Sauna facility

Canal Resort Nagoya

Nagoya's largest bath complex, about 10,000 m² along the Nakagawa Canal. A tropical-resort layout with natural hot-spring rotenburo, a main sauna with auto-löyly every ten minutes, a 2-m-deep cold plunge and a big outdoor cool-down deck — sauna fans rate it highly. The separately ticketed 'TERA SPA' stone-sauna zone adds barrel saunas. ¥900 weekdays; open until 3 am on Fridays and Saturdays. 25 minutes by bus from Nagoya Station.

Naniwa-no-yu Onsen

Two subway stops from Umeda and 8 minutes from Tenjimbashisuji-rokuchome Station, a natural onsen on the 8th-floor rooftop of a building. Mildly alkaline water from 659 m below fills open-air baths looking over the Osaka skyline. Generous sauna and outdoor cool-down area, ¥900 on weekdays, open until 1 am. Combine with a stroll down Japan's longest shopping arcade, Tenjimbashisuji, and Osaka Tenmangu shrine.

Nobeha-no-yu Tsuruhashi

Eight minutes from Tsuruhashi Station, home of Osaka's Koreatown, a large bath complex known for its Japanese garden landscaping. Pot baths, a standing-depth bath, rock rotenburo and carbonated pool, plus a separately ticketed Korean-style 'hanjeungmak' stone-sauna zone. Open until 2 am — perfect after the yakiniku streets. Everything is charged to a wristband and settled on exit. ¥1,000 weekdays.

Sagano Onsen Tenzan-no-yu

Four minutes from Arisugawa Station on the Randen tram near Arashiyama, a day spa in Kyoto-style timber architecture. Chloride water from 1,200 m below fills rock rotenburo, pot baths and a spacious indoor pool; the men's side has a 'theater' sauna, the women's two saunas. Open until midnight, so it works after a day in Arashiyama. Restaurant on site. ¥1,200 weekdays; closed the third Monday.

Naruto Natural Onsen Aratae-no-yu

A large day-use onsen next to the Naruto boat-race stadium, 10 minutes by car from the whirlpools and the Ōtsuka Museum of Art. The open-air bath, fed by the site's own natural spring, opens to Naruto's hills and sky; there are also a carbonated bath, pot tubs, a hot sauna, cold plunge and outdoor rest area. Open 8:00–24:00 (last entry 23:00), from early morning to late night; ¥750 weekdays, ¥900 weekends and holidays. The ground-floor restaurant is known for fresh fish — Naruto sea bream and sashimi at fair prices. Walkable from the Konaruto-bashi bus stop on the Tokushima Bus Naruto line. Irregular closures.

Ise Funae Onsen Mitasu-no-yu

Ise city's only full-scale super-sentō, attached to the Mitasu Ise shopping centre five minutes by car from the Outer Shrine. Funae Onsen water pumped from below fills the open-air stone and rock baths, joined by a high-concentration carbonated bath, jet baths and a tower sauna — eleven baths in all. Open 9:00–23:00 (last entry 22:30); ¥800 weekdays, ¥900 weekends and holidays, with towel-rental packages so you can drop in empty-handed between shrine visits. The Hyōtan-tei restaurant serves local dishes like Ise udon and tekone-zushi. About 20 minutes on foot from Iseshi Station, or right at the Mitasu Ise Kita bus stop (Mie Kōtsū).

Kabe Onsen Ume-no-yu, Ōme

A natural-spring super-sentō on the 5th–6th floors of the building linked by footbridge to the north exit of Kabe Station on the JR Ōme Line. The alkaline simple spring from 1,500 m down is known for leaving skin silky; the top floor has an open-air bath, lying bath, hot sauna and cold plunge plus an outdoor rest deck facing the Tama hills. Open 10:00–23:30 (last entry 23:00); ¥1,000 weekdays, ¥1,150 weekends, cheaper after 21:00. The Baijuan restaurant's weekday lunch-and-bath set is good value. The most convenient day onsen in western Tokyo — stop off on the way back to Shinjuku after hiking Mt Mitake, driving Okutama or browsing Ōme's retro shopping street. Closed the third Wednesday.

Kita-no-Tamayura Sōen natural hot spring

A locals' favourite hot-spring bathhouse three minutes on foot from Sōen Station, one stop from Sapporo on the Hakodate Line. Natural sodium-chloride spring water pumped from below fills two open-air baths and three indoor tubs, plus an electric bath, a hot sauna, a steam sauna and a cold plunge — all for ¥500, among the cheapest in the city. Open 7:00–25:00 (last entry 24:00), from early morning to late night, with a large rest area. Towels are sold and bath towels rented, so you can come empty-handed. Free parking for about 200 cars. Handy between sightseeing, for an early-morning reset or before heading to New Chitose. Open daily (occasional maintenance).

Hida-Takayama Onsen Spa Resort Hidamari-no-yu

Takayama's largest day-use onsen, ten minutes by car from the old town, using free-flowing mildly alkaline water from 1,000 m underground. A 'hot-spring health land' with ten kinds of baths — indoor, open-air, walking bath, electric bath — plus sauna, a cheap restaurant with a hundred Japanese, Western and Chinese dishes, basic lodging from ¥2,500 a night, karaoke and Korean-style body care. Open 7:30–23:00 (last entry 22:30; open-air bath 15:30–22:00), every day; ¥1,150, or ¥750 for the night bath after 21:00. About 10 minutes by car from Takayama Station, with local buses too. Handy for guesthouse stayers with tiny bathrooms, or on the way back from Shirakawa-gō and Okuhida drives.

Minoh Yumoto Suishun

A large super-sentō about 25 minutes from central Osaka on the Kita-Osaka Kyūkō line, ten minutes on foot from Minoh-Semba-Handai-mae Station (opened 2024). Certified therapeutic bicarbonate-chloride spring water feeds the open-air bath, joined by a high-concentration carbonated bath, pot tubs, lying baths and more — 17 tubs in all — plus a hot sauna with automatic löyly and an outdoor cool-down area. The stone-bed spa (extra ¥800) comes with some 6,000 manga and no time limit. Open 9:00–2:00 (from 6:00 on weekends and holidays; last entry 1:00); ¥1,000 weekdays, ¥1,100 weekends. Dining and relaxation services on site — an easy stop after hiking to Minoh Falls or visiting Expo '70 Park and EXPOCITY. Two maintenance closures a year.

Kamisu Onsen Argo-no-Yu, Toyonaka

A big bath complex on the Kanzaki River in Toyonaka, about 20 minutes north of Umeda, whose main draw is an authentic Korean-style jjimjilbang — rare in Kansai. Sauna fans rate it highly for the large natural-spring open-air bath, cut-stone bath, pot baths, a sauna with löyly sessions every two hours, cold plunge and plenty of chairs and loungers for outdoor rest. The extra-charge 'Bijōbō' zone offers several low-temperature sauna rooms at 40–70 °C and a dome-shaped hanjeungmak at around 100 °C — Korea's steam-bath culture in Osaka. Entry: adults ¥900 on weekdays, ¥1,000 on weekends and holidays; children ¥500/¥550. Open 10:00–02:00 (last entry 01:00), every day. Besides 1,200 free parking spaces, free shuttle buses run from Hankyū and Kita-Osaka Kyūkō stations, so it is easy without a car. Restaurant, body care and relaxation rooms on site; being close to Itami Airport, it is a good place to kill time before or after a flight. Very busy on weekends and holidays.

Kita-Ōmi Resort Kita-Ōmi-no-Yu

A stay-as-long-as-you-like hot spring resort among the fields of Takatsuki, in northern Nagahama near the top of Lake Biwa. The chloride spring pumped from 1,500 m underground is gentle on the skin and keeps you warm, earning it the nickname 'beautiful-skin water', enjoyed in indoor and open-air baths. The men's side has a high-temperature sauna and bubble bath, the women's an herbal mist sauna and jet bath, each with a cold plunge and outdoor cooling area. Inside are a lounge with co-working space, nap 'nest rooms', a restaurant and even lodging, and the complex is open around the clock (bathing suspended during cleaning). The basic bathing course without loungewear costs ¥900 for adults on weekdays and ¥1,200 on weekends and holidays (children ¥500/¥700, valid 6:00–24:00); the relaxed course with loungewear and towels is ¥1,600/¥1,800, with a surcharge from midnight to 6 am. Closed the second and fourth Wednesdays. About 1.9 km from JR Takatsuki Station or 5 minutes by taxi from Kinomoto Station, and close to the Kinomoto IC on the Hokuriku Expressway – a good base for the Kohoku Kannon temples, Nagahama and Lake Yogo.

Higashi-Dōgo Sora to Mori

A stay-all-day natural hot spring complex in Minami-Kume, Matsuyama, about 15 minutes by car from Dōgo Onsen, 15 minutes from Matsuyama IC and 5 minutes on foot from Iyotetsu Kume Station. It opens at 5 in the morning and runs until 1 am (last entry midnight) every day of the year. Alkaline 'beautiful-skin' water from deep underground fills the indoor, open-air and lie-down baths; a Finnish sauna offers löyly sessions, with a cold plunge and outdoor cooling deck. Admission is ¥1,750 plus ¥150 bathing tax for adults (members ¥1,350 + ¥150), including face and bath towels and loungewear, so come empty-handed; the rock-bed spa is ¥300 extra and children pay ¥1,000 with a locker. Reservable family baths, a recliner lounge, restaurant, body care and scrub salon and even lodging make it a full-day base for Matsuyama sightseeing, and on dates containing a 1 the 'morning bath day' rate drops to ¥1,000. Free parking for 250 cars. Ideal after Dōgo Onsen Honkan for a long, relaxed sauna and rock-bath finish.