Featured Image, Kusatsu Onsen, Source Shutterstock
What is Onsen?
Onsen (温泉) is a Japanese word for hot spring, but the word is also used to describe bathing facilities and traditional inns around them. Some people believe any bathing facilities are called Onsen, but that’s not true. If a bathhouse is using heated tap water, it cannot be called Onsen and it is instead called Sento. To be officially recognized as Onsen, the water needs to come from a natural spring and meet one of the two criteria.
- The water temperature needs to be at least above 25°C at the spring source
- The water contains a certain level of minerals defined under Japan’s hot spring law
Why you should go to Onsen in Japan?
Onsen has been popular in Japan since ancient times and many Japanese consider Onsen as an important culture of Japan. Many Onsen towns in Japan have a rich history (some with more than 1000 years!) and retain the good old townscape of Japan. So Onsen towns are one of the best places to experience the traditional Japanese culture. Also, Onsen is a great place to relax and refresh after a long day of sightseeing!
Table of Content
- Beppu Onsen
- Kurokawa Onsen
- Ginzan Onsen
- Kusatsu Onsen
- Dogo Onsen
- Kinosaki Onsen
- Noboribetsu Onsen
- Gero Onsen
- Shibu Onsen
- Arima Onsen
Beppu Onsen
Beppu is a town located on the island of Kyushu in southern Japan. The town is famous for having the most natural spring sources in Japan. Beppu onsen consists of 8 different onsen areas and offers you a wide variety of hot springs you can try, such as mad baths, steam baths, and sand baths.
If you are visiting Beppu, you should definitely tour the 7 Hells of Beppu, which is the seven stunning hot springs with various colors with nearly boiling water temperature only for viewing. After touring Hells of Beppu, a good snack to eat is the soft-boiled eggs cooked in the Hells of Beppu hot springs.
Access
Airplane: 2 hours from Tokyo to Oita Airport. Then 45 min by bus to Bebbu Kitahama Station
Train: 4 hours 45 min by Shinkansen from Tokyo station to Kokura Station. Then 1 hour 15 min to Bebbpu station by JR Limited Express Sonic
Recommended Bathhouses
Kurokawa Onsen
Located in the center of Kyushu island in southern Japan, Kurokawa Onsen is a town surrounded by beautiful nature. This onsen town is famous for having lots of open-air hot springs with stunning views. To fully enjoy your trip at Kurokawa Onsen, be sure to get the wooden open-air bath pass. With this pass, you get admission to three open-air baths of your choice from over 28 ryokans in this town.
If you visit this town from winter to mid-spring, you can also enjoy the famous Yu-Akari Illumination of Kurokawa. During this time, the town is decorated with hundreds of bamboo lanterns, and the whole town is filled with a romantic atmosphere.
Access
Airplane: 2 hours 10 min from Tokyo to Fukuoka Airport. Then 2 hours 15 min to Kurokawa Onsen by bus
Train: 5 hours from Tokyo to Hakata Station by Shinkansen. Then 2 hours 45 min by bus to Kurokawa Onsen
Recommended Bathhouse
Ginzan Onsen
Located in the deep mountains of Yamagata prefecture in northern Japan, this is the best destination if you want to see the Japanese countryside. With many traditionally styled wooden buildings, Ginzan Onsen is one of the prettiest onsen towns in Japan. The town is especially beautiful at night when the magnificent Ryokan and bathhouses are lit up and the streets are illuminated with gas lumps.
Getting to this town is easier than you think since there is a Shinkansen (Bullet Train) station not so far from this town. There is only one public bathhouse in this town but Many ryokans here open their baths to non-staying guests during the day so there are plenty of options. Also, you can enjoy the footbath on the town’s main street for free.
Access
Airplane: 1 hour from Tokyo to Yamagata Airport. Then 1 hour to Ginzan Onsen by bus
Train: 3 hours 30 min from Tokyo to Oishida station by Shinkansen. Then 36 min by bust to Ginzan Onsen
Recommended Bathhouses
Kusatsu Onsen
Kusatsu Onsen located in Gunma prefecture is one of the most famous onsen town in Japan. The onsen is especially famous for having high-quality spring water that is said to cure any illness but lovesickness. There are 19 public bathhouses in this town and you can visit some of them free of admission fees.
A popular attraction at Kusatsu Onsen is seeing the Yumomi performance. The spring water here is very hot and Yumomi is an old method of cooling down the spring water without diluting it with cool water. Yumomi is performed by eight to ten women stirring a wooden paddle rhythmically while singing a traditional folk song.
Access
Bus: 3 hours 20 min from Tokyo to Kusatsu Onsen Bus Terminal
Train: 2 hours from Tokyo to Naganohara Kusatsuguchi Station. Then 25 min by bus to Kusatsu Onsen Bus Terminal
Recommended Bathhouse
Sainokawa Rotenburo, Otakinoyu
Yumomi Performance
Dogo Onsen
Located on the beautiful island of Shikoku, Dogo onsen is one of the oldest hot springs in Japan with more than 3000 years of history. This charming town is famous for its beautiful architecture of bathhouses with Dogo Onsen Honkan being the most famous one. The building of Dogo Onsen Honkan is listed as important cultural property by the government of Japan and the baths inside this building are quite amazing. Also, it is said that this building has served as inspiration for studio Ghibli’s animated film “Spirited Away”. Unfortunately, Dogo Onsen Honkan will be undergoing repair work until 2024, so not all the baths in this building are open.
Access
Airplane: 1 hour 50 min from Tokyo to Matsuyama Airport. Then 40 min by bus to Dogo Onsen Station
Recommended Bathhouses
Dogo Onsen Honkan, Dogo Onsen Asuka-no-Yu
Kinosaki Onsen
Kinosaki Onsen is a famous hot spring town in Hyogo Prefecture. At Kinosaki, you can enjoy a wide variety of baths. There are 7 bathhouses alongside the nostalgic and picturesque main street of this town, and people who visit here usually walk around sampling each of the seven public baths. If you are staying at Ryokan (Traditional Japanese Hotel), your stay will usually come with a ticket which gives you unlimited access to all 7 bathhouses between your check-in and check-out times. If you are not staying overnight, you still can get the same ticket at any of the 7 bathhouses which gives you unlimited access for the day.
Many people visiting Kinosaki walk the streets wearing Yukata (Traditional Japanese clothes but more casual than kimonos) and many Ryokans rent them out for free, so be sure to try them out to get the true Kinosaki experience.
Access
Bus: 3 hours from Osaka by Express Bus
Train: 2 hours 45 min from Osaka to Kinosaki Onsen Station
Recommended Bathhouses
Noboribetsu Onsen
Noboribetsu Onsen is an onsen town located in the province of Hokkaido in northern Japan. This onsen is famous for having many different kinds of hot spring water, and you can experience nine different types of hot spring water at this place. Many spring water of Noboribetsu comes from Jigoku-Tani (Hell Valley), and you can enjoy the hell-like landscape of this valley with many hot steam vents, bleached rocks and sulfur steams by taking a stroll along the walking trail.
If you are interested in Japanese history and culture you can also visit the Noboribetsu Date Historic Village where you can engage in fun activities such as Ninja training and getting your picture taken as a Samurai lord or princess.
Access
Airplane: 1 hour 50 min from Tokyo to New Chitose Airport. Then 1 hour by bus to Noboribestu Onsen
Recommended Bathhouse
Noboribetsu Sekisuitei, Dai-ichi Takimotokan
Gero Onsen
Nested in the mountain of Gifu Prefecture, Gero Onsen is famous for having spring water that’s good for your skin, and It is said that spring water from Gero Onsen will make your skin smoother. With this reputation, this onsen is especially popular with women in Japan for many years. Many Ryokans here open their bathhouses to the public so there is a variety of choices for where to take a bath.
At Gero, you can also check out the Gero Onsen Gassho Village. This place is a recreation of a traditional Japanese mountain village, and you can get a glimpse into what a traditional Japanese lifestyle looked like. At this village, you can also sign up for fun activities such as traditional ceramic art workshops as well.
Access
Train: 1 hour 40 min from Tokyo to Nagoya station. Then 1 hour 40 min by JR Takayama Main Line Express to Gero station.
Recommended Bathhouses
Shibu Onsen
Nested in the mountains of Nagano prefecture, Shibu Onsen is a town that still retains the atmosphere of an old-fashioned townscape of Japan. Although it is a less famous onsen than other places on this list, it is one of the oldest hot springs in Japan with over 1300 years of history.
The best way to enjoy Shibu Onsen is to tour the 9 major bathhouses of this town. Old tradition has it that if you tour all 9 bathhouses and then make a pilgrimage to Shibutaka-Yakushi temple which overlooks the town, your wish will be fulfilled. All the bathhouses are located on the 600 meters long main street of the town, so it is fairly easy to tour around. Note that the 9 bathhouses are only open to people staying overnight in the town, so make sure you book a ryokan in the town.
If you are looking for a unique experience, you can visit the Jigoku-Tani Monkey Park, a famous spot where you can view wild monkeys bathing which is located just above the town.
Access
Train: 2 hours 20 min from Tokyo to Yudanaka Station. Then 4 min by bus to Shibu Onsen.
Recommended Bathhouses
Arima Onsen
The town of Arima is closely located near big cities such as Osaka and Kobe so it is an ideal day trip destination from these cities. Having more than 1400 years of history, this onsen town is one of Japan’s most historically rich hot springs. It first became widely known after Emperor Jomei stayed there in 631. Since then, many historical figures have loved the hot spring, such as the famous Japanese samurai Toyotomi Hideyoshi. So if you are into the history of Japan, this is a must-visit onsen.
Arima is famous for having two types of hot springs Kin-no-Yu (Gold Bath), and Gin-no-Yu (Silver Bath), and there are public bathhouses for each of them, so be sure to visit both. After taking a good bath, you can take a walk in Arima’s old shopping street and enjoy some traditional Japanese sweats and do some souvenir shopping as well.
Access
Train: 1 hour 30 min from Osaka station to Arima Onsen. 30 min from Kobe station
