,_Noboribetsu_Onsen,_Hokkaido,_April_2023_03.jpg){kind=link}
Chatama (talk) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Kawayu Onsen
川湯温泉
Hokkaido · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 2
AcidicSulfurIronSulfateChloride
Water acidic enough to corrode a nail runs as an open river through the middle of town.
Seven ways in
Calistemon · CC BY-SA 4.0
01
Search by map
A map of all 47 prefectures; zoom in to see areas and bathhouses
umomon pikakey from Japan. · CC BY-SA 3.0
02
Search by the water you like
Milky white, radon, carbonated, free-flowing — choose by the water's character
takacchi · CC BY-SA 3.0
03
Search by season
Snow, fresh green, autumn leaves, fireworks — where to go right now
lumoplank · CC0
04
Tour the 100
The editors' 100 springs for understanding Japan
Yuichi Kosio from Tokyo, Japan · CC BY 2.0
05
Going solo
Solo stays, day-use, walking from the station — check the conditions
Aspere · CC0
06
Food & culture
Maiko, classical dance, fireworks, wine and sushi with your bath
663highland · CC BY 2.5
07
Japan & the world
Naked in Japan, swimsuits elsewhere — compare bathing cultures
Onsen with in-depth articles
Chatama (talk) · CC BY-SA 3.0
663highland · CC BY 2.5
Tokachigawa Onsen
十勝川温泉
Hokkaido · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 6
ChlorideBicarbonate
Not volcanic heat but ancient plants: the brown, silky 'moor' spring that defines the type in Japan.
切干大根 · CC BY-SA 4.0
Toyotomi Onsen
豊富温泉
Hokkaido · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 5
IodineChlorideBicarbonate
They drilled for oil and struck hot water: an amber, petrol-scented spring that draws long-stay bathers from all over Japan.
Calistemon · CC BY-SA 4.0
Noboribetsu Onsen
登別温泉
Hokkaido · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 1
SulfurChlorideSulfateIronAcidicBicarbonateRadon
Ten thousand tonnes of water a day and nine kinds of spring, all boiling out of a single valley called Hell.
Soica2001 (talk) · Public domain
Marukoma Onsen
丸駒温泉
Hokkaido · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 4
ChlorideBicarbonateSulfate
The bath is exactly as deep as Lake Shikotsu is high that day: an open-air tub joined to the lake.
OraMAAG · CC BY 4.0
Yunokawa Onsen
湯の川温泉
Hokkaido · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 7
Chloride
Five minutes from the airport, at the end of the tram line: a spring of 4,861 litres a minute in the middle of a working port city.
Soica2001 (talk) · Public domain
Karurusu Onsen
カルルス温泉
Hokkaido · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 8
Simple
Named after a Bohemian spa, Karurusu was Hokkaido's first National Recuperation Hot Spring Area: a quiet, clear-water place for long stays.
Highten31 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Niseko Onsenkyō
ニセコ温泉郷
Hokkaido · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 3
SulfurIronChlorideSimple
Seven of Japan's ten official spring types lie scattered across a single mountain range at Niseko.
100 Onsen to Know Japan
Calistemon · CC BY-SA 4.0
01
Noboribetsu Onsen
登別温泉
Hokkaido · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 1
SulfurChlorideSulfateIronAcidicBicarbonateRadon
Ten thousand tonnes of water a day and nine kinds of spring, all boiling out of a single valley called Hell.
Chatama (talk) · CC BY-SA 3.0
02
Kawayu Onsen
川湯温泉
Hokkaido · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 2
AcidicSulfurIronSulfateChloride
Water acidic enough to corrode a nail runs as an open river through the middle of town.
Highten31 · CC BY-SA 3.0
03
Niseko Onsenkyō
ニセコ温泉郷
Hokkaido · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 3
SulfurIronChlorideSimple
Seven of Japan's ten official spring types lie scattered across a single mountain range at Niseko.
Soica2001 (talk) · Public domain
04
Marukoma Onsen
丸駒温泉
Hokkaido · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 4
ChlorideBicarbonateSulfate
The bath is exactly as deep as Lake Shikotsu is high that day: an open-air tub joined to the lake.
切干大根 · CC BY-SA 4.0
05
Toyotomi Onsen
豊富温泉
Hokkaido · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 5
IodineChlorideBicarbonate
They drilled for oil and struck hot water: an amber, petrol-scented spring that draws long-stay bathers from all over Japan.
663highland · CC BY 2.5
06
Tokachigawa Onsen
十勝川温泉
Hokkaido · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 6
ChlorideBicarbonate
Not volcanic heat but ancient plants: the brown, silky 'moor' spring that defines the type in Japan.
OraMAAG · CC BY 4.0
07
Yunokawa Onsen
湯の川温泉
Hokkaido · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 7
Chloride
Five minutes from the airport, at the end of the tram line: a spring of 4,861 litres a minute in the middle of a working port city.
Soica2001 (talk) · Public domain
08
Karurusu Onsen
カルルス温泉
Hokkaido · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 8
Simple
Named after a Bohemian spa, Karurusu was Hokkaido's first National Recuperation Hot Spring Area: a quiet, clear-water place for long stays.
ゆ＾ω＾び · CC BY-SA 2.1 jp
09
Sukayu Onsen
酸ヶ湯
Aomori · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 9
AcidicSulfur
A 160-tatami bathhouse of hiba cypress without a single pillar, where men and women share acidic water under Japan's deepest snow.
張振 · CC BY-SA 3.0
10
Tsuta Onsen
蔦温泉
Aomori · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 10
SulfateBicarbonateChloride
The spring bubbles up between the floorboards of the bath itself: a thousand-year-old hot spring at a lone inn in a beech forest.
ブルーノ・プラス · CC BY 4.0
11
Asamushi Onsen
浅虫温泉
Aomori · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 11
SulfateChloride
Twenty-five minutes by local train from Aomori, you step off the platform straight into a hot-spring town with Mutsu Bay at your feet.
おにく · CC0
12
Furofushi Onsen
黄金崎不老不死温泉
Aomori · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 12
ChlorideIron
A rust-brown pool cut into the rocks at the very edge of the Sea of Japan, with nothing between you and the sunset.
Onsen for this season
Recommended in Oct
Chatama (talk) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Kawayu Onsen
川湯温泉
Hokkaido · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 2
AcidicSulfurIronSulfateChloride
Water acidic enough to corrode a nail runs as an open river through the middle of town.
663highland · CC BY 2.5
Tokachigawa Onsen
十勝川温泉
Hokkaido · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 6
ChlorideBicarbonate
Not volcanic heat but ancient plants: the brown, silky 'moor' spring that defines the type in Japan.
Calistemon · CC BY-SA 4.0
Noboribetsu Onsen
登別温泉
Hokkaido · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 1
SulfurChlorideSulfateIronAcidicBicarbonateRadon
Ten thousand tonnes of water a day and nine kinds of spring, all boiling out of a single valley called Hell.
Soica2001 (talk) · Public domain
Marukoma Onsen
丸駒温泉
Hokkaido · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 4
ChlorideBicarbonateSulfate
The bath is exactly as deep as Lake Shikotsu is high that day: an open-air tub joined to the lake.
OraMAAG · CC BY 4.0
Yunokawa Onsen
湯の川温泉
Hokkaido · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 7
Chloride
Five minutes from the airport, at the end of the tram line: a spring of 4,861 litres a minute in the middle of a working port city.
Soica2001 (talk) · Public domain
Karurusu Onsen
カルルス温泉
Hokkaido · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 8
Simple
Named after a Bohemian spa, Karurusu was Hokkaido's first National Recuperation Hot Spring Area: a quiet, clear-water place for long stays.
Highten31 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Niseko Onsenkyō
ニセコ温泉郷
Hokkaido · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 3
SulfurIronChlorideSimple
Seven of Japan's ten official spring types lie scattered across a single mountain range at Niseko.
おにく · CC0
Furofushi Onsen
黄金崎不老不死温泉
Aomori · 100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 12
ChlorideIron
A rust-brown pool cut into the rocks at the very edge of the Sea of Japan, with nothing between you and the sunset.
Learn about onsen
What is an onsen?
Not every warm pool that rises from the ground is an onsen. Japan has a legal definition — and under it, even cold water can be an onsen.
How many onsen does Japan have?
"2,839 onsen areas." "27,899 spring sources." Familiar numbers — but what they count changes everything.
Onsen area, source and facility — what's the difference?
"Going to Kusatsu Onsen" involves a town (the area), a spring called Yubatake (the source), the inn you stay in (the facility) and its open-air bath (the bath). They are four different things.
The ten therapeutic spring types
A spring type is the name of what is dissolved in the water. There are ten, from "simple" to "radioactive". Knowing how each tends to look, smell and feel changes how you choose.
What is a radon spring?
"Radioactive spring" sounds alarming, yet these waters have been used for therapeutic stays in Japan for centuries. What is radon, how much is there, and how do you bathe in it?
What is kakenagashi (free-flowing) bathing?
Fresh spring water flows into the tub, and whatever overflows is simply let go. Simple — but only possible when flow and temperature allow. We also sort out how it differs from "100% source water".
Browse by region
Hokkaido182
Hokuriku & Koshinetsu429
Tokai181
Shikoku66
Kyushu & Okinawa205
What this atlas holds
1,918Onsen areas
2,006Facilities
99In-depth articles
1,158With photos
251Under review
These are the numbers this atlas has collected and checked by name — not the total number of hot springs in Japan. Official statistics (Ministry of the Environment, FY2024) count 2,839 onsen areas, 27,899 spring sources, 13,425 onsen lodgings and 7,721 onsen public baths.
See the national register