Tsukioka Onsen

Tsukioka Onsen Bijin-no-izumi

Forty minutes by car from Niigata city, the communal bath of Tsukioka Onsen, which bills itself as the spring that 'makes you beautiful'. The emerald-green water has one of the highest sulfur contents in Japan — you smell it the moment you step in. Indoor pool only, ¥600. On the edge of the ryokan street and popular with locals. 25 minutes by bus from Shibata Station. Closed Tuesdays and the third Wednesday.

Tsukioka Onsen Furinya

An hour by car from Niigata city, a ryokan in Tsukioka Onsen, famed for water that 'makes you beautiful'. Its emerald-green spring, among the most sulfur-rich in Japan, fills indoor and open-air baths, and day use runs late — 15:00–23:00 — so you can soak while the garden is lit up. ¥800 on weekdays (¥1,000 with towel), +¥200 on weekends and holidays. Combine with the free footbath and spring-source park in the village.