261 Facilities
Hokkaido's flagship onsen ryokan: a vast 5,000 m² bathhouse overlooking Jigokudani with 35 tubs fed by five spring types — sulfur, salt, sulfate and more. Day bathing is accepted from 9:00 to 18:00. An indoor heated pool makes it good for families. Tattoos not permitted.
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.
A Meiji-era inn at the entrance to the Jigokudani Monkey Park, famous worldwide for wild macaques that climb into its rotenburo in winter. Day bathing is only 12:00–15:00, so most visitors combine it with the monkey park. It's a 30-minute mountain trail from Shibu Onsen — wear grippy shoes in winter.
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.
At 1,800 m, one of Japan's highest onsen. Milky water with some of the country's highest sulfur content, across nine tubs. Day use 10:00–17:00; prices rise in peak season.
The signature inn of Shirahone, famous for milky-white water. Its highlight is a large mixed-gender open-air bath — the water is so opaque that women find it comfortable. Day use at midday only.
A five-minute ride down a 42-degree cable car to the bottom of the Iya gorge, where a self-flowing bath sits beside the river. Day use 7:30–17:00, cable car included. A member of the Secret Onsen Preservation Society.
A vast garden bath hall fed by 14 sources at 1,400 litres a minute, with four water types — sulfur, alum, saline and iron — in one place. The central pool is mixed-gender (women-only hours; bathing garments allowed).
An inn famous for spring water that turns cobalt blue on certain days. A wide open-air bath with views of Mt. Yufu and silica-rich water that feels like lotion, for ¥800.
A large day-spa 12 minutes from Hakone-Yumoto Station, open 23 hours (10 am to 9 am). A 17-metre rooftop open-air bath, garden waterfalls and private baths. Overnight stays cost extra.
A large hotel whose top-floor 'sky' open-air baths look over the Noboribetsu hills. Day use in two windows — 5–9 am and 11 am–7 pm — for ¥1,200. A little away from the main strip, so quieter.
The signature of Beppu's giant hilltop hotel: a five-tiered open-air bath cascading toward Beppu Bay, spectacular at night and dawn. Day tickets include the swimsuit-friendly outdoor spa pool 'Aqua Garden'.
A long-established inn on the southern rim of the Yufuin basin. Its vast 'Gomusō-no-yu' open-air bath looks straight at Mt. Yufu across the valley. Day-use reception is short (10 am–2 pm), but on weekdays you may have it to yourself.
A 390-year-old inn where Sōseki and Shiki once stayed. Two large baths (cypress and granite) with open-air tubs and saunas, all pure Dōgo water. Day use is ¥1,800 with towels and amenities included — a calm alternative to the crowded Honkan.
A resort hotel eight minutes downhill from Atami Station. Day bathing (1–9 pm) from ¥900 on weekdays and ¥1,300 on weekends — good value for Atami — with sea and Hatsushima views from the open-air bath. No loungewear; towels cost extra. Weekdays ¥1,600, weekends/holidays ¥2,000, peak days ¥2,200.
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.
About 8 minutes from Arima-Onsen Station, a hotel day-bath offering both the iron 'gold' and clear 'silver' springs. ¥1,360 includes free towels and drinks, so arrive empty-handed. Open 9 am–9 pm (cleaning 11–1), longer than the public baths.
About 5 minutes by car from Kirishima Shrine, a rare inn with a natural mud bath. Scoop the grey mineral mud from the milky sulfur pool and use it as a body mask in the open-air bath. Day use 11 am–8 pm, ¥900 — the classic stop after the shrine.
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.
Five minutes' drive beyond the village in Oku-Kurokawa, this inn's riverside open-air bath 'Yūkoku-no-yu' is often called the finest in Kurokawa. Day use 10 am–3 pm, ¥600 (or with the ¥1,500 hopping pass); private baths ¥2,500/50 min until 8 pm.
An inn on a rise above the village, known for the bluish water of its 'Takeyu' open-air bath. Day use runs 10:30 am–9 pm — the latest in Kurokawa. ¥700 or the hopping pass; private baths ¥2,500/50 min (check availability at the front desk).
At 1,800 m in Manza, four private sources feed eight open-air pools of milky, yellow and clear water — the famous 'Sekitei' rock-garden baths. Mixed bathing, but gowns or wrapped towels are required and there is a women-only pool. Day use 11 am–6 pm (last 5 pm), ¥1,700.
A nine-room designer ryokan in the heart of Shuzenji. Indoor bath of Fuji lava stone and cypress, plus an Izu-stone garden rotenburo fed by three private springs. Day bathing is a 2.5-hour midday window, reservation only, with green tea and a sweet afterwards.
A long-established hotel with one of Jozankei's largest bathhouses: free-flowing private spring water in indoor pools, rotenburo and sauna. Day bathing runs 11:00–23:00, the longest hours in town, and the Sapporo bus stops right outside.
A large resort hotel above the gorge. The basement bathhouse Yusuikyo is open to day visitors on weekdays only, with a combined ticket for the indoor water park 'Lagoon' — handy for families on rainy days. Weekends and holidays are guests only.
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.
A ryokan in Ogoto Onsen on the shore of Lake Biwa below Mt. Hiei, 20 minutes by JR from Kyoto Station. Day bathing is accepted 11:30–20:00, with pH-9 alkaline water indoors and in the rotenburo. The free shuttle from Ogoto-Onsen and Hieizan-Sakamoto stations is open to day visitors too. Lunch plans with Omi beef are popular. ¥2,750 plus bathing tax — ryokan pricing.
The bath wing of a historic hotel built on the site of the Yamauchi lords' residence below Kochi Castle. A rare natural hot spring in central Kochi, with a rotenburo facing the Kagami River and Mt. Hitsuzan, a large indoor bath and sauna. Day use is daytime only, 10:00–16:00. Fifteen minutes on foot from Harimaya Bridge — easy between sightseeing and the Sunday market. ¥1,200; bring or rent a towel.
A top-floor panoramic onsen in a resort hotel at Aoshima, Miyazaki's beach district. Large indoor bath, rock rotenburo, waterfall bath and sauna all look down on the Hyuga Sea and Aoshima island; day use is accepted 11:00–22:00. Slightly salty simple spring water. Convenient after Aoshima Shrine, the 'Devil's Washboard' rock formations or a surf session, and 15 minutes by car from Miyazaki Airport. ¥1,100, towels extra.
An hour by car from Fukuoka city, a day-bathing facility in Harazuru Onsen, where ryokan line the Chikugo River. The water is both alkaline and sulfurous — a 'double beauty bath' — for ¥600, 10:00–19:00. Day packages with a rest room are also offered. Combine with summer cormorant fishing on the river or the triple waterwheels of Asakura in spring. Registered with the Fukuoka onsen association. Closed Wednesdays.
Five minutes by car from the Kazurabashi vine bridge, the day-use bath of a large hotel at the mouth of the Iya Valley — the biggest bathhouse in Iya, with a rotenburo facing the green gorge, indoor pool and sauna. At ¥1,100 it's a cheaper, later-opening alternative to Hotel Iya Onsen's cable-car bath (¥1,900). 20 minutes by car from Oboke Station. Closed Tuesdays.
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.
Twenty minutes by train from Kyoto, the flagship ryokan of Ogoto Onsen on Lake Biwa's west shore. The top-floor open-air bath 'Yugen Shoyo' overlooks the lake and the Hiei range, with garden rotenburo and more to hop between. pH 9 'beautifying' water. Day use ¥2,000, 11:00–21:30; entry may be limited when busy. Five minutes by shuttle from Ogoto-Onsen Station — a convenient soak after Kyoto sightseeing.
Sakakibara Onsen was praised in the 11th-century Pillow Book as one of Japan's three finest baths. Tucked in the hills of Tsu, it flourished as a purification stop for pilgrims to Ise Shrine and is known as a 'beauty bath'. The day-use wing of this old ryokan lets you feel the silky pH 9.6 house spring unheated in the dedicated 'gensen' tub. ¥1,000 (face towel included, 2-hour limit). Shuttle from Sakakibara-Onsenguchi Station.
Forty minutes by car from Kochi city, a hot-spring inn beside Shoryuji, temple 36 of the Shikoku pilgrimage. It claims Kochi's only high-concentration, high-temperature spring; the golden chloride water is nicknamed 'the heat bath' for how long it keeps you warm. The rotenburo looks over Usa Bay and the Pacific, and there's a free seaside footbath. Day use in two sessions — 5:30–9:00 and 14:00–21:00 — ¥750 on weekdays.
An hour by car from Miyazaki, a resort hotel on a rise in Kitago, Nichinan, ringed by cedar-clad hills. The silky bicarbonate water (around pH 9.5) is known as a 'beauty bath', and the rotenburo looks across the mountains and Nichinan farmland. Day bathing runs a generous 10:00–22:00 — easy to combine with Obi castle town or Udo Shrine. ¥1,200.
About 70 minutes from central Tokyo via the Aqua-Line, a hot-spring inn founded in 1950 on the shore of Lake Kameyama in the Boso hills. Its chocolate-brown 'kuroyu' bicarbonate water — billed as Boso's finest beauty bath — flows freely into a large bath with lake and forest views. Day use 11:30–18:00, ¥1,000 on weekdays; no day bathing Thursdays and Fridays. In autumn pair it with a foliage cruise on the lake.
A small riverside hotel on the south side of Kinugawa Onsen, five minutes from Tobu World Square Station. While the big hotels stop day bathing around 15:00, this one welcomes walk-ins 9:00–21:00 for ¥700. Its own alkaline sulfur spring (43.6 °C) flows 100% free into a quirky set of baths: a rotenburo made from an actual Kinugawa river-cruise boat, a rock rotenburo, indoor baths and a swimsuit mixed bath. The slightly cool, silky water is highly rated by onsen fans.
A lone inn in the hills of Shionoe, Takamatsu's traditional retreat and one of only two nationally designated therapeutic hot-spring areas on Shikoku. Its own pH 8.4 bicarbonate spring feeds a rotenburo above the stream, an indoor bath and a sauna, with a large free rest room. Day use in two sessions — 6:00–11:00 and 15:00–22:00 — for ¥700. Just 20 minutes by car from Takamatsu Airport, so handy before a flight.
An hour by car from central Hiroshima, a city-run lodge at Yuki Onsen, 'Hiroshima's back parlour'. The rotenburo above the clear Minochi River and the timber-lined main bath are all free-flowing, with a rare mildly radioactive (radon) spring. ¥750 per visit or ¥1,000 for an all-day pass. Open till 21:00 in summer, 20:00 in winter. Direct buses run from Hiroshima city — an easy hot-spring break between Miyajima and the Peace Park.
About 90 minutes from Nagoya by train and car, an inn on the Sankai coast at the southern tip of the Chita Peninsula. Day visitors can use the rotenburo and main bath with sweeping views of Ise Bay — sunset over the water is the highlight. The chloride spring of Minami-Chita, Aichi's most abundant hot-spring area, keeps you warm afterwards. ¥800, 11:00–21:00; towels sold for ¥200. Pair with the beach in summer or fugu dinners in winter.
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.
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.
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.
A lakeside ryokan drawing 'Taiko Onsen' water from the site of Hideyoshi's Nagahama Castle. The rust-red iron-rich spring keeps you warm long after, and the rotenburo looks out over Lake Biwa to Chikubu Island. Day use 11:00–14:30 and 15:00–20:00, ¥1,500 including bath and face towels. Seven minutes' walk from Nagahama Station — easy to pair with the Kurokabe Square old town. About an hour from Kyoto by rapid train.
A ryokan founded in the early Taishō era, five minutes on foot from Kyomachi-Onsen Station at the foot of the Ebino plateau. Every tub is free-flowing simple spring water, and a day soak costs just ¥300. Highlights are a cave-style private bath (¥500/hour) and an atmospheric open-air bath that alternates men/women after 18:00. A hidden gem 40 minutes by car from Kagoshima Airport on the way to the Kirishima range.
Five minutes by car from the Kazurabashi vine bridge, this popular Iya inn is famous for its 'sky open-air bath' reached by private cable car. Day bathing (¥1,200) runs 10:30–16:00; the goemon cauldron baths are for overnight guests only. A free sky footbath on the viewing deck is spectacular on mornings with a sea of clouds. With Hotel Iya Onsen it forms Iya's pair of 'cable-car onsen', ideal for a break while touring the valley.
A hot-spring ryokan in the heart of the temple town below Kotohira-gū, close to the foot of the famous stone steps. Perfect for easing your legs with a day soak (¥750, 11:00–16:00) after climbing the 785 steps; the open-air bath looks out on the Konpira hills. Bicarbonate spring. About 10 minutes on foot from Kotohira Station and easy to pair with udon-shop hopping. Baths are occasionally closed for maintenance—check ahead.
A solitary inn on the Hinoji River in the Shimanto headwaters. Its viscous, highly alkaline water has been revered as a healing spring since the Edo period, and a day soak is a modest ¥700. Enjoy the open-air bath above the stream or book a private bath. Open late, 10:30–21:00, and 30 minutes by car from Kubokawa Station—ideal after canoeing or cycling the Shimanto.
One of the Bōsō peninsula's largest spa resorts, in Shirako on Kujūkuri Beach. Soak in iodine-rich, tea-coloured Chōsei spring water in the open-air bath, with seven rock-bath rooms, saunas, nap lounges, banquet halls and lodging on site. Open straight through from 10:00 to 08:00 the next morning; stays past 01:00 incur a late surcharge. Free shuttle from JR Mobara Station (reservation required). ¥1,600 weekdays, ¥1,900 weekends. Tattoos—including stickers and paint—are strictly refused.
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 flagship ryokan of Harazuru Onsen on the Chikugo River, known for 'double beauty water' that is both mildly alkaline and sulfurous. Highlights are the leafy 'jungle bath' hall and two roofless private open-air baths, Keiryū-no-yu and Takimi-no-yu (¥2,000 per 50 min, reservation required). Day use ¥1,000, Wed–Sun 11:00–20:00 (Mon–Tue from 14:00). Rooms renovated in 2024 feature Fukuoka crafts such as Kurume kasuri textiles — a good weekend base an hour's drive from Hakata.
A lone inn at 1,300 m, the last stop in the Nasu hot-spring range. Spring water gushes out behind the building in such volume that it forms a river, dammed into the vast outdoor 'Kawa-no-yu' — nothing else like it in Japan. Mixed bathing since the inn's founding, but bathing wear is included so beginners can relax. Day use is limited to three hours (reception 11:30–14:30), ¥1,300 with face towel and bathing wear. The outdoor bath closes in bad weather or for cleaning, so phone ahead. Autumn colour and snow seasons are the draw.
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.
A day bath inside a public inn 15 minutes by ferry from Kagoshima port and 8 minutes' walk from Sakurajima port. Water rises at 51°C from a magma layer 1,000 m below, clouded rust-brown with iron, and flows freely through a bath hall looking across Kinkō Bay to the city. ¥460, 11:00–21:00 — a bargain after touring the volcano or the lava seaside trail. The free 100-metre Lava Nagisa Park footbath is within walking distance. Operations may be affected by volcanic alert levels.
A large ryokan 10 minutes by car from Hakodate Airport and 3–4 minutes' walk from the Yunokawa-Onsen tram stop. From the 11th-floor panoramic bath hall and 'sky open-air bath' you look over the city, the Tsugaru Strait and, at night, squid-boat lights and the Mt Hakodate skyline — even planes landing at the airport when the timing is right. Day use ¥1,200 in two sessions, 6:00–9:00 and 13:00–21:00, including the top-floor sauna. Private baths ¥3,300 per 50 minutes (reserve). Easy to combine with the morning market and Goryōkaku.
A large lakeside hotel at the centre of the Toyako onsen strip. The top-floor panoramic bath and open-air tubs take in the lake, Nakajima island and Mt Yōtei beyond — and from late April to the end of October you can watch the nightly 20:45 fireworks from the water. Day use ¥1,200 on weekdays, ¥1,500 on weekends, in two sessions: 7:00–10:00 and 13:00–21:00. The chloride water holds heat well. A paid shuttle from Sapporo Station (reservation required) makes it a handy base for Shikotsu-Tōya National Park.
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.
A 12-room inn in Yoro Valley, the Boso Peninsula's autumn-colour spot and the last place in the Kanto region to turn, peaking late November to early December. Boso's signature coffee-coloured alkaline 'black water' fills the indoor and open-air baths; day use is a flat ¥700 for ages 3 and up, 11:00–15:00. Eat lunch in the dining room and the bath is free — spring bamboo-shoot dishes are the speciality. Five minutes by bus from Yoro-Keikoku Station on the Kominato Railway to Yorokan-mae. Lunchtime opening can be suspended at short notice, so phone ahead.
A view ryokan at the tip of the Nishiura peninsula in Gamagōri, built right on Mikawa Bay. The two bath halls, Fusumi-no-yu and Kōsai-no-yu, open straight onto the sea, with sunsets and night lights the main event. Day use 11:00–15:00 ¥1,500 with towel, or 15:00–19:00 ¥1,800 with bath towel. The top-floor private panoramic open-air bath is ¥2,200 per 50 minutes for day visitors (reserve). About an hour from Nagoya on the Meitetsu line, with a shuttle from Nishiura Station. Day bathing is suspended on some dates — check 'today's status' on the official site.
A public resort inn in the pine woods of the Echizen-Kaga Coast park, five minutes by car from the Tōjinbō cliffs. The glass-walled indoor bath and open-air Araiso-no-yu face the Sea of Japan and its sunsets, with cherry blossom in spring. Day use 11:30–15:00 (last entry), ¥900; closed to day visitors on Tuesdays for maintenance. Well stocked with shampoo and conditioner; towels are rented (¥310) or bring your own. Eight minutes by car from Mikuni-Minato Station — an easy stop between Tōjinbō and an Echizen crab lunch (Nov–Mar).
A ryokan in Kitago Onsen, the quiet inland retreat behind the castle town of Obi and the Nichinan coast. Bicarbonate water rising at 51°C from 800 m below lives up to the 'beauty bath' name — skin feels slick, and you can drink it too. The bubble-jet main bath and separate open-air baths are all free-flowing. Day use ¥600 (revised June 2026), 11:00–19:50 (last entry 19:00). The dining room's spiny-lobster set (autumn–winter) is popular; combine with Obi's old town or Udo Shrine. Five minutes by car from JR Kitago Station.
An onsen on the fifth floor of a resort hotel facing Emerald Beach, seven minutes' walk from the Churaumi Aquarium. Chloride water is drawn from Jurassic strata some 200 million years old, and the open-air bath looks across cobalt-blue sea to Ie Island. Two bathrooms — one with a dry sauna, one with steam — alternate daily between men and women, with cold plunge and outdoor rest area. Day use ¥2,150 including towel set, 6:00–10:00 and 15:00–23:00. A rare genuine hot spring in Okinawa, best enjoyed in the late afternoon after the aquarium.
A resort hotel on the waterfront of Tomonoura, the old tide-waiting port near Fukuyama. The top-floor bath hall 'Tenkū' and its open-air tub look across to Sensuijima and the calm Seto Inland Sea; the water is a natural radium spring. A löyly-capable sauna and steam sauna were added in 2023. Day use 11:00–18:00 (last entry 17:00), ¥1,600, with free bath towels. Private open-air baths 'Sansan' and 'Tōtō' are ¥5,500 per 50 minutes (reserve). 30 minutes by bus from Fukuyama Station to Tomokō; pair with the Edo-period streets and the stone lantern.
A ryokan built out over Lake Tōgō, known as the 'inn on the lake': lobby and baths are surrounded by water on three sides, and the open-air Kōsuke-yu sits almost level with the surface. Free-flowing simple spring water. Day bathing runs on an irregular basis, roughly 11:00–14:00, ¥1,000 cash only — phone the same day to confirm. Private open-air baths are ¥1,650 per 45 minutes, booked by phone from 9:00 that morning. 18 minutes by bus from Kurayoshi Station to the Hawai Onsen stop. No restaurant inside, so eat in the onsen town or at the Enchōen roadside station.
A cure-style resort in the Furuyu hot-spring hamlet up the Kase River, 30 minutes by car from Saga city. The signature is 'lukewarm' water at around 38 °C — the longer you soak, the more you unwind — long prized as a beautifying bath. The SHIORI bath complex has 15 kinds of baths including an open-air tub facing Mt Tenzan, lying and standing baths, a box steam bath, cypress tub and natural hot-sand bath, all from a private source yielding 43 tonnes a day. Day use 10:00–20:00, ¥1,300 with free face towel; Wednesdays from 15:00 only for maintenance. About 60 minutes by bus from Saga Station to Furuyu Onsen.
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.
A long-established hotel on the cliffs of the Izura coast, the scenic spot beloved of art historian Okakura Tenshin. The main building and the Taikansō annex flank the Rokkakudō pavilion; day bathers use Taikan-no-yu in the annex. The open-air bath, refurbished in 2012, sits right above the Pacific — free-flowing spring water, the horizon and the sound of breaking waves. The indoor hall also looks out to sea through big windows. Day use in two sessions, 11:00–15:00 (last entry 14:30) and 18:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30), ¥1,100. Closure days are irregular, so check the official notice page. Five minutes by car from JR Ōtsukō Station; combine with the Tenshin Memorial Museum and Rokkakudō.
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 design hotel on the headland at Cape Ashizuri, Shikoku's southernmost point, renewed in 2024. It holds one of the source wells of the Ashizuri hot-spring cluster — a natural radon spring, mildly alkaline, with a legend linking it to Kōbō Daishi — enjoyed in an open-air bath overlooking the Pacific, two indoor tubs and a Shimanto-cypress sauna. Sunsets into the horizon and the night sky are the draw. Day use 15:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30), ¥1,100 including bathing tax. Closed Tuesday to Thursday (with exceptions in peak season), so confirm ahead. About 90 minutes by bus from Nakamura Station, or an hour by car from Shimanto city. Combine with the cape lookout, the aquarium and the free Manjirō foot bath.
A lone inn with its own spring near Ōmi-Shirahama, the pine-fringed white-sand beach on Lake Biwa's west shore. The simple carbonated iron spring (a cold mineral spring, heated) turns tea-brown on contact with air and is locally prized as a skin-beautifying bath that warms to the core. Drop-in bathing 9:00–20:00 (last entry 19:30), a modest ¥700; closed Mondays. The open-air bath is private-hire only (from ¥3,000 per 50 min), good for families and couples. The restaurant (11:00–20:00) serves Ōmi beef and lake fish. Five minutes by car from JR Ōmi-Takashima Station — on the way back from Shirahige Shrine's lake torii or the metasequoia avenue. Day use may be unavailable when groups are staying, so phone ahead.
The leading large ryokan of Shimobe Onsen in Yamanashi, the 'hidden bath' of warlord Takeda Shingen. Its hallmark is three springs of differing character (including the tepid original Shimobe water) served in eleven tubs, seven of them open-air — a mini bath-hopping circuit with streamside rotenburo and Shingen lore. Day use 11:00–15:00, ¥1,200; resting in the tatami hall is free, and lunch-and-rest plans start at ¥5,000. Irregular closures, so confirm ahead. Just 3 minutes on foot from Shimobe-Onsen Station on the JR Minobu Line — easy by rail, and a natural pairing with Kuonji temple on Mt Minobu, the Fuji River or a Lake Motosu / Fuji Five Lakes drive.
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.
The grand old hotel of Tokachigawa Onsen outside Obihiro. The water here is a 'moor spring' that rises through lignite beds of ancient plant matter — amber, silky and one of the world's few plant-derived natural hot springs, designated a Hokkaidō Heritage. The Yuraku bath halls of the Hōshū-tei and Tōyō-tei wings pair a broad indoor bath with the garden open-air 'Takitsubo-no-yu', wrapped in the sound of a waterfall; day visitors may also use the Harunire foot-bath café. Day use 13:00–21:00 (from 13:30 Mon & Thu), ¥2,000 including face and bath towels, no reservation — go to the front desk. Day bathing may be limited in peak periods. About 30 minutes by bus from Obihiro Station to Tokachigawa Onsen.
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.
Founded in 1691 and regarded as Japan's oldest surviving hot-spring inn building, this Shima Onsen institution in Gunma stands across a red bridge; the main house, said to be one of the models for the bathhouse in Spirited Away, is an Important Cultural Property. The celebrated Genroku-no-yu, built in 1930 in Taishō-romantic style, has five tubs set into a stone floor lit by arched windows, with water welling up from below. Shima's sulphate water is counted among Japan's three great baths for digestive ailments and can be drunk. Day use 10:00–17:30 (last entry 17:00), ¥1,500 with face towel, covering Genroku-no-yu, the mixed rock bath and private baths. Tattoos accepted if covered with stickers. About 40 minutes by bus from Nakanojō Station to the Shima Onsen terminus.
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 solitary forest inn five minutes by car from central Kurokawa, where the only sound is the headwaters of the Chikugo River. On roughly 10,000 m² of grounds sit the mixed open-air Moyai-no-yu and the women-only Shiki-no-yu, fed free-flowing from two private springs; the indoor bath has a faint blue tint. Day use covers the open-air baths only, 08:30–21:00, ¥600 for adults, and Kurokawa's 'nyūtō tegata' bath-hopping pass (¥1,500 for three baths) is accepted, so pairing it with inns in the village is the classic plan. There is a free rest corner after bathing. Closures are irregular — phone ahead.
At 1,800 m in Manza Onsen — said to have the highest sulphur content in Japan — this is the most rustic of the old spa-cure inns. The wooden bathhouse holds just one indoor tub per gender, but the milky acidic sulphur water is thick and hot enough to leave you drowsy afterwards. It is known for its 'Sarunokoshikake-yu', in which extract of a bracket fungus has long been added to the water. Day use 10:00–16:00, ¥700 for adults, towels sold for ¥250. For onsen fans who want an old-school cure-bath feel amid Manza's big resort hotels. The building has tilted due to ground subsidence, so phone ahead to confirm it is operating. About 40 minutes by bus from Manza-Kazawaguchi Station.
A mid-sized hotel on the lakeside promenade of Lake Tōya, and a rarity here: day bathing for just ¥600. The 'Tono-yu / Hime-yu' baths have granite-clad open-air tubs, bubble baths and a sauna, and the bicarbonate–chloride–sulphate water keeps you warm long after. Day use is accepted 13:00–21:00. From late April to the end of October, the Lake Tōya long-run fireworks go up over the water every night from 20:45, and a stroll along the shore before a soak is a lovely routine. With neighbouring resort hotels charging ¥1,000+, this is the value pick. About 20 minutes by bus from Tōya Station to 'Tōyako Onsen', then 5 minutes on foot.
About 12 minutes on foot from Murodō terminal, the hub of the Tateyama-Kurobe Alpine Route, this inn at 2,410 m is Japan's highest hot-spring lodging. Milky acidic sulphur water piped from Jigokudani flows 100% free, and outside the window is another world: the 3,000-metre Tateyama range and the volcanic lake Mikurigaike. The bath is indoor only; day use 09:00–16:00, ¥1,100 for adults. The café's blueberry soft-serve and curry are favourites. Open only during the mountain season, mid-April to late November; closed in winter. Especially busy during the Snow Corridor (Apr–Jun) and autumn colours (late Sep–early Oct). With the altitude and strong water, keep your soak short.
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.
A public-run hot-spring hotel on the clear Kuji River in Daigo, Ibaraki — the town of Fukuroda Falls. The main bath has an indoor tub and sauna, and from autumn to winter (Sep–Jan) it becomes the famous 'apple bath', floating with local apples. Day use 11:00–20:00 (last entry 19:30), ¥800 for adults including a face towel; open daily. A private barrel sauna (¥3,300 / 90 min, reservation), a post-bath lounge and a 16-hole ground-golf course in the garden are also available. About 10 minutes by taxi from Hitachi-Daigo Station and 15 minutes by car from Fukuroda Falls — easy to combine with the falls or apple picking.
A hot-spring hotel on the cliffs of Inubōsaki, the easternmost point of the Kantō region. Perched on a cape jutting into the Pacific, its rock rotenburo and European-style open-air bath 'Opia' look out to the horizon and the Inubōsaki lighthouse; on New Year's Day you can watch Japan's earliest sunrise from the tub. The day-use course runs 12:00–19:00 (leave by 20:00), ¥1,500 for a 90-minute stay including bath towel, face towel and toiletries, so come empty-handed. Open daily (special pricing at Obon and New Year). Seven minutes on foot from Inubō Station on the Chōshi Electric Railway; combine with a seafood lunch in Chōshi and the 'Hill Where the Earth Looks Round' observatory.
A hot-spring complex in the farmland of Kimita, Miyoshi, in northern Hiroshima, next to the 'Forest Kimita' roadside station. A 2025–26 renewal rebuilt the lodging wing, a hearth-side restaurant, the open-air bath and a barrel sauna. The bicarbonate water feels slippery and is known as a 'beauty bath'. Day use is ¥800 including bathing tax, open 10:00–20:30 (last entry 20:00), closed Tuesdays; face towels sold for ¥150. Nearby are Kimita's sunflower fields (August) and the Takatani-yama lookout famous for its 'sea of clouds' — a popular drive about 90 minutes from Hiroshima city.
A public hot-spring lodge at the mouth of Nakatsu Gorge in Niyodogawa, Kōchi — the land of 'Niyodo blue'. The all-cypress open-air bath, rebuilt in 2019, sits right in the gorge, so you soak facing fresh greenery, autumn colour or snow depending on the season. The water is an alkaline simple sulphur spring, heated from a cold source. Day use 11:00–21:00 (last bath 20:00), ¥700 for adults, rising to ¥800 in cherry-blossom and autumn seasons, Golden Week, Obon and New Year. Closed Tuesdays (next day if a holiday) and two Wednesdays a month. The classic plan is a one-hour return walk along the gorge trail to Uryū Falls followed by a bath and a set meal of local produce in the restaurant. About 1 h 15 min by car from Kōchi city.
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.
A large hot-spring hotel in the Ishite River gorge about 8 km inland from Dōgo Onsen. Its great open-air bath 'Suimei-no-yu', billed as one of the largest in western Japan, terraces some 26 tubs down the slope, where you soak in free-flowing alkaline simple sulphur water to the sound of the river — a 'beauty bath' with a clearer sulphur scent than Dōgo. Day use 15:00–20:00 (last entry 19:00), ¥1,100 for adults, irregular closures. The no-reservation private open-air baths 'Yunose' (¥4,400 for 45 min, 2–4 people, towels included) run until 23:00 and suit families or tattooed guests. A cold-spring pool operates in summer. About 50 minutes by bus from Matsuyama Station to 'Okudōgo', or 15 minutes by car from Dōgo Onsen 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.
A day-spa attached to a 170-room resort hotel on a hill overlooking the Tokachi plain. The amber 'moor' spring — a sodium-chloride water rich in plant-derived organics, known for leaving skin silky — fills more than ten tubs including pot baths, lie-down baths and open-air baths, plus a sauna. Adults ¥950 (¥800 after 20:00), children 4 to 12 ¥500; open 11:00–23:00 on weekdays and 10:00–24:00 on weekends and holidays, no closing days. A 10,000-volume manga corner, TV recliners and a free kids' park make it an all-day family stop, and private baths can be hired from ¥1,500. About 20 minutes by car from Obihiro Station with a free shuttle bus, or 5 minutes from JR Satsunai Station — closer to central Obihiro than Tokachigawa Onsen and an easy stop on a rental-car trip.
A lone inn in the hills of Kitagawa, a 'yuzu village' of some 1,300 people in eastern Kōchi. Its spring, known for over 80 years, is loved locally as silky 'beauty water', and in 2018 the inn was completely rebuilt as Japan's first CLT-construction hot-spring building, using timber from the village. The wood-wrapped main bath, open-air bath and family bath are all 100% source water. Day bathing: adults ¥700, children ¥350, 11:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30), closed Tuesdays. Private baths cost ¥2,200 per group for 50 minutes on top of admission. There is a restaurant serving yuzu dishes, and the Nakaoka Shintarō museum and Monet's Garden Marmottan are nearby — a good stop on a drive toward Cape Muroto. About 20 minutes by car from Route 55; 14 rooms in three types.
An inn at the foot of Mt Gozaisho in 1,300-year-old Yunoyama Onsen, proud of its own spring gushing 500 litres a minute. It insists on free-flowing source water, constantly refreshed, and the viscous alkaline simple spring is known as 'beauty water'. The big open-air bath opening onto the mountains through the seasons is the draw, especially in autumn colour. Day-bathing prices were cut in July 2026 for the inn's 60th anniversary: adults ¥700 on weekdays, ¥800 on weekends and holidays, children ¥400/¥500; open 10:00–19:30 (last entry 18:30), closed Fridays. Lunch (makomo udon and more) and day kaiseki plans with bathing are offered, and it pairs easily with the Gozaisho Ropeway or Aqua Ignis. About 10 minutes by Mie Kōtsū bus from Kintetsu Yunoyama-Onsen Station; about 20 minutes by car from Yokkaichi IC; 150 parking spaces.
A large lakeside ryokan in the Tōyako Onsen resort whose signature is the top-floor 'sky open-air bath' 32 m above the ground. From the tub you look over Nakajima island in Lake Tōya and, on clear days, to Mt Yōtei beyond; in summer (late April to end of October) the nightly long-run fireworks can be watched from the water. The panoramic main bath also has a sauna. The sodium-calcium-chloride water keeps you warm long after. Day bathing: adults ¥1,200, children ¥600, reception 13:00–19:00 (entry until 18:00), from 14:30 on one Tuesday a month. Towel hire ¥300; 100 free parking spaces. About 20 minutes by Dōnan bus from JR Tōya Station to 'Tōyako Onsen', then 5 minutes on foot; about 2 hours by car from Sapporo. Combine with the lake cruise or the Usuzan Ropeway.
The flagship hotel of Manza Onsen, which at 1,800 m is among the highest hot-spring resorts in Japan reachable by car all year. Perched on a rise, its famous 'Komakusa-no-yu' open-air bath juts from the mountainside so you soak in milky sulphur water while gazing at a sea of clouds, the Jōshin'etsu ranges and, in winter, unbroken snow — literally a bath above the clouds. Besides separate men's and women's sections there is a mixed zone where a wrap towel is worn, making this one of the few Manza inns where mixed bathing is possible. The sulphur content is among Japan's highest and the scent lingers after. Day bathing: adults ¥1,500, children ¥750, reception 11:00–16:00 (bath entry until 15:00), face towel included (bath towel hire ¥300). Weekdays are far quieter than weekends. About 2 hours by Seibu bus from Karuizawa Station, or about 40 minutes by bus from Manza-Kazawaguchi Station; direct ski-slope access in winter.
A Japanese-style spa right by Kotohiki Park in Kan'onji, western Kagawa — famous for the giant coin drawn in sand, the Zenigata Sunae — and directly in front of Ariake beach. Its baths are inventive: a 'seawater onsen' bath, an ancient-cypress bath and a kama-buro steam bath recreating a 1,200-year-old design (alternating men/women daily), and the open-air bath looks over the Seto Inland Sea toward the sunset. Adults ¥950 on weekdays, ¥1,100 on weekends and holidays; open 11:00–23:00 (last entry 22:00), every day of the year. A sea-view restaurant, indoor and outdoor rest areas and lodging are attached. About 5 minutes by car from JR Kan'onji Station or 15 from Sanuki-Toyonaka IC; 500 parking spaces. Combine with the Chichibugahama sunset and the sand coin.
A hot-spring hotel on the banks of the Yoshino River in the Ōboke–Koboke gorge, where the water has carved through 200-million-year-old rock. The strongly alkaline simple spring — locals say it makes skin toner unnecessary — leaves skin smooth, and the gorge-facing main bath and open-air bath look out over the Koboke rapids, said to be Japan's wildest, and the mountainsides in their seasonal colours. Day bathing: adults ¥700, children ¥350, 12:00–21:00 (last entry 20:00); open daily, but on Saturdays, holidays and group-booking days it may close from 15:00, so check ahead. A convenient base for the Ōboke sightseeing boats, the yōkai museum and the drive to the Iya vine bridge; about 15 minutes on foot from JR Ōboke Station (pick-up available). Soap provided, towels for a fee.
A long-established ryokan at the gateway to Inunakiyama Onsen, about 30 minutes by car from Kansai Airport and the only place in Osaka Prefecture to call itself a spa 'village'. Inunakiyama is a Shugendō holy mountain said to have been opened by En no Gyōja; the gorge leading to Shippōryū-ji temple is dotted with waterfalls and ascetic training sites and is listed among Osaka's hundred finest green spots. In the indoor bath and the open-air bath facing the stream you soak in soft, clear simple water (sodium-bicarbonate-chloride) to the sound of the river. Day bathing: adults ¥900, children ¥400, 11:00–21:00 (last entry 20:00), irregular closures. A reservable private open-air bath (¥2,750 for 60 minutes) and day plans with lunch are offered; numbers may be limited when busy. About 30 minutes by bus from JR Hineno or Nankai Izumisano stations to 'Inunakiyama', right by the stop. An onsen before or after a Kansai Airport flight, or a half-day escape from Osaka city.
A modern-Japanese spa on the clear Echi River at the gate of Eigen-ji, a temple famed for autumn colour. Named for the 'eight winds' off the Suzuka mountains, it offers a wide spread of tubs: indoor bath, herbal bath, seated bath, two open-air baths above the stream, pot baths, lie-down baths, sauna, salt sauna and cold plunge. The water is a gentle alkaline simple spring. Adults ¥1,300 on weekdays, ¥1,500 on weekends and holidays, with towels and loungewear included so you can come empty-handed. Open 10:30–22:00 (last entry 21:00), every day apart from maintenance. There is an optional bedrock-bath suite, a gorge-view restaurant, a charcoal-grill dining room and lodging, and at night the lit-up building feels like a ryokan. About 20 minutes by car from Yōkaichi IC or 35 minutes by bus from Ōmi Railway Yōkaichi Station. Pair with Eigen-ji's November foliage.
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 hot-spring inn on a rise above the Chikugo River in Ukiha, Fukuoka, whose pH 8.7 alkaline simple-sulphur water is so silky people say it feels like bathing in skin lotion. Chikugogawa Onsen lies across the river from Harazuru, a quiet designated health resort, and this inn actively welcomes day bathers. Besides the main and open-air baths there are characterful private family baths — 'Stone', 'Rock', even one with a slide — at ¥2,500 for 60 minutes, booked at the desk on the day; the inn states that guests with tattoos may use the private baths only. Day bathing: adults ¥800, children ¥600, 13:00–21:00, closed Wednesdays plus irregular days. The Harazuru–Chikugo River area is known for cormorant fishing and fruit picking, and many families drop in on the way home from the orchards. About 5 minutes by taxi from JR Chikugo-Ōishi Station or 3 minutes by car from Haki IC.
Of the inns at Yunohana Onsen — Kyoto's 'back parlour' spa in the Tamba hills outside Kameoka, about 25 minutes by train from Kyoto Station — this is the easiest for day bathing. Fields and woodland spread across its large grounds, and the main bath and garden open-air bath look out on the countryside through the seasons. The water is a clear, soft, mildly radioactive (radon) simple spring. Day bathing: adults ¥1,000, children ¥500; weekdays 12:00–21:00 straight through, weekends, holidays, eves of holidays and Obon in two sessions, 12:00–15:00 and 17:30–21:00. Day plans with lunch or kaiseki are offered — a fine finish to Kameoka, the starting point for the Hozu River boats and the Sagano scenic railway. About 15 minutes by car from JR Kameoka Station (ask about pick-up) or 10 minutes from Kameoka IC. Combine with Arashiyama for a Kyoto onsen day trip.
A town-run hot-spring inn next to Hanahasu Park in Minami-Echizen, Fukui, where more than 130 varieties of lotus bloom. The alkaline simple water from about 1,000 m down clings softly to the skin; there is a roomy indoor bath, a garden-style open-air bath, the signature 'lotus bath' floated with lotus leaves and flowers, plus bubble bath, lie-down bath and sauna. Day bathing is a modest ¥650 for adults and ¥350 for children, and the long 08:00–22:00 hours (last entry 21:00) are a bonus. Closed Tuesdays (open on holidays, during the July lotus festival and at New Year). The restaurant serves set meals with sashimi boats and 'lotus udon', and overnight stays are possible. About 5 minutes by car from Imajō IC on the Hokuriku Expressway or 10 minutes by taxi from JR Imajō Station — an easy stop between the Echizen coast and Tsuruga. Lotus season runs from late June to early August.
A public lodge in the Mitsugi countryside, the 'back parlour' of Onomichi, the port town of slopes, temples and cats. The natural spring is a mildly radioactive cold mineral water; two bathing halls, Hohoemi-no-yu and Fureai-no-yu, hold 13 kinds of tubs including open-air baths, lie-down baths, waterfall massage, sauna and cold plunge. From the open-air bath you look out on the Mitsugi hills and, at night, a sky full of stars. Day bathing is ¥850 for adults and ¥500 for children with bath towel, face towel and loungewear included, and you may bathe as often as you like until you leave. Open 10:00–22:00 (last entry 21:30); the only closure is one or two days each June. Rest room, restaurant and massage room, with overnight stays available. About 8 minutes by car from Onomichi-kita IC, 25 minutes from Shin-Onomichi Station, or 50 minutes by Chūgoku bus from JR Onomichi Station to the terminus. A good soak after walking Onomichi's lanes or cycling the Shimanami Kaidō.
The lone inn at Gokuraku Onsen, in the hills of Takaharu on the eastern foot of the Kirishima range, with water distinctive enough to be listed among Japan's 'hundred famous springs'. It is a carbonated iron spring (carbon dioxide-iron-calcium-bicarbonate), and the speciality is alternating between the free-flowing tubs, turned rust-red on contact with air, and a 'source cold bath' filled with the highly carbonated mineral water straight from the ground. Sitting in the cold fizzing water as tiny bubbles cling to your skin, then returning to the warm bath, is a routine sauna lovers adore. There is also an open-air bath, a sauna and a reservable private bath. Day bathing: adults ¥600, children ¥250, with long hours from 07:00 to 21:00 (last entry 20:30), except Wednesdays when it pauses 10:00–15:00 for cleaning. A dining room serves Kyushu mountain-and-river cuisine, and private rest rooms and overnight stays suit a cure-style visit. About 15 minutes by car from JR Takaharu Station or Takaharu IC. A hidden gem for Ebino Plateau and Kirishima trips.
A hot-spring resort in Kamiyama, a mountain town up the Akui River about an hour by car from Tokushima city, known for its newcomers and IT satellite offices. At its heart is the town-run bath 'Iyashi-no-yu', a contemporary building of local cedar and cypress notable for tatami mats laid throughout the bathroom, changing room and lobby. The sodium-chloride-bicarbonate cold mineral water feels mellow, then leaves the skin refreshed. Bubble bath, jet bath, waterfall massage, lie-down bath, herbal bath, sauna, cold plunge and a children's bath, with towels provided. Day bathing: adults ¥680, children ¥340, 10:00–20:00, closed the fourth Tuesday (open on holidays, Golden Week, Obon and New Year). The Kawasemi restaurant uses local produce, and private rest rooms and overnight stays are available. Combine with sudachi citrus, Amagoi Falls and Shōsan-ji, temple 12 of the Shikoku pilgrimage. About 60 minutes by Tokushima bus (Kamiyama line) from JR Tokushima Station to 'Kamiyama Onsen-mae'.
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.
A municipal cure-bath in a valley at Irinoyama, in the fold of the Asan mountains at the eastern tip of Kagawa. Quiet, wrapped in cherry blossom in spring and maples in autumn, it is a daily bath for locals and a long-standing lodging for pilgrims walking the Shikoku 88 temples. The simple sulphur cold mineral water is praised for its 'slippery-silky' cling on the skin. The layout is simple — main tub, bubble bath, cold plunge and sauna — with a view of hushed green forest. Very cheap at ¥400 for adults and ¥200 for children (and for over-70s); open 10:00–21:00 every day (occasional maintenance closures). The restaurant serves wild-boar hotpot and live-fish dishes, and rooms with two meals start from about ¥6,500. About 20 minutes by car from Shirotori-Ōchi IC on the Takamatsu Expressway, or by Ōkawa bus to 'Fukushi Center (Shirotori Onsen)'. Combine with a Sanuki udon crawl or the old townscape of Hiketa.
A large spa complex in Tōon, just east of Matsuyama, whose pride is an open-air bathing area billed as among the biggest in western Japan. About 6 minutes on foot from Minara Station on the Iyotetsu line, with a free daily shuttle from Matsuyama-shi Station — handy for anyone wanting an onsen near Matsuyama other than Dōgo. The underground spring, nicknamed the '200-million-year warming water', fills a garden-like cluster of outdoor baths set with natural boulders, plus indoor baths, sauna and cold plunge, and there are five private family baths. Day use is by course: the standard course is ¥1,480 for adults, ¥1,280 for over-65s and ¥700 for children (including loungewear and the rest lounge), with cheaper simple courses. Open 06:00–24:00 (last entry 23:00; indoor baths only in the early morning; maintenance 09:00–10:00), every day. Japanese and Western restaurants, a café, body care, the adjoining Juraku hotel and a morning farmers' market let you linger for half a day. About 5 minutes by car from Tōon Smart IC.
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.
A mainly day-use hot-spring house at Senami Onsen in Murakami, Niigata, famous for sunsets over the Sea of Japan. Its own source 180 m down yields abundant water at about 94 °C, and although it is a seaside spa the water has a faint whiff of sulphur and leaves the skin silky. There is an indoor bath, a rugged rock-built outdoor bath and a mist sauna, and even the showers run spring water; in winter the outdoor bath becomes a snow-viewing bath. Private family baths, rentable rooms, weekday day plans with a meal (from ¥4,800) and overnight stays are also available. Adults ¥900, children ¥500, towel hire ¥210; open 09:00–22:00 (last entry 21:00), irregular closures. About 10 minutes by bus from JR Murakami Station or 12 minutes by car from Murakami-Senami-Onsen IC; 100 parking spaces. Combine with Murakami's salmon cuisine, its merchant townhouses and a sunset walk on Senami beach.
A day-use bath run by Nansuikaku, the old inn of Wakita Onsen at the foot of the Inunaki range in Miyawaka, roughly midway between Fukuoka and Kitakyūshū. Nine kinds of open-air bath — a waterwheel bath, the 'Thirty-six Poets' bath, 'Kappa Paradise' and more — are dotted through the greenery, with a cold-spring bath, sauna and lie-down bath, making it a bath-hopping spot. The water is 100 % source alkaline simple spring, smooth on the skin. Day bathing: adults ¥900, children ¥500; open 10:00–22:00 (last entry; closing varies by season, until 23:00 in summer), closed Wednesdays plus occasional days. Private baths (¥3,000 per hour on weekdays) and day packages combining bath, meal and massage are popular. Tattoos are not accepted and payment is cash only. About 15 minutes by car from Wakamiya IC on the Kyūshū Expressway, or by bus from JR Nōgata Station to 'Nansuikaku-mae'. A classic day trip from Fukuoka; to stay, choose the Nansuikaku inn or the adjoining Route Inn Grantia.
An inn perched on a slope at Yunoyama Onsen in Komono, Mie, at the foot of Mt Gozaisho, proud of a bathing hall that looks across Ise Bay to the Chita Peninsula. Certified by the health ministry as a spa-based health-promotion facility, it admits day bathers without reservation — buy a ticket at the shop — for a modest ¥600 (children ¥300, infants ¥200). The water is Yunoyama's alkaline radium-bearing simple spring; from the indoor bath and panoramic open-air bath you get the Yokkaichi cityscape and sea at dusk and city lights at night. Riding the funicular-style incline elevator up the slope to the main building is part of the fun. Day bathing 11:00–20:00 (last entry 19:00); closing days are irregular, so check ahead. Restaurant and shop on site. About 5 minutes by shuttle (call ahead) from Kintetsu Yunoyama-Onsen Station or 5 minutes by car from Komono IC on the Shin-Meishin. Pairs well with the Gozaisho Ropeway — a soak after coming down the mountain.
An inn at Ichinomata Onsen in the hills of Toyota, Shimonoseki, famed for 'toro-toro' water — a strongly alkaline simple sulphur spring at pH 10.0, among the highest in Japan. The skin turns slippery the moment you get in and silky afterwards, and it is widely known in Yamaguchi as a beauty bath. The Honoka and Yunoka halls have indoor and open-air baths and saunas, plus reservable private baths — a round cypress tub and a square stone one — at ¥2,000 per hour. Day bathing: adults ¥1,150, children ¥600, 08:00–21:00 (last entry 20:00); note the shortened 08:00–17:00 (last entry 16:00) on Saturdays, holidays, Golden Week, Obon and New Year. A rest lounge and restaurant (11:30–15:00) allow a bath-and-lunch visit. About 30 minutes by car from Ozuki or Mine IC on the Chūgoku Expressway, or 40 minutes by bus from JR Ozuki Station. Combine with Tsunoshima Bridge, Akiyoshidai or Nagato-Yumoto. The nearby Ichinomata Onsen Kankō Hotel is a sister property.
A hot-spring complex on a rise in Haruno, Kōchi city, about 30 minutes by car from Kōchi Station, looking out over rice fields. Its big open-air bath fed by an abundant natural spring is the draw, with an indoor bath, a sand bath that warms you to the core, and in July–August a swimwear spa zone (pair baths, a children's spa and so on — ten in all), so families are many. Day bathing: adults ¥700, children ¥300, over-65s ¥500; open 10:00–21:00 (last entry 20:15), every day apart from occasional maintenance. The Haru Noie restaurant serves a weekly lunch, and a lodging wing with open-air-bath rooms starts at ¥8,650 with breakfast; being near the Haruno sports park it also hosts training camps. About 40 minutes by car from Kōchi Ryōma Airport, or 15 minutes on foot from the terminus of the Tosaden bus for JA Haruno; 60 parking spaces. A rare large open-air bath within Kōchi city, easy to fit between Katsurahama and the Niyodo Blue river.
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.
A lone hot spring inn at Kamuta in Takaharu, Miyazaki, on the eastern foot of the Kirishima range. A therapeutic bathing spot since the Meiji era, its pride is an extremely carbonated spring with 1,314 mg/kg of free carbon dioxide. Ease into the unheated, chilly carbonated pool and fine bubbles cling to every inch of skin – a concentration said to equal 10–25 bath-fizz tablets. The heated indoor and open-air baths glow golden with iron-rich cloudy water, and alternating between them and the cold spring is the house ritual; a drinking fountain lets you taste the sharply fizzy, iron-flavoured source too. Day bathing costs ¥650 for adults and ¥300 for ages 3–12, 10:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30), closed as a rule on the first and third Wednesdays (subject to change). Day-rest rooms, tatami rooms and detached cottages for overnight stays, and meals of local produce are available. About 10 minutes by car from Takaharu IC on the Miyazaki Expressway, with parking for about 60 cars. Combine it with Kirishima Shrine, a climb of Takachiho-no-mine or the Ebino plateau.
The Umi no Kairō bathhouse of this large resort hotel on the Pacific shore of Kamogawa, on the outer coast of the Bōsō Peninsula, welcomes day visitors. Fed by Kamogawa Onsen, tapped in 2003, its open-air bath faces the ocean with an uninterrupted view of the horizon and breaking waves; there are also an indoor bath, sauna and a glass-walled lounge looking out to sea. Adults (junior-high age and up) pay ¥1,650 and children aged 3–12 ¥825, rising to ¥1,760/¥880 in peak periods such as Golden Week, summer and New Year. Towels are not included – rent a set for ¥330 or bring your own. Normal hours are 11:00–22:00 (last entry 21:00), but on weekends, holidays and busy days bathing is split into 11:00–15:30 and 19:30–22:00. Open every day, with entry limits when crowded, and day plans with spa treatments or lunch are available. About 5 minutes by shuttle or car from Awa-Kamogawa Station on the JR Sotobō Line, close to Kamogawa Sea World – a fine finish to a day at the beach.
A large hotel on a rise above Mikawa Bay in Gamagōri, part of Miya Onsen, whose waters are said to have been discovered 1,200 years ago by the monk Kūkai. Unusually for a coastal spa, the low-salt alkaline simple spring is known as 'beautiful-skin water'. Highlights are the open-air hot spring bath Bihakusen and 13 kinds of spa facilities across the men's and women's sides – lie-down baths, waterfall showers, saunas – with views over the bay toward Takeshima island. Day bathing runs 11:30–19:00 for ¥1,600 per adult (face towel ¥200 and bath towel ¥300 extra). Prices have risen, but the spacious halls and views are often yours alone in quiet hours; day plans with meals and private rest rooms are offered. Open every day, with free parking for 200 cars. About 5 minutes by car (20 on foot) from Mikawa-Miya Station on the JR Tōkaidō Line, or 20 minutes from the Otowa-Gamagōri IC on the Tōmei Expressway. Combine with Laguna Ten Bosch, Takeshima or mandarin picking on a Mikawa Bay drive.
About 7 minutes by car from Izumo Enmusubi Airport, Yunokawa Onsen in Hikawa, Izumo, is counted with Kawanaka (Gunma) and Ryūjin (Wakayama) as one of Japan's Three Beauty Springs. Legend says the goddess Yagami-hime soothed her skin here, and the inn Yumoto Yunokawa, founded in 1877, sits at the source. Its sodium-calcium sulfate and chloride water flows straight from the spring without dilution, and the silky bath is famed for leaving skin smooth. Day bathing is 10:00–15:30 (last entry 15:00) for ¥900 per adult and ¥500 per child, free under 3 (day visitors may be turned away when busy). Three private baths can be booked by day guests too – ¥2,500 for 50 minutes plus admission – with reservations from 9 am the day before. Irregular closures, free parking. About 20 minutes on foot from Shōbara Station on the JR San'in Line or 7 minutes from Shinji IC on the San'in Expressway. A perfect soak between Izumo Taisha, Matsue and your flight home.
A town-run hot spring inn on the clear Katsuura River in Kamikatsu, Tokushima – the village famous for its 'leaf business' and zero-waste pledge – that welcomes day bathers. The simple sulfur cold spring is heated for the baths and has a faint sulfur scent and a slippery, smoothing feel. The open-air bath faces the stream and looks over fresh greenery, autumn colour and terraced rice fields, with an indoor bath and sauna alongside. Adults (junior-high and up) pay ¥650 and children from 3 to elementary age ¥350; open 10:00–20:00, closed the second Wednesday. The dining room serves Kamikatsu mountain vegetables, Awa-odori chicken and dishes garnished with the village's celebrated 'irodori' leaves, and stays combining the adjacent campground and Kamikatsu tea farms are popular. Free parking for 150 cars, coaches welcome. About 50 minutes (39 km) by car from central Tokushima or 80 minutes from Tokushima IC; by Tokushima Bus on the Kamikatsu line to the Tsukigatani Onsen stop near the terminus. Pair it with the Kashihara rice terraces and the RISE & WIN brewery.
The lookout open-air bath of a long-established hotel crowning Shiroyama hill above Kagoshima city. Facing Sakurajima across Kinkō Bay, the outdoor bath is celebrated as one of Kagoshima's finest views, and after dark the city lights and the smoking volcano's silhouette are magical. The bicarbonate spring from 1,000 m underground is a skin-smoothing 'beauty bath', offered in indoor and outdoor pools plus the 'Ion Spa' hot spring sauna. Day bathing runs 13:00–21:00 and costs ¥3,500 for adults (tax and bathing tax included), ¥3,350 for junior-high students, ¥1,750 for elementary pupils and ¥800 for infants. It is pricey, but face and bath towels are included and you can use the hotel lounge, the Ippinkan gift shop and restaurants, making it a popular splurge for the view alone; reservable private baths start at ¥4,950 on weekdays for day guests. A free shuttle bus takes about 15 minutes from Kagoshima-Chūō Station, or 10 minutes by car from Tenmonkan. Pair it with the Shiroyama observatory and Saigō Takamori's historic sites and make a soak facing Sakurajima the highlight of your trip.
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.
A 400-year-old hot spring inn standing alone deep in the Ogawa river gorge that runs down from the Northern Alps in Asahi, the easternmost town of Toyama. Known as a fertility and therapeutic spa, it offers a circuit of five different baths. The great curiosity is the 'natural cave open-air bath', a dome of travertine built up over centuries from the spring's own mineral deposits and designated a prefectural natural monument – bathing inside it is an experience found nowhere else in Japan. There are also the streamside Renge-no-Yu outdoor bath, a rock bath and a cypress tub, all with free-flowing bicarbonate spring water that keeps you glowing long after. Day bathing runs 9:00–15:00 (reception until 14:30) for ¥1,000 per adult and ¥500 per child, or half price for the outdoor baths only. Irregular closures, and the two outdoor baths shut for winter from 1 December until the mid-April thaw. About 15 minutes by car from Tomari Station on the Ainokaze Toyama Railway, 30 minutes from Kurobe-Unazuki-Onsen Station on the Hokuriku Shinkansen (shuttle for overnight guests) or 15 minutes from Asahi IC. A hidden spring to pair with the Jade Coast and Unazuki on a drive along the Niigata border.
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.
A large onsen hotel of the Oedo Onsen Monogatari group standing high above the Kinugawa gorge. Day bathing runs in two sessions, 7:00–10:00 and 15:00–24:00 (last entry 22:00), at ¥2,200 weekdays / ¥2,400 weekends and holidays (¥2,600 on peak days), ¥1,100–1,300 for elementary pupils, infants free, towels rented for ¥330. There are eight kinds of tub including a semi-open bath where you hear the river and a rock bath, all with views of the gorge. Guests with tattoos may use the great bath only if they are completely covered with the hotel's paid cover seals. Free parking for 200; 15 minutes on foot from Tōbu Kinugawa-Onsen Station or about 10 minutes by dial bus.
An onsen hotel of the Oedo Onsen Monogatari group along the Kinugawa gorge, said to have the finest view in Kinugawa. The glass-walled lobby looks straight out over the gorge, and day bathing runs 7:00–10:00 and 15:00–24:00 (last entry 22:00) at ¥1,000 weekdays / ¥1,400 weekends and holidays (¥1,600 peak days), which is inexpensive. Elementary pupils ¥440–630, infants free, towels rented for ¥330. It is 8–10 minutes on foot from Kinugawa-Onsen Station, close to the station and easy to combine with Tōbu World Square or Nikkō. Free parking.
Keikoku-no-Yu, a wooden great bath looking over the Kinugawa gorge. It has five baths — a green-stone bath, a wooden great bath, an open-air rock bath, a half-body bath and a germanium bath — plus a sauna, letting you take in the gorge amid the warmth of timber. Day bathing is 14:00–17:00 at ¥1,650 for adults (tax included, plus ¥50 bathing tax) and ¥880 for children aged 3–12, and may be declined when busy. About 7 minutes by dial bus from Tōbu Kinugawa-Onsen Station, about 25 minutes from Imaichi IC on the Nikkō-Utsunomiya Road, free parking for about 100.
A family-run inn close to the source of Wakura Onsen, drawing a concentrated spring in good volume. Damaged in the Noto Peninsula earthquake, it reopened on 1 July 2024. Day bathing is ¥1,000 for adults and ¥500 for elementary pupils from 14:00 to 18:30, and private baths cost ¥3,000 by reservation. You can move from the main building's great bath to the annex footbath and then to the annex's great bath. Free parking for 60; 5 minutes by Hokutetsu Noto bus from JR Wakura-Onsen Station to 'Wakura Onsen', then 3 minutes on foot. Since day-bathing arrangements differ by inn in post-earthquake Wakura, phoning ahead is wise.
A Japanese-style onsen inn near the very centre of the Wakura spa street, praised for its Noto atmosphere. Damaged in the Noto Peninsula earthquake, it reopened on 1 October 2025. Day bathing is ¥1,000 for adults and ¥500 for children from 15:00 to 21:00 (from 18:00 when busy), with irregular closures. There are separate indoor baths, a rotenburo that alternates between men and women, one private open-air bath and a lying-down tub, and day-use plans include a seafood barbecue kaiseki. Free parking for 30; 5 minutes by Hokutetsu Noto bus from JR Wakura-Onsen Station to 'Wakura Onsen', right there. Phoning ahead is wise.
Three minutes on foot from JR Gero Station, this is the day-bathing option at Suimeikan, one of Gero Onsen's landmark ryokan. Entry is taken 11:00–14:00 at ¥1,500 for adults and ¥1,000 for children aged 3 to elementary school, with a face towel and bath towel included. You may use either the open-air bath on the first floor of the Sansuikaku wing or the viewing great bath on the ninth floor of the Hisenkan wing, one visit to one of them. Its alkaline simple spring feels smooth, and being this close to the station is the draw. Cash only.
A day-bathing facility attached to Ikaho Grand Hotel. Ikaho's famous tea-brown 'golden water' can be enjoyed in an open-air bath looking over forest green and a bright great bath with skylights. It stays open 10:00–22:00 (last entry 21:00), and entry taken by 15:00 is ¥743 for adults and ¥440 for ages 3 to elementary, rising to ¥1,073 and ¥660 after 15:00 (bathing tax included in both). Closed the second Wednesday (the next day if a holiday). Towels with the hotel's name are sold for ¥275, bath towels rented for ¥220 and yukata for ¥220. Free parking for 250.
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.
Day bathing at Ureshino Kanko Hotel Taishoya, a ryokan founded in 1925. Its great bath Shiki-no-Yu, with an atrium ceiling and glass walls that open, was renewed in April 2024 into a bright space with the feel of an open-air bath. Entry is taken 12:00–22:00 (bathing until 23:00) at ¥1,300 for adults, ¥600 for elementary pupils and free below that age. Ureshino's sodium bicarbonate-chloride spring, counted among Japan's three finest beauty waters, is known for a silky feel. Open daily, with free parking for 80; 5 minutes by car from JR Ureshino-Onsen Station.
Day bathing at Shirasagiyu Tawaraya, an inn of roughly 800 years overlooking the Kakusenkei gorge. The waters of Yamanaka Onsen, praised in a haiku by Matsuo Bashō, can be taken in open-air baths opening onto the valley. Day bathing is by advance reservation only, 9:00–11:00 and 15:00–18:00, at ¥1,500 (tax included) for adults, ¥1,000 for elementary pupils and free below age 2, with a towel set (bath towel and hand towel) included. The two great baths, Kakusen and Kajika, switch between men and women morning and afternoon. Overnight guests come first, so busy days are not accepted, and the private great baths are not available for day use.
Day bathing at Hatagoya Jozankei Shoten, an inn of the Dai-ichi Hotel group. The great bath carried over from the former Keiryūsō keeps its original feel while adding a sauna and a cold plunge, and the open-air bath lets you breathe the air of the Jozankei valley. Day bathing runs 13:30–18:00 at ¥1,200 (tax and bathing tax included), with towels rented for ¥220. It is for guests aged 13 and over, and people with tattoos cannot use it. A free reservation-only shuttle, the Yukemuri-gō, runs from central Sapporo, and the Jōtetsu bus stop Jozankei-Ōhashi is 5 minutes on foot.
A Japanese-modern inn at the centre of Shibu Onsen, where two springs of different character are blended and run flow-through, and day visitors can use them too. Day bathing costs 1,500 yen for adults and 800 yen for elementary pupils (tax included), with a bath towel and a face towel provided. Reception runs 9:00 to 12:00 and 14:00 to 19:00. The great baths close for cleaning at times such as 12:00 to 14:00, and a private loyly sauna opened in 2021. There is a deep tub and an open-air bath, and after bathing you can rest on the first and fourth floors. Overnight guests receive keys for the nine-bath tour.
An inn with Tamatsukuri's largest great bath, Kobe-yudono, open to day visitors. It has two halls, Hinoki-no-yu and Iwa-no-yu, each big enough for 200 bathers and totalling 1,050 square metres, with an open-air bath, jacuzzi and sauna, and the halls switch between men and women evening and morning. Day bathing runs 12:00 to 14:30 (last entry 14:00) at 1,600 yen for adults and 800 yen for elementary pupils, and 18:00 to 21:00 (last entry 20:30) at 2,000 yen and 1,000 yen; pre-school children are free. Bath towels and face towels are lent without charge, and in the evening soft drinks are unlimited in the lounge. The spring is Tamatsukuri's own, brought to 42 degrees with added water, heating and recirculation filtration.
A long-established inn on Tamatsukuri's spa street whose great baths take day visitors. There are two halls, one lit by a skylight, the other looking across a double-height glass wall onto a Japanese garden, and they switch between men and women. Both have a jacuzzi and a sauna, and the women's hall has a shampoo bar. Day bathing is 1,300 yen for adults and 650 yen for elementary pupils (tax included), from 11:30 to 21:00 with last entry at 20:30. A face towel costs 100 yen and a bath towel 200 yen to rent. Four private open-air baths in ceramic, rock, jar and wood are also open to day visitors at 2,200 yen for adults and 1,100 yen for children for 50 minutes, though that water is not onsen. Closing days vary, so calling ahead is advised.
A large resort hotel in Maruo, in the Kirishima spa group, taking day bathers from 11:00 to 15:00 with last entry at 14:00. The fee is 1,200 yen for adults, 600 yen for elementary pupils and 300 yen for children aged 3 and over (tax included). Milky, turbid water is its hallmark, and there are many tubs: the main hall Onami-no-yu, the open-air Kiri-no-yu, a hinoki steam bath, a natural onsen steam bath and a cold plunge. Each bath has a scheduled cleaning day set by weekday and by odd or even date, so some are unavailable. The hotel may close over New Year, Golden Week, Obon and public holidays, so calling ahead is advised. It stands just off the Maruo crossing on Route 223, with free parking.
A long-established inn of Misasa Onsen whose 1929 building is almost entirely registered as a national tangible cultural property. The water comes from its own spring and a self-flowing source, running full flow-through, and is a simple weakly radioactive radon spring. The famous cave bath switches between men and women by hour, so during the day-bath window there are times when men cannot enter it. Day bathing is 1,500 yen for adults (tax included), accepted from 16:00 to 20:00, paid in cash. It stands at the entrance to the spa street, a pleasant walk past the Mitoku river and its bridge.
A large inn of Misasa Onsen with its baths set in a Japanese garden of some 1,000 tsubo. There are several bathing places, including an open-air bath looking over the garden and one placed beside a waterfall, and they switch between men and women morning and evening. Day bathing is accepted 11:00 to 21:00 at 1,000 yen for adults, 500 yen for children aged 3 to elementary school, and free for under 2s. Reception is paused during busy weekend and holiday hours, closure days and maintenance, so it is worth checking. The private open-air bath can be used by day visitors from 11:00 to 14:00 with same-day booking only, for a separate fee.
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 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.
A leading inn of Nagato-Yumoto Onsen, standing on the bank of the Otozure river. It has two great baths: Seseragi-no-yu, with a rock open-air bath and a hinoki one, and Komorebi-no-yu, with a half-open bath facing the river, both fed by an alkaline simple spring. Day bathing is 2,500 yen for adults and 1,250 yen for elementary pupils, accepted 12:00 to 21:30 on weekdays and 12:00 to 15:00 plus 18:00 to 21:30 on weekends, holidays and special days. Day visitors use Seseragi-no-yu on the first floor if men and Komorebi-no-yu on the second if women, and bath and face towels are lent free.
A leading ryokan of Kaike Onsen with its own spring, Housho-no-izumi. Hana-no-yu on the first floor pairs an indoor great bath with an open-air bath set around a garden, where the sound of the Sea of Japan and the salt air are close at hand. The water is a sodium-calcium chloride spring at pH 7.4 and runs flow-through. Day bathing is accepted 15:00 to 21:00 at 1,500 yen for adults and 750 yen for children aged 3 to elementary school. The window is well suited to an open-air soak at dusk with the sea in view.
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 on the shore of Lake Suwa with a spring-water bathing floor on the 14th storey of the main building. Soranoyu, where you look down on the lake from 45 metres up, is the signature bath, with a sauna and cold plunge. Day bathing is taken from 12:00 to 14:00 and may be used until 15:00, at 1,600 yen for adults and 800 yen for children aged 4 to elementary school, which includes a bath towel and a face towel (1,000 yen and 500 yen without towels). Bathing is for one visit and Thursdays are closed. The annex bathing house runs 10:00 to 22:00 at 1,000 yen for bathing alone and 2,300 yen with the rock sauna.
A source-spring inn of Shimobe Onsen, the spa said to have healed the wounds of Takeda Shingen. The spa street runs along a river, and the water is an alkaline simple spring known for leaving the skin smooth. Day bathing is 1,000 yen between 10:00 and 16:00 for a stay of up to two hours, and a longer visit with a rest room is 2,000 yen. It keeps the plain feel of a curative spa, which makes it a good place to settle in and rest.
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.
The great open-air bath of Hizenya, an inn with more than 300 years behind it, described as among the largest in Kyushu. It is set along the Tsuetate river, so the seasons come into view while you soak, and the water is a simple spring, hypotonic, weakly alkaline and hot, running flow-through. Day bathing is 1,600 yen for adults and 800 yen for children, taken 15:00 to 22:00 on weekdays and 11:30 to 23:00 on weekends and holidays. A private bath is 3,500 yen for an hour.
A small inn of Shimobe Onsen, where the tradition of long healing stays continues, and a bath alone can be taken in the daytime without staying overnight. Day bathing is received from 9:00 to 16:00 for 800 yen, with use limited to about an hour. A course including a rest room runs 2,775 to 3,300 yen. As with the other inns of the spa street, bathing is not accepted on some days, so a phone call ahead is advised.
A large inn of Ryujin Onsen, counted among the three beauty springs of Japan. The hinoki-lined baths serve a sodium bicarbonate spring, and both sides have a sauna. Day bathing is 1,000 yen for adults and 500 yen for elementary pupils, and for the time being is received from 11:00 to 15:00. Bathing gowns rent for 300 yen. There are a few closing days in winter.
A large inn built around a garden open-air bath among the widest in the Hokuriku region, known as the ten pleasures of a wind-swept spa. Water from its own source fills baths of several shapes, including a porcelain tub and a silk bath. Day bathing is received from 16:00 to 20:00 at 1,500 yen for adults and 700 yen for children of elementary age and under, with a small towel and a bath towel included. No reservation is needed and you can register at the front desk on the day; payment is cash only.
An inn known for a main bath that keeps the feel of the Showa era. The washing area is built of shakudani stone, called Fukui blue, and the water is praised as milder than much of Awara Onsen. Day bathing is received from 15:00 to 21:00 on a 60-minute basis at 800 yen for adults and 500 yen for children of elementary age and under. No reservation is needed, though the free station pickup must be requested by phone by the day before.
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 healing-stay inn opened in 1937 that keeps its source running straight through. A cool spring of around 26 degrees is its hallmark, so you can stay in the water a long while, and alternating with the heated hot bath is recommended. Day bathing runs from 9:00 in the morning to 8:00 at night, at 800 yen for adults and 400 yen for children within two hours. In April 2024 a löyly-style sauna was added on each side.
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.
An inn standing on a hill above the Inland Sea, facing Miyajima and the Ono strait. The roof-top open-air bath, Marumieroten, and the rock-built Nozokimiroten alternate between men and women each day. Day bathing is received from 13:00 to 20:00 at 800 yen from junior high age, 400 yen for elementary pupils and 300 yen for children of three and over. A private bath is 2,000 yen for 45 minutes for Madoka and 3,000 yen for Momiji, tax excluded.
A member inn of the society that guards Japan's hidden springs, standing in Motoyu, the innermost part of Shiobara Onsen. Eight of its own sources fill eight baths, all run 100 percent flow-through, and the water is known as a spring you may also drink. The signature Sumi-no-yu, black with iron, is a mixed bath, reserved for women from 2:00 to 3:00 in the afternoon and 7:00 to 8:30 at night. Day bathing is received from 10:00 to 14:00, for use until 16:00, at 1,000 yen for adults and 500 yen for children.
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.
An inn of 120 rooms with a main bath and open-air bath said to be the largest in the Hokuriku region. Day bathing runs from 16:00 to 21:00, last entry 20:00, at 1,500 yen for adults, while children from infancy to elementary age pay 800 yen with a bath towel and hand towel included. It works by reservation, which can be made until 16:00 on the day, and cards are not accepted, so payment is made in cash on arrival. No rest room or guest room is provided, so after bathing you settle in the lobby and elsewhere. It is about five minutes on foot from Awara-Yunomachi Station, which makes an evening visit easy.
A large hot-spring resort at Awara Onsen, where day bathing needs no reservation. It opens from 7:00 to 10:00 in the morning and from 15:00 to midnight, with last entry at 22:00. Prices are 900 yen on weekdays, 1,300 yen at weekends and holidays and 1,500 yen on busy days; elementary pupils pay 500 yen except 580 yen on busy days, and infants and children under three are free. Towels can be rented for 330 yen, and consumption tax and bathing tax are included. There is also a plan combining a dinner buffet with bathing, which must be booked in advance. Entry may be refused when it is crowded.
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.
An old inn in Shimobe Onsen where the healing-stay culture survives, taking not only overnight guests but bathers by the hour, true to a toji resort. Day bathing is 500 yen from 10:00 to 16:00, the cheapest in the spa street, while a course with rest costs 2,000 yen. It is not received on some days, so a call ahead is needed. The water is a mild alkaline simple spring suited to long healing stays.
A long-established inn of 350 years at the foot of Mt Omine, whose baths were renewed in 2023. Day bathing needs no reservation and is received from 8:00 to 9:30 and 13:00 to 21:00, at 1,000 yen from junior high age, 700 yen for children and free under three. From 16:30 to 18:00 it may be refused in favour of overnight guests. The water is varied, with the stone-built Genroku-no-yu and the Dharani-no-yu using the herbal ingredient obaku. The dedicated car park costs 500 yen for two hours and 1,000 yen beyond three.
A convenient inn one minute's walk from Hakodate Arena and two from the Yunokawa-Onsen tram stop. It keeps a now rare 100-percent source flow with no heating or circulation, and day bathing is received from 6:00 in the morning to 10:00 at night. Prices are 800 yen from junior high age, 400 yen for elementary pupils and 200 yen for infants. There is a hinoki-scented loyly sauna and a cold bath. It may close suddenly for inspection, so checking is needed.
An inn at Sakakibara Onsen, which carries a legend beloved of Sei Shonagon. Day bathing is received from 3:00 to 7:00 in the afternoon, last entry 6:00, at 1,000 yen for adults and 500 yen for children. The water is an alkaline simple spring that leaves the skin smooth, long known as a beauty bath. The hours are short, so checking before a visit is needed.
An inn inside the Shimobe spa street, receiving day bathers from 3:00 to 6:00 in the afternoon. The charge is 1,000 yen, with a shorter course at 500 yen. It is not received on some days, so checking ahead is needed. The water is a mild alkaline simple spring.
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 small inn at Yuwaku Onsen, the retreat in the hills behind Kanazawa, taking day bathers for 1,000 yen. There is a flow-through open-air bath where the trees and breeze can be felt, and the men's bath has a waterfall tub. It receives only from 14:30 to 16:30, so checking before setting out is needed.
An onsen inn standing on the shore where the waves of the Sea of Japan can be heard, taking day bathers for 800 yen. From the observation open-air bath at the top of 66 steps the sun can be seen setting into the horizon, so many come at dusk. It opens from 10:00 to 22:00, with reception until 21:00.
A long-established inn at Kawatana Onsen in Shimonoseki, where the great bath Santoka takes day bathers for 950 yen on weekdays from 8:00 in the morning until 11:00 at night. Reception runs until 22:00, so a day can be used at length. It has open-air and indoor baths, a sauna and a cold bath, and there are meal sets with the local kawara-soba.
A large onsen hotel close to the centre of Takayama, taking day bathers for 1,500 yen. By day it receives from 11:00 to 14:00, and in the evening from 15:00 to 22:00, and in the daytime the bath used changes with the day of the week. It has open-air and indoor baths, a high-concentration carbonated bath and a sauna.
The onsen of a resort hotel standing on high ground above the town of Takayama, taking day bathers for 1,500 yen, which includes towel rental. It receives in two parts, from 7:00 to 11:00 and from 13:00 to 21:00, and the open-air baths on the fifth and seventh floors switch between men and women daily.
A hilltop hotel overlooking the Onaruto Bridge, with an 8th-floor panoramic bath and a rotenburo that merges with the horizon. Day trips 12:00–21:00, ¥1,300.
An inn at Yunohana Onsen where Sengoku warriors are said to have healed. The mildly radioactive (radon) spring bath is open to day guests, reception 11:00–20:00, ¥1,000. Tattoos not permitted.
The bath of an onsen inn on the Futomi coast. A sulfur-bearing cold mineral spring with an ocean outlook; day bathing runs 14:00–21:00 from ¥1,000 on weekdays.
An inn at Shirako Onsen, the only hot-spring area on Kujukuri Beach. Golden, iodine-rich water; day bathing from 12:30 to 17:30 costs just ¥600.
An iodine-bearing sodium chloride spring drawn from 500 m beneath central Naha. Indoor and open-air baths plus a sauna, and guests with tattoos may bathe after filling in a form. Visitors pay ¥2,000 from junior-high age.
An onsen inn by the clear stream at Towa in Shimanto town. Day bathing runs 12:00–19:00 for ¥700, and it is a rare station-side bath in the Shimanto river area, some seven minutes on foot from Tokawa Station.
An inn with a sixth-floor panoramic great bath over the Ariake Sea and an open-air bath in the main building. Two springs, a carbonated one at 1,800–1,900 ppm and Shimabara Onsen, for ¥800 as a day visitor.
The natural spring of a resort hotel on a hill named among Japan's 100 best sunsets. Its sky-high open-air bath looks over the Seto Inland Sea; day bathing runs 15:00–20:00 for ¥1,200.
A natural hot spring, rare in Okinawa. Water from 2,119–1,500 m down, carrying ancient fossil seawater, runs straight to the baths with no filtration, heating or dilution. The panoramic bath looks over the Pacific and the night lights of Nanjo.
Wakita Onsen dates back to the Genroku era; this alkaline simple spring rises from 1,000 m down. It has a free-flowing indoor bath and three open-air baths, from ¥800 on weekdays for day visitors.
A century-old inn registered as a tangible cultural property. Its Kagi-yu and Tate-yu baths sit directly over the source, with 247 litres a minute flowing free, neither heated nor diluted. Day bathing is ¥1,000.
The spring of an inn in the Oboke and Koboke gorges. Its great bath and open-air bath look over Koboke Gorge and the Yoshino River; day bathing is ¥700.
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.
An inn of the Himi onsen district facing Toyama Bay. The natural rock bath in the Shio-no-ka-tei annex runs on 100% free-flowing spring water, a sodium-chloride spring said to ease neuralgia, cold extremities and fatigue, available to day visitors for 660 yen. The panoramic main bath and open-air bath are open to day guests 11:00-15:00.
An inn on Himi's Nadaura coast with its own source. The Nadaura spring is a colourless, odourless sodium-chloride spring (isotonic, weakly alkaline, high-temperature) at 56.8°C at the source. There are open-air and indoor baths looking out to the Japan Sea, and day bathing runs 11:00-17:00 at 700 yen for adults.
An inn of Miya Onsen set high above Mikawa Bay. It draws on its own source, Shoko-no-Yu, flowing at around 180 litres a minute, and has a scenic open-air bath, a rococo-style main bath, a sauna and a cold plunge, with the cold bath fed straight from the source. Day bathing runs 11:00-17:00 (last entry 16:30) at 1,600 yen for adults, tax included, with a hand towel provided and bath towels free to rent.
A long-established inn at the heart of Iwai Onsen, said to be the oldest hot spring in the Sanin region. Its signature Chosei-no-Yu is a deep bath reaching the chest, fed by spring water rising from directly beneath pine boards laid on the tub floor, so the water is used exactly as it emerges. Day bathing is 12:00-14:00 Friday to Monday, 1,000 yen for adults.
An onsen inn right on the shore of Lake Togo, proud of being literally at the water's edge. The chloride-sulphate spring rising from beneath the lake is used free-flowing, and the open-air bath on the fifth floor looks down over the water. Day bathing runs 10:30-14:00 (entry until 13:00) at 770 yen for adults.
A single inn halfway up Mount Tsukuba holding the mountain's only private source. Tsukuba Onsen was struck in 1974 at a depth of 1,353m, the first vein found on the mountain, and the inn has an open-air bath, a jar bath and a cypress main bath. Day bathing runs 13:00-18:00 (entry until 17:00) at 1,100 yen for adults, 1,300 yen at weekends and on holidays.
An inn on the flank of Mount Tsukuba known for its views. It has an open-roofed panoramic bath, Unjo-no-Yu, at 300m above sea level and a panoramic main bath, Ginga-no-Yu, overlooking the Kanto plain; the water is a simple alkaline spring. Day bathing is 12:00-15:00 at 1,200 yen for adults, tax included, and rooms can be booked for a three-hour rest at 5,500 yen.
A long-established ryokan in Tottori Onsen, the rare downtown hot-spring quarter five minutes from JR Tottori Station. Its own artesian spring flows unrecirculated (kake-nagashi) — a sodium chloride/sulfate spring at 56°C — filling a main bath with an octagonal Yumedono-style tub, cypress and stone indoor baths, and an open-air bath with garden views through the seasons.
A public inn at the northern foot of Mount Jubo in Shikano Onsen, a national recreational onsen area. Its unrecirculated weakly alkaline simple spring — nicknamed "Onna-yu" — fills two open-air baths (Oishi-no-Yu and Hori-no-Yu) and a top-floor observation bath, Amanogawa, overlooking the mountain; day visitors are welcome.
A resort hotel right in front of Amanohashidate, one of Japan's Three Scenic Views, a minute's walk from Amanohashidate Station. It draws on Amanohashidate Onsen for an observation natural onsen whose open-air bath looks out over the sandbar; the spring is a weakly radioactive sodium-chloride one. Day visitors are welcome.
An onsen hotel of the Oedo Onsen Monogatari chain in Awazu Onsen, said to have been opened by the monk Taicho some 1,300 years ago. Its own drilled spring (a chloride/sulfate spring at 54°C) fills the Enjaku-no-Yu and Myorei-no-Yu main baths and an open-air bath; day bathing needs no reservation.
An onsen inn of the Oedo Onsen Monogatari chain, famed for its scenic and herb open-air baths overlooking Lake Shibayamagata. The chloride spring of Katayamazu Onsen fills the panoramic and herb open-air baths; day bathing needs no reservation.
A ryokan in Yunogo Onsen with one of Okayama's largest main baths. The alkaline simple spring (a beauty bath) of some 1,200 years fills the main, open-air and private open-air baths; day bathing is available.
A hot-spring hotel at Kumanoyu Onsen, deep in Shiga Kogen at about 1,700 m. Its jade-colored sulfur spring (100% free-flowing, no added water, no heating, no recirculation) contains all three of Japan's great beauty spring types — bicarbonate, sulfate and sulfur. Day bathing is available.
A natural spring inside the Diamond Setouchi Marine Hotel on Shibukawa Beach in Tamano. Its weakly radioactive calcium-sodium chloride spring fills an open-air bath overlooking the Seto Inland Sea, available for day bathing.
A natural hot-spring inn near Futamiura, famous for the Married Couple Rocks, and the only source-spring inn in Ise-Futami with its own spring. Its sulfur-bearing sodium-chloride strong-salt cold mineral spring (H2S type) fills an observation bath and an open-air bath overlooking Ise Bay and the rocks, and day bathing is welcome.
An onsen inn representing Kawaji Onsen in Nikko, Tochigi, overlooking the Okawa River. Its simple hot spring (weakly alkaline, hypotonic, thermal) fills large and open-air baths with 100% free-flowing water from its own source, and day bathing is welcome.
A Kyukamura resort inn on the Hiruzen Plateau in Maniwa, Okayama. Its simple weak radioactive spring (Hiruzen Radon Onsen) fills a top-floor observation bath with panoramic views of the three Hiruzen peaks and the pastoral landscape, and day bathing is welcome.
An inn in Yunokawa Onsen, one of Japan's Three Beauty Springs, in Izumo, Shimane, accepting day bathers. Its sodium-calcium sulfate-chloride spring is an alkaline beauty-skin water that leaves skin smooth, and besides the morning bath, day bathing is accepted into the evening.
A ryokan in Amagase Onsen, one of the Three Great Hot Springs of Bungo, in Hita, Oita. Its simple sulfur spring fills the open-air bath Takikan-an, which looks down on Sakura Falls, one of the Three Waterfalls of Amagase, and day bathing is accepted. There are also five private open-air baths.
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 long-established onsen inn founded in 1880 in Iwamuro Onsen, Nishikan-ku, Niigata. Its sulfur-bearing sodium-calcium chloride spring fills a large bath with massive rocks, an open-air bath, and a private open-air bath, 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 small eight-room riverside inn on the Itashikigawa in Yuya Onsen, Shinshiro, Aichi. Its signature is a mountain-lodge-style open-air rock bath paved with Tenryu blue stones, overlooking the mountain stream. The spring is a sodium-calcium 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 long-established inn in Matsunoyama Onsen, Tokamachi, Niigata, one of Japan's Three Great Medicinal Springs. The three-story wooden main building is a nationally registered tangible cultural property, lined with Shōwa-retro guest rooms. Its hot, salty 'fossil seawater' spring awaits, and day bathing is accepted.
A scenic inn on a cape in Nishiura Onsen, Gamagori, Aichi. From the rooftop open-air bath Amane no Yu, renewed in March 2024, you take in Mikawa Bay and its islands. The observation open-air bath in the 1st-floor grand bath draws the alkaline 'Bihaku' spring (a simple weak-radon cold mineral spring). Day bathing is accepted Friday to Monday.
A resort hotel opened in 1972 on Inubosaki, the easternmost cape of the Kantō region. Its own Shio-no-Yu spring (a sodium-calcium chloride spring), which began flowing in 1997, fills eight baths. The waterside open-air baths overlook the Pacific, and the foot bath by the entrance is free. Day bathing is accepted.
An onsen inn on the shore of Lake Kameyama in Kimitsu, Chiba. Its spring is a sodium bicarbonate spring, with an open-air bath and indoor bath overlooking the lake (alternating by gender). Known for free bathing with lunch, day bathing is 700 yen.
An onsen inn on a hill above Shinkyo bridge, the gateway to the World Heritage shrines and temples of Nikko. Its garden bath of alkaline simple spring (pH 9.5) is the signature, with a cypress tub and open-air bath overlooking the garden through the seasons. Day bathing, often paired with lunch, is popular.
A hotel on a hillside in Tsuruga, Fukui, using the Tsuruga Tunnel Onsen — opened by piping water about 7 km from a spring that gushed out during Hokuriku Tunnel construction in 1960. The colorless, slightly silky water is loved as a 'beauty skin' bath, and the observation grand bath overlooks Tsuruga city.
A lodge-style inn at Tsubame Onsen in Myoko, Niigata, about 1,100 m up in the mountains. Known as a hidden bath of the warlord Uesugi Kenshin, its spring is nicknamed 'triple beauty water' because it blends the three classic beauty-spring types - bicarbonate, sulfate and sulfur - in a milky-white flow. The signature open-air stone-mill bath looks out over the Otogiri Gorge.
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 retro hotel on the shore of the Furusato Onsen area on Sakurajima's southeastern coast in Kagoshima City. Its murky sodium-chloride spring (Furusato No. 15 and No. 16 sources, about 46-48°C) runs kake-nagashi and is prized for warming and moisturizing the skin. The mixed-gender open-air bath sits right at the water's edge with wide-open Kinko Bay below - dolphins are sometimes spotted offshore. Separate indoor and outdoor baths for men and women and a family bath are also available.
A Japanese-style onsen inn opened in 1965 on the bank of the Sendai River in the Kyomachi Onsen area of Ebino, Miyazaki, and a stop on the Kyushu Onsen Road. Its spring, named Saiko-no-Yu, is a sodium-bicarbonate-sulfate type at 56.4°C at the source; the faintly brown, cloudy water runs kake-nagashi with no added water or heating. A garden open-air bath surrounded by greenery and family baths are also available.
A traditional Japanese onsen ryokan standing near the approach to Kotohira-gu shrine. Its grand bath draws Konpira Onsen and is open to day visitors; from the indoor bath the view sweeps over the Sanuki plain to Iinoyama - the 'Sanuki Fuji' - and the Asan range. The north-side open-air bath (men's and women's sides switch between day and night) is wrapped in the greenery of Kotohira-yama with the temple town below. The well-kept garden is also much praised.
A hotel at Iruka Onsen deep in the mountains of Kiwa-cho, Kumano, said to be the closest lodging to the Dorokyo gorge. It draws 320 litres per minute from its own source (pumped), a soft alkaline simple spring, and the open-air bath looks down on the Kitayama River gorge - the foliage display from early November to early December is especially fine. The hotel is also known for its trolley train on the old mining railway, pairing the onsen with a taste of railroad heritage. Day bathing runs 12:00-21:00 (last entry 20:30), a handy base for the Kumano Kodo and eastern Kii peninsula, reachable on a single Mie Kotsu bus ride from Kumano-shi Station.
A 19-room onsen ryokan in Oribashi-cho, the Satomi district of northern Hitachiota, within the Yokokawa Onsen village. Its source, Yokokawa Mineral Spring, is just 13.2°C yet strongly alkaline at pH 10.04 - a simple sulfur cold mineral spring with a boiled-egg scent and a slippery, silky feel. It shares the source with Tomoeya and Yamadaya ryokan in this small onsen hamlet, a rarity in Ibaraki. Day bathing runs 9:00-21:00, and afterwards you can enjoy the far-infrared low-temperature sauna or the rock-bed bath. Close to the Ryujin Suspension Bridge and Fukuroda Falls, it is a handy stop while touring Okukuji. Besides bath-only visits, day-use courses with a private room or a meal are available.
A hot spring facility wrapped in lush greenery next to Koshinji, an old Rinzai Zen temple in Jinsekikogen, Hiroshima (formerly called Yukuzo Sanwa). Nine types of baths including an open-air bath plus a sauna let you tour the baths amid the plateau's seasonal nature. A tatami relaxation corner sits inside the changing room, and after bathing you can unwind in a paid lounge. Affordable lodging is also available. Free shuttle buses run from Fukuyama Station and elsewhere, and the adjoining temple offers temple-stay rooms and a dining hall. With long hours from 9:00 to 22:00, it is a place to take slowly even on a day trip.
A 55-room hotel in Kanonji, Kagawa, born from the former Kampo-no-Yado Kanonji. Its natural Boshin Onsen spring, drawn from some 1,200 metres underground, fills the large bath and open-air baths. The two bath halls switch between men and women daily, so morning and evening you can try both distinctive open-air baths: Kotone-no-Yu, where a suikinkutsu water-harp sings, and Madoka-no-Yu, a cylindrical bamboo-themed bath. A low-temperature sauna is attached. Day bathing runs 11:00-15:00 at an affordable 600 yen for adults and 300 yen for children. About 8 minutes by taxi from JR Kanonji Station, with parking available.
A brick-facade onsen hotel in Toyotomi Onsen, Japan's northernmost hot spring village in Hokkaido. The spring gushed out during oil drilling - an oily sodium chloride strong-salt spring known as the oil bath, a rarity worldwide, famed for therapeutic bathing for atopic skin conditions. Alongside the town-run Fureai Center, it is a flagship inn of the onsen street. The glass-roofed large bath has a sauna and cold bath, and day bathing runs 11:00-21:30 at 500 yen for adults and 250 yen for children. Many say the petroleum scent is milder here than at the Fureai Center, making it a gentle introduction to Toyotomi Onsen. Convenient for touring the Sarobetsu Wetlands and Cape Soya, with parking for 40 cars.
An all-river-view hotel overlooking the dramatic Go River in Misato, Shimane. Shio Onsen is a sodium bicarbonate-chloride cold mineral spring; its free-flowing (heated) indoor and open-air baths come in Japanese- and Western-themed bath halls. Jet baths, herb baths and a sauna complete the lineup, with day bathing 13:00-19:00 (last entry 18:00). Afterwards, relax at the free drink bar - coffee, soft drinks and ice bars - and a lounge holding some 2,500 books; as a winery hotel, wine tasting (500 yen a glass) is on offer too. Its roots lie in a healing spa legendarily used by an injured fox - a modern inn where esthetic treatments await.
A century-old secret hot spring founded in 1903 in Kamiuchinami, Ono, Fukui, deep in the upper Kuzuryu River gorge. Mobile phones lose signal 10 km short of the inn and no houses lie nearby, yet every room has a shower toilet - a well-equipped retreat in the Okuetsu mountains. The spring is a sodium chloride-bicarbonate water; cups by the tub invite you to drink it, savouring a faint saltiness and sulfur scent. Day bathing runs 10:00-17:00 (weekends and holidays too from 10:00) at 600 yen for adults, and the restaurant serves a genuinely good curry. Renowned as a base for autumn foliage hikes to Kari-ike Pond, Sanno-mine and Akagusagi-yama; closed in winter (mid-November to late April) because of snow.
An onsen ryokan at the foot of Mount Kanpu along Route 194 in Ino, Kochi. Its waters, flowing since the Edo period, are a gentle alkaline simple spring kind to the skin. The open-air bath overlooks the clear Yoshino River and is beautiful in every season - in spring you bathe beneath the cherry blossoms. The free-flowing sulfate water is said to ease cold sensitivity and fatigue, with day bathing 11:00-21:00 (last entry 20:00) at 700 yen for adults and 500 yen for children. A Michi-no-Eki Konoka is attached, and the lounge holds manga and children's toys, making it a family favourite. A year-round fishing pond lets you pair the onsen with stream fishing. Closed Wednesdays.
A spa resort hotel standing inside Mihama American Village in Chatan, Okinawa. Its Chatan Onsen - weakly alkaline simple spring water drawn from 1,400 metres down - fills the top-floor (8F) panoramic large baths, which gaze out over the East China Sea and Sunset Beach. The men's side has a high-temperature sauna and cold bath; the women's side a mist sauna and a warm 36-37°C bath. Day bathing runs mornings 6:00-10:00 and afternoons 15:00-25:00 (final entry 30 minutes before each close) at 1,500 yen for adults and 1,000 yen for children, with bath towel, face towel and amenities included. Sunset Beach is a 4-minute walk away, with free parking for 250 cars - a resort-style onsen stop between Okinawa sightseeing.
A scenic-view inn with roots dating to 1910, standing amid the historic streets of Tomonoura in Fukuyama, Hiroshima. The Seto Inland Sea and its islands unfold right before you, and from the sixth-floor panoramic bath hall you gaze at the seascape from a boat-shaped open-air bath and a cypress-barrel open-air bath. The spring is a simple weak-radioactive (radium) cold mineral spring, heated for bathing - colourless water said to ease neuralgia, cold sensitivity and fatigue. Day bathing runs 11:00-14:30 at 1,430 yen for adults (some sources list 800 yen for elementary students). A bath-hopping service lets guests also use the onsen of its sister inn, Hotel Ofutei - two inns' baths in the old healing-spa town of Tomonoura. 27 rooms, stays from 18,700 yen a night, with reserved shuttle buses from Fukuyama Station.
An onsen ryokan at the far end of the Nibukawa Onsen hamlet strung along Nibukawa Gorge in Tamagawa-cho, Imabari, Ehime. Originally built as a rest facility for the Shin-Kurushima Dock shipyard, it is a mid-sized inn that also handles large banquets and groups. Nibukawa Onsen is said to date back to the Heian period; its alkaline simple spring water containing radon (a sodium chloride-bicarbonate spring) is colourless yet slippery to the touch - some even rate the water above Dogo. Locals name Kairakuso when quality is the priority. Day bathing runs 9:00-17:00 (last entry 16:00) at a bargain 500 yen for adults and 300 yen for children. Wrapped in gorge greenery, it also suits unhurried healing stays. Closed the 1st and 3rd Mondays.
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.
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 legendary ryokan founded in 718 in Awazu Onsen, one of the Kaga onsen villages in Komatsu, Ishikawa. According to its opening legend, the monk Taicho discovered the spring on a divine oracle from Hakusan Gongen; for roughly 1,300 years the same family has carried on the inn, making it the oldest in Hokuriku and often introduced as the oldest surviving hotel in the world. The water is a sodium sulfate-chloride spring praised for easing neuralgia and beautifying the skin. The main bath features tubs of Shakudani stone and Indian sandstone, with indoor and open-air baths plus a sauna and private baths - the tatami-floored Taicho-no-Yu and granite Garyo-no-Yu. Day bathing runs 13:30-18:00 (last entry 17:00) at 1,700 yen with a face towel (except on busy days; calling ahead is recommended). About 7 minutes by taxi from Awazu Station on the IR Ishikawa Railway; reserved shuttle available from Kagaonsen Station.
A ryokan just an 8-minute walk from JR Yufuin Station whose pride is a large bath with sweeping windows over Mt. Yufu and the town below. Day bathing for travellers between sights runs 13:00-16:00 at 1,000 yen for adults (face towel included) and 500 yen for ages 4-12; the inn closes irregularly (about 8 days a year). After your soak, the in-house Yufuin Beer Hall serves local craft beer and a lunch buffet (11:45-13:30, reservation required). Kinrin-ko Lake and Yunotsubo Street are within walking distance, making it a convenient base for experiencing Yufuin Onsen without an overnight stay. The day-bathing window is short, so check the official site or call 0977-84-2101 before visiting.
A spectacular day-spa operated in the main hall of Ryuguden, a Japanese-style ryokan on the shore of Lake Ashi in Hakone, Kanagawa. Three bathing areas face the lake - a fully glazed indoor bath, a semi-open bath, and a balcony-style open-air bath - and on clear days Mt. Fuji rises beyond the water, one of Hakone's finest settings. The water is Takogawa Onsen, a rare own-source spring on the Ashi shore, temperature-adjusted by blending and heating. A sauna and dining room are available. Open weekdays 9:00-20:00 and weekends/holidays 8:00-20:00 (last entry 19:00); admission is 2,200 yen adults / 1,200 yen children on weekdays and 2,500 / 1,500 yen on weekends and holidays (towels cost extra). About 55 minutes by bus from Hakone-Yumoto Station, close to Moto-Hakone Port and Hakone Shrine, with parking for around 100 cars.
A popular inn about a two-minute walk from JR Atami Station in Atami, Shizuoka. Inside, a retro-modern Japanese theme recreates the feel of strolling an old onsen town, with a festival-bustle souvenir arcade. Two own sources feed calcium-sodium chloride water straight into the tubs. The main baths Momiji-no-Yu and Basho-no-Yu swap genders at 7 p.m., so guests can enjoy two different bathing halls, and there are two private open-air baths as well. Day bathing runs 13:00-18:00 (last entry 17:00) at around 1,400 yen for adults and 700 yen for children with a face towel included (reports of 1,100-1,600 yen depending on period - confirm locally). The 71.7°C source is cooled by blending. Step off the Shinkansen and start bathing at once - Atami at its most convenient.
A long-established inn taking part in Kurokawa Onsen's famous open-air bath hopping, in Minamioguni, Aso, Kumamoto. Its signature is the cave bath, said to have been hand-dug by the previous owner with only a chisel over some 30 years - a one-of-a-kind soak where spring water wells up inside the rock. Day visitors can use the mixed-bathing Iwato-no-Yu open-air bath and the cave bath (Ana-buro, gender-separated plus a women-only cave), and the Kurokawa bath-hopping wooden tablet is accepted. The water is a smooth, heat-retaining sodium chloride / sulfate spring flowing free. Day bathing is 500 yen for adults and 300 yen for elementary and under, 8:30-18:00 (last entry 17:30). Overnight guests also enjoy the indoor bath, family bath and private baths (Kaze-no-Yu, Kajika-no-Yu). About 10 minutes on foot from the Kurokawa Onsen bus stop, beside the clear Tazuhara stream.
A ryokan founded in the Hoei era (around 1710), just 50 metres from Ikaho Onsen's iconic stone staircase in Shibukawa, Gunma. One of only a handful of inns in Ikaho holding its own spring rights, it fills every bath with 100% free-flowing Kogane-no-Yu - the iron-rich, tea-brown famous water - with no added water. The two main baths, Gekko-no-Yu and Orizuru-no-Yu, alternate between genders, and there are private family baths too. Day bathing is weekdays only, 15:00-19:00 (last entry 18:00), 1,130 yen for adults and 756 yen for children. The 40-room inn blends Taisho-era charm with modern comfort, making it a convenient base for strolling the stone steps. A shuttle runs between the dedicated parking lot and the inn. Ikaho Ropeway's Miharashi Station is within walking distance, with views over the Haruna foothills.
A historic ryokan in Kita Ward, Kobe - said to be the oldest inn in Arima Onsen, founded in the Kamakura period. Beloved by literary figures including Junichiro Tanizaki, the interior retains a retro Showa-era atmosphere. The bath uses a distinctive semi-mixed style: changing rooms are separate, but the tubs connect, letting couples talk without seeing one another (the turbid gold water hides the body). The water is Arima's famous iron-rich, reddish-brown kinsen spring, enjoyed 100% free-flowing with no heating or added water. Day bathing runs 11:00-14:00 at 2,250 yen (face towel included; bath towel rental 300 yen), closed Mondays and on facility closure days. About 4-5 minutes on foot from Arima Onsen Station on the Kobe Electric Railway. Pair it with the Kin-no-Yu and Gin-no-Yu public baths to touch 1,300 years of Arima history.
A large hot-spring resort hotel right in front of the Donan Bus Noboribetsu Onsen Terminal in Noboribetsu, Hokkaido. Its main baths showcase the area's varied spring types - sulfur and salt springs among them - with an open-air bath and sauna for each gender; the Finnish-style self-loyly sauna Tsuki-no-Yu and the open-air Hoshi-no-Yu are the favourites. Day bathing runs in two sessions: mornings 7:00-9:30 (last entry 9:00; 700 yen adults with towel set) and afternoons 13:30-20:00 (last entry 18:00; 1,100 yen adults, towel set 300 yen extra). Regulars come for the quiet morning soak, and the reserved breakfast-buffet day plan (2,200 yen) is popular too. Free parking for 80 cars (day bathing may be suspended when full). About 25 minutes by bus from JR Noboribetsu Station - a handy base for Jigokudani and Oyunuma.
A long-established inn in the heart of the Yudanaka Onsen district, Yamanouchi, Nagano. Just a 6-minute walk from the Yudanaka Station-front bath Kaede-no-Yu, it is a popular base for visiting the Snow Monkeys of Jigokudani. The inn's bath is open to day bathers too: reception 10:00-17:00 at 500 yen for adults and 250 yen for children - as affordable as the station-front bath. Its appeal is soaking in softly flowing spring water in a quiet inn bathroom, away from the crowds of the station facility. Day bathing may be unavailable with groups or on occasion, so calling ahead (0269-33-2151) is recommended. Combine it with the Shibu Onsen outer-bath tour (Kuban-yu, Oyu and more) for a full day of hopping around the Yudanaka-Shibu spa area.
A cure-oriented inn founded in 1973 in the Myoban area of Beppu, one of the Beppu Hatto. Its draw is a rare natural mineral mud bath - fine mud born only where steam vents, humic clay and mineral springs coincide - which you soak in across the whole body in open tubs. The water flows free from the self-springing source once called Konya Jigoku (a simple acid spring, pH 2.9, 49.7°C): milky acidic water and thick mud baths alike. The mixed open-air mineral mud bath has a partitioned women's section, and women bathe wearing hair caps. Indoors there are a sulfur colloid bath, more mud baths and a steam bath; the underground mineral mud chamber is so concentrated that elementary-age children may not enter. Day bathing runs 9:00-20:00 (last entry 19:00; indoor mud and steam baths until 19:30) at 1,500 yen for adults. There are no washing stations, only mud-rinsing showers - authentically rustic. Get off at the Nayajigoku-mae bus stop from Beppu Station; free parking, open year-round.
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.