kodakara-no-Yu (~200 mats) and Hannya-no-Yu (~50 mats), joined by the women-only Maya-no-Yu (~100 mats); bathing garments are mandatory for mixed bathing (rentals available for women). The water is a colourless alkaline simple spring. Day bathing runs 10:00-16:30 (last entry 16:00) at 1,500 yen for junior-high and up. All four sources are enjoyed with no heating or recirculation - a wild riverside bathing experience.