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PlacesHokkaido · Hakodate

Yunokawa Onsen

A hot-spring district on the tram line, with day-use baths and a foot bath. Close to the airport.

PlacesTohoku · Sendai

Akiu Onsen

A riverside hot-spring resort close to the city. You can walk along Rairaikyo, a gorge the river has cut through the rock.

PlacesKanto · Nikko

Nikko Yumoto Onsen

A hot-spring village at the far end of Oku-Nikko, beside Lake Yunoko. The sulfur water is milky white. Deep snow in winter.

PlacesKanto · Hakone

Hakone-Yumoto hot-spring town

The hot-spring town at the entrance to Hakone. Souvenir and sweet-bun shops line the street by the station, and there are day-use baths.

PlacesChubu & Hokuriku · Hida-Takayama

Okuhida Onsen (Hirayu Onsen)

A hot-spring village below the Northern Alps, with open-air baths for day visitors. Buses to Kamikochi connect here.

PlacesChubu & Hokuriku · Matsumoto

Asama Onsen

A long-established hot-spring district in the northeast of the city, with baths open to day visitors.

PlacesKansai · Kobe

Arima Onsen

One of Japan's oldest hot-spring towns, with brown "gold" water and clear "silver" water. Public baths welcome day visitors.

PlacesChugoku · Matsue and Izumo

Tamatsukuri Onsen

An old hot-spring town with inns along a river. There are foot baths and sights linked to magatama, ancient curved beads.

PlacesShikoku · Matsuyama and Dogo Onsen

Dogo Onsen Honkan

The symbol of Dogo, one of Japan's oldest hot springs. A wooden bathhouse built in the 1890s where you can still bathe today.

PlacesShikoku · Matsuyama and Dogo Onsen

Dogo Onsen Annex Asuka-no-Yu

A newer bathhouse styled after the architecture of the Asuka period and decorated with Ehime's traditional crafts. It has an open-air bath.

PlacesKyushu · Beppu and Yufuin

Beppu Hells (Kannawa)

A tour of "hells": springs of boiling water and mud, for viewing only. Five of them, including the blue Umi Jigoku, are walkable in Kannawa.

PlacesKyushu · Beppu and Yufuin

Takegawara Onsen

A public bathhouse dating back to the Meiji era, in a grand-roofed building from the 1930s. It also has a sand bath heated by the spring.

PlacesKyushu · Beppu and Yufuin

Myoban Onsen

A hillside hot-spring village where bath salts are made in thatched huts. Known for milky-white water and pudding steamed over the springs.

PlacesKyushu · Kagoshima

Ibusuki sand baths

You are buried in beach sand heated by hot springs. You lie down in a cotton robe and staff shovel the sand over you.

PlacesKanto

Kusatsu Onsen Yubatake

PlacesChubu & Hokuriku

Gero Onsen

EventsFestivals · Fri, Jan 15 · Chubu & Hokuriku

Nozawa Onsen Dosojin Fire Festival

One of Japan's three great fire festivals: villagers attack and defend a wooden shrine with torches.

PlacesHokkaido · Hakodate

Hakodate Tropical Botanical Garden (bathing monkeys)

In winter the monkeys soak in a hot spring. Walkable from Yunokawa Onsen.

PlacesChubu & Hokuriku · Kanazawa

Yuwaku Onsen

A small hot-spring village in the hills, with a public bath for day visitors. The painter Takehisa Yumeji stayed here.

PlacesShikoku · Takamatsu

Busshozan Onsen

A day-use hot spring in an old temple town, also known for its clean modern design. A short walk from the station through old streets.

PlacesKyushu · Beppu and Yufuin

Shibaseki Onsen

A city-run hot spring in a small valley near Chinoike Jigoku, with a steam bath and an open-air bath.

PlacesHokkaido

Noboribetsu Onsen

PlacesHokkaido

Lake Toya Onsen

PlacesKyushu · Beppu and Yufuin

Chinoike Jigoku and Tatsumaki Jigoku

A pond of hot red mud and a geyser that erupts at regular intervals. They are a little apart from Kannawa, about 5 minutes by bus.

PlacesKyushu · Beppu and Yufuin

Yufuin and Yunotsubo Street

A street of shops and cafes leading from Yufuin Station toward Lake Kinrin, with Mt. Yufu rising ahead.

PlacesKyushu · Kagoshima

Sakurajima (port and Yogan Nagisa Park)

A volcano that still sends up smoke. Near the port are a visitor center and a long foot bath looking out over the sea.

PlacesKanto · Hakone

Miyanoshita

A hot-spring village that has welcomed foreign guests since the 1870s. Walk its street of antique shops, a photo studio and an old hotel.

AreasKanto

Hakone

A mountain hot-spring resort close to Tokyo. You can make a full loop by mountain railway, cable car, ropeway and a boat across Lake Ashi. Mt. Fuji appears on clear days.

AreasChubu & Hokuriku

Hida-Takayama

Streets of Edo-period merchant houses, morning markets and an old government office, all walkable from the station. Buses run to Shirakawa-go and the hot springs of Okuhida.

AreasKansai

Kobe

A port city squeezed between the sea and the mountains. Hillside Western houses, Chinatown and the harbor lights are all walkable from Sannomiya, and Arima Onsen lies just over the hills.

AreasKyushu

Beppu and Yufuin

A hot-spring city with steam rising all over town. See the colorful "hells", then soak in public baths or a sand bath. Over the mountain lies Yufuin, a quiet resort below Mt. Yufu.

Themes

Meet the animals

Deer wandering a park, monkeys in a hot spring, penguins parading over snow, giant whale sharks. A trip to meet them is worth it.

PlacesKanto · Hakone

Owakudani

A volcanic valley of rising white steam, known for black eggs boiled in the hot springs. It is closed on days when volcanic gas is strong.

PlacesShikoku · Matsuyama and Dogo Onsen

Matsuyama Castle

A castle on a hill in the middle of the city, with a keep surviving from the Edo period. It looks out over the city and the Inland Sea.

PlacesShikoku · Matsuyama and Dogo Onsen

Dogo Haikara-dori arcade and the Botchan Karakuri Clock

A covered shopping street running from the mechanical clock and foot bath by the station to the Honkan. Good for souvenirs and snacks.

PlacesShikoku · Matsuyama and Dogo Onsen

Ishiteji Temple

Temple 51 on the Shikoku pilgrimage. It has a National Treasure gate and a three-story pagoda, and you will see pilgrims in white.

PlacesShikoku · Matsuyama and Dogo Onsen

Bansuiso Villa and Saka no Ue no Kumo Museum

A French-style villa from the 1920s at the foot of the castle hill. In front of it stands a museum designed by Tadao Ando.

PlacesShikoku · Matsuyama and Dogo Onsen

Okaido and Gintengai arcades

Two covered shopping streets joined in an L shape in the center of Matsuyama, with restaurants serving local dishes such as tai-meshi.

PlacesShikoku · Matsuyama and Dogo Onsen

Isaniwa Shrine

A red shrine at the top of a long flight of stone steps, built in the rare Hachiman-zukuri style. About 5 minutes from Dogo Onsen Station.

PlacesShikoku · Matsuyama and Dogo Onsen

Dogo Park (Yuzuki Castle Ruins)

A park on the site of a medieval castle. The moats and earthworks remain and samurai houses have been rebuilt. Known for cherry blossoms.

PlacesShikoku · Matsuyama and Dogo Onsen

Shimonada Station

A tiny unstaffed station whose platform looks straight out to sea. Famous for sunsets. Trains are few, so check the return times.

PlacesKyushu · Beppu and Yufuin

Lake Kinrin

A small lake at the end of Yunotsubo Street. Hot springs rise from the bottom, so mist drifts over it on cold autumn and winter mornings.

EventsSnow & ice · Sat, Jan 30 – Tue, Feb 23 · Hokkaido

Chitose–Lake Shikotsu Ice Festival 2027

Ice sculptures made by spraying lake water, blue by day and lit in color at night.

PlacesTohoku · Sendai

Akiu Great Falls

A broad, powerful waterfall further up the valley from Akiu Onsen. A path leads down to the basin. Buses are infrequent.

PlacesShikoku · Matsuyama and Dogo Onsen

Matsuyama Castle Ninomaru Historical Garden

A garden on the site of the lord's residence. Flowing water and plantings trace the layout of the old rooms.

PlacesShikoku · Matsuyama and Dogo Onsen

Mitsuhama (Mitsu ferry crossing)

A harbor town with old merchant houses. A tiny ferry crosses the inlet, and the local okonomiyaki, Mitsuhama-yaki, is the thing to eat.

PlacesShikoku · Matsuyama and Dogo Onsen

Baishinji Station

A station whose platform runs right beside the beach. It appeared in the TV drama "Tokyo Love Story".

PlacesShikoku · Matsuyama and Dogo Onsen

Tobe pottery town (Tobe-yaki Traditional Industry Hall)

The home of Tobe ware, white porcelain painted in indigo. You can visit kiln shops and try painting a piece yourself.

PlacesShikoku · Matsuyama and Dogo Onsen

Uchiko old town

A town that grew rich on vegetable wax. A street of cream- and white-walled merchant houses and an old kabuki theater remain.