Public bathhouse · Open
Shirasagi-no-yu
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- ¥470checked 2026-10-09
- Hours
- 10:00–20:45checked 2026-10-09
Photo information
Save to passport
Official classification
Spring type (therapeutic classes)
Official spring-type name (as recorded)Alkaline simple hot spring
- Source temperature
- 84°C
- pH
- 9
- Flow rate
- Unconfirmed
- Radon
- Unconfirmed
Appearance & feel
Water colour · Feel
ClearSilky / slippery
Colour and feel are listed only where a source states them. They vary by day and by bath.
What makes it special
Alkaline water above pH 9 is piped at 55 °C to inns across town, and nine free foot baths within walking distance of the station let you feel the 'slippery' water without even undressing.
Facilities in this area
Facilities come from the register (Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, official sites). Those marked "natural spring unconfirmed" are listed on the basis of their name only.
Day-use bath · Open
Kur Garden open-air bath
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- ¥700checked 2026-10-09
- Hours
- 8:00–20:45checked 2026-10-09
Day-use bath · Open
Saiwai-no-yu
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- ¥470checked 2026-10-09
- Hours
- 平日 12:00–21:00 / 土日祝 11:00–21:00checked 2026-10-09
Foot bath · Open
Funsen-chi pool and Sagi-no-ashiyu foot baths
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- ¥0checked 2026-10-09
- Hours
- 鷺の足湯 24時間checked 2026-10-09
Baths2
| Type | Gender | Source | Bath temperature | Free-flowing | Added water | Heated | Recirculated | Disinfected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foot bath | Mixed | Gero Onsen | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed[13] | Unconfirmed[13] | Unconfirmed[13] | Unconfirmed[13] | Unconfirmed[13] |
| Foot bath | Mixed | Gero Onsen | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed[5][10] | Unconfirmed[5][10] | Unconfirmed[5][10] | Unconfirmed[5][10] | Unconfirmed[5][10] |
Getting there
Reachable by public transport
The town is a walk from Gero Station on the JR Takayama Line: about 1 h 30 min from Nagoya by the Hida limited express, about 3 h 30 min from Osaka. A reserved direct bus runs Nagoya–Gero (3,700 yen return). Shirasagi-no-yu is about 7 minutes' walk from the station, Saiwai-no-yu about 4.
- Getting there
- Gero Station · 7
- Through the year
- During the Asian Games (Sept–Oct 2026) the Nagoya direct-bus stop moves. An accommodation tax of 100–200 yen per person per night applies from October 2025
- Checked
- 2026-10-09
About the water
Gero's water is an alkaline simple spring. Its pH of 9 or more gives the soap-like slipperiness typical of alkaline water, hence the nickname 'beauty bath'. The source reaches 84 °C; since 1974 the city has managed the supply centrally and pipes it to the inns at 55 °C. It is clear with only a faint scent, and as a low-mineral simple spring it is mild enough for long soaks. The city and tourism association list rheumatism, movement disorders and fatigue recovery among its benefits; we treat these as posted indications only.
Indications (as posted on the analysis)
Rheumatism, movement disorders, nervous conditions, nerve paralysis, convalescence, fatigue recovery (as posted by Gero City and the association)
Indications are an official statement based on the water analysis, not a guarantee of treatment. They are kept separate from opinions.
| Source | Source temperature | pH | Radon | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gero Onsen (centrally managed supply) | 84 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
Three things not to miss
Photo information
The foot-bath circuit (Sagi-no-ashiyu and others)
Across the town, 4–10 minutes' walk from Gero Station Sagi-no-ashiyu, the first foot bath (2000), is a roofed cypress bath open 24 hours, free. Others include the Venus foot bath outside Shirasagi-no-yu (10:00–21:00), Yuamiya's (9:00–18:30) and Ta-no-kami by the city hall (24 hours). The riverside Funsen-chi pool has been a foot bath only since December 2021.
Gero's signature is the slippery feel of alkaline water. Your feet can tell, so you can experience one of Japan's 'three famous springs' without booking a room.[5][6][13]
Photo information
Shirasagi-no-yu public bath
Yunoshima, about 7 minutes' walk from the station A white Romanesque-style building with a cypress indoor bath and a rest room. 470 yen adults, 180 yen children; 10:00–20:45 (last entry 20:00); closed Wednesdays (Fridays when Wednesday is a holiday).
The most central of Gero's three public bathhouses (with Saiwai-no-yu and Kur Garden), and named for the white heron that, in legend, revealed the spring.[7][13]
The yumeguri tegata pass for inn baths
Member inns; sold at souvenir shops, convenience stores and the information office A wooden pass from the ryokan cooperative: 2,500 yen (tax included) for baths at any three member inns, valid six months from purchase. Some inns limit it to weekdays or change hours at weekends, and may refuse entry when busy.
Because the water is centrally managed and piped to every inn, the pass is less about comparing waters than comparing bathhouses, views of the river and architecture.[8][3]
The story
The spring that moved from the mountaintop to the riverbed
Gero's spring is said to have been discovered on the summit of Mt Yugamine in the mid-tenth century. In 1265 the summit flow stopped and hot water was found instead on the bed of the Hida River where the town now stands. The legend of the white heron dates from this moment: the Buddha of healing, Yakushi, took the form of a heron, bathed its wounds in the river and showed the villagers where the water rose. The Shirasagi-no-yu bathhouse and Sagi-no-ashiyu foot bath both take their names ('shirasagi', 'sagi' = heron) from the story.[3][13]
The 'three famous springs'
The Muromachi-period Zen monk Banri Shukyu named Gero alongside Kusatsu and Arima in his poetry, and the Edo-period Confucian scholar Hayashi Razan wrote of the three as 'the finest springs under heaven'. Those two texts are the basis for the 'three famous springs of Japan' label, and a stone in town marks the claim. The opening of Gero Station in 1930 with the Takayama Line, and later of Route 41, turned a riverbed cure resort into a town of some 70 inns.[3][6]
One supply for the whole town
Since 1974 Gero City has managed its hot water centrally, cooling water that reaches 84 °C at source to 55 °C and piping it to every inn. The water is an alkaline simple spring with a pH of 9 or more; alkalinity has a soap-like effect on the skin's surface, which is why people call it 'slippery' and a 'beauty bath'. Since every inn receives the same water, in Gero the fun is in the bathhouses themselves rather than in hunting for different sources.[3][6]
Start with your feet
The first foot bath, Sagi-no-ashiyu, opened in 2000; today nine free foot baths are scattered from the city hall to the Gassho-mura folk village, all on foot from the station. The Funsen-chi pool on the riverbed, built in 1983 and long famous as a free open-air bath, became a foot bath only on 1 December 2021. There are three public bathhouses, Shirasagi-no-yu (470 yen), Saiwai-no-yu (470 yen) and Kur Garden (700 yen), all within ten minutes' walk of the station. With Nagoya only an hour and a half away by express, Gero works as a day trip too.[5][13][7][9][4][6]
Going solo
Easy for solo travellersUnconfirmed
Weekend / peak restrictionsUnconfirmed
Where to eat dinnerThe association's 'Gero-guru' guide lists the town's restaurants
Private bathUnconfirmed
checked 2026-10-09
Through the year
Recommended months
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Months open
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
"Recommended" and "open" are recorded separately. Check the season for seasonal springs.
Aug — Gero Onsen Festival (1–4 August); the summer 'fireworks musical' on 3 August
Dec — Winter fireworks every Saturday in December plus the 24th (30 minutes on the 24th, 15 otherwise)
Feb — 14 February: Ta-no-kami Festival (the 'flower-hat' festival, a nationally designated folk cultural property)
Mar · Apr · May · Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep · Oct · Nov · Dec — Ideyu morning market (7 March–5 December in 2026)
Food, culture & experiences
Gero Onsen Gassho-mura
A village of thatched gassho-style farmhouses moved from Shirakawa-go and elsewhere; 800 yen entry, with a foot bath inside (8:30–16:40)[5]
Walkable from the town (time not confirmed)Gero Hot Spring Museum
A museum of the science and culture of hot springs; 400 yen, with a foot bath inside (9:00–17:00)[5]
In the townGero Onsen Festival and fireworks musical
1–4 August each year, Gero's biggest summer event[11]
In the townIdeyu morning market
Local produce to pottery; 7 March–5 December in 2026[11]
In the townEditors' guide
Cross the Hida River from the station, test the water with your feet at Sagi-no-ashiyu, then bathe at Shirasagi-no-yu (closed Wed). Walk the riverbank past the Funsen-chi pool and the 'three famous springs' stone, and if time allows try Kur Garden (closed Thu). Staying overnight, buy a yumeguri pass and visit three inn baths. Saturdays in December bring fireworks.
The "editors' guide" above is written by the editors from sources; it is not a visitor's opinion.
Photo gallery
Visitor reviews
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Onsen areas nearby
Unconfirmed & notes
- The city posts pH only as '9 or above' (the association's beauty project page gives 9.18); flow rate and analysis date unconfirmed
- Shirasagi-no-yu's fee (470 yen association / 430 yen city) and Saiwai-no-yu's hours and closing days differ between association and city pages; association figures used
- Free-flow, added water, heating, recirculation, disinfection and tattoo policies not confirmed for any facility
- Solo-stay terms at inns and the frequency of the Hida express and direct bus not confirmed
Sources
- 下呂温泉観光協会 公式サイト一般社団法人下呂温泉観光協会 · 2026-10-09
- 下呂温泉旅館協同組合 公式サイト下呂温泉旅館協同組合 · 2026-10-09
- 下呂温泉の紹介(下呂市)下呂市 · 2026-10-09
- 下呂温泉の日帰り入浴施設(下呂市)下呂市 · 2026-10-09
- 足湯案内(下呂温泉旅館協同組合)下呂温泉旅館協同組合 · 2026-10-09
- 下呂温泉(観光協会 観る・あそぶ)下呂温泉観光協会 · 2026-10-09
- 白鷺乃湯(観光協会 観る・あそぶ)下呂温泉観光協会 · 2026-10-09
- 湯めぐり手形(下呂温泉旅館協同組合)下呂温泉旅館協同組合 · 2026-10-09
- 幸乃湯(観光協会 観る・あそぶ)下呂温泉観光協会 · 2026-10-09
- 鷺の足湯(観光協会 観る・あそぶ)下呂温泉観光協会 · 2026-10-09
- イベント(下呂温泉観光協会)下呂温泉観光協会 · 2026-10-09
- 下呂温泉 駐車場案内(PDF)下呂温泉旅館協同組合 · 2026-10-09
- 下呂温泉 - WikipediaWikipedia · 2026-10-09
Register sources
- 下呂温泉 - Wikipedia(日本語版)Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-10-09
- Wikidata Q11360701Wikidata · CC0 · 2026-10-09
Data status
Name & locationPublishedCoordinatesPublishedSpring typePublishedPhotosPublishedFacilitiesPublishedVisiting info (dated)PublishedEditorial articlePublished
Updated 2026-10-09
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