Public bathhouse · Open
Hirayu-no-yu (Hirayu Folk Museum)
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- ¥0checked 2026-10-09
- Hours
- 夏期 6:00–21:00 / 冬期 8:00–19:00checked 2026-10-09
Photo information
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Official classification
Spring type (therapeutic classes)
Official spring-type name (as recorded)Bicarbonate, simple, chloride and sulfur springs, varying by source. Hirayu-no-mori: calcium–sodium–magnesium bicarbonate and chloride spring
- Source temperature
- 90°C
- pH
- Unconfirmed
- Flow rate
- 13,000 L/min
- Radon
- Unconfirmed
Appearance & feel
Water colour · Feel
ClearBrownGreenMilky white
Colour and feel are listed only where a source states them. They vary by day and by bath.
What makes it special
Some forty sources pour out 8,600 litres a minute, and right by the bus terminal are a donation-only bath and a complex of sixteen open-air pools.
Why?
The Hirayu ryokan cooperative posts about 40 wells and sources and a flow of 8,600 litres a minute. The public bath Hirayu-no-yu is by donation; Hirayu-no-mori charges 700 yen for sixteen open-air pools of differing water and temperature. Hirayu Bus Terminal gathers buses from Takayama, Matsumoto and Shinjuku and the shuttles to Kamikochi and Norikura.[2][3][5]
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
Hirayu-no-mori
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- ¥700checked 2026-10-09
- Hours
- 10:00–21:00checked 2026-10-09
Public bathhouse · Suspended
Kami-no-yu
- Day-use bathing
- No
- Fee
- Unconfirmedno check date
- Hours
- Unconfirmedchecked 2026-10-09
Getting there
Reachable by public transport
From JR Takayama, about 1 hour by Nohi bus (bound for Shinhotaka) to Hirayu Bus Terminal. From Matsumoto, about 1 h 40 min by Alpico express (7 a day). Express coaches from Shinjuku take about 4 h 35 min; from Nagoya, the Hida express to Takayama (about 2 h 16 min) then the bus.
- Getting there
- Takayama Station (Nohi Bus Centre) · 60
- Getting there
- About 15 Takayama–Shinhotaka buses a day via Hirayu; 7 a day from Matsumoto
- Through the year
- Kamikochi shuttle 17 April–15 November (2026). Winter tyres essential; some Hirayu-no-mori pools close in winter
- Checked
- 2026-10-09
About the water
Hirayu has about 40 wells and sources; the cooperative's table gives temperatures from roughly 21 to 98 °C and flows from 13.4 to 700 litres a minute per source. Water types range across bicarbonate, simple, chloride and sulfur springs, so baths vary from clear to brown, greenish or milky depending on the inn. The heat comes from two active volcanoes, Yakedake and Norikura. Hirayu-no-mori's own source is a 67.7 °C calcium–sodium–magnesium bicarbonate-chloride spring, used without recirculation or chlorine and cooled with stream water. The cooperative says the waters 'are held to help' with digestive and rheumatic complaints; read that as posted indications, not a promise.
Indications (as posted on the analysis)
Digestive disorders, rheumatic conditions, nervous complaints, skin conditions, varying by spring type (as posted by the cooperative)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hirayu Onsen (about 40 sources, range posted by the cooperative) | 98 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
| Hirayu-no-mori source | 67.7 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
Three things not to miss
Hirayu-no-yu at the Hirayu Folk Museum
In the village, on the grounds of the folk museum Pay what you wish. Summer 6:00–21:00, winter 8:00–19:00, open daily. The Okuhida association lists it as a simple hot spring.
The oldest spring in Okuhida, recorded in the late-Edo gazetteer 'Hishu-shi', still open as a village bath, set among relocated old farmhouses such as the city-designated Toyosaka house.[3][4][2][9]
Hirayu-no-mori
A short walk from the bus terminal Sixteen open-air pools (7 men's, 9 women's) of differing water and temperature. Free-flowing source water with no recirculation or chlorine; the 67.7 °C source is cooled with stream water, not heated. 700 yen adults, 500 children; 10:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30), open daily bar maintenance. Some pools close in winter. Also an inn; room-only stays all year.
The one place to compare Hirayu's range of waters (clear, brown, greenish, milky) side by side, and the best-equipped day-use bath in the village.[6][7][3][4]
Photo information
Hirayu Bus Terminal and the road to Kamikochi and Norikura
Village centre About 1 hour from Takayama by Nohi bus, 1 h 40 min from Matsumoto by Alpico (7 a day), 4 h 35 min from Shinjuku by express coach. Shuttles to Kamikochi take about 30 minutes (1,500 yen one way; 17 April–15 November in 2026) and to Mt Norikura about 60 minutes. There is a foot bath too.
Both Kamikochi and Norikura are closed to private cars, so everyone changes at Hirayu. This is the hinge that makes a car-free tour of Alpine hot springs possible.[5][8][10][4]
The story
The bath a white monkey revealed
In the Warring States era, when Takeda Shingen's general Yamagata Masakage crossed the pass to attack Hida, his soldiers were overcome by poisonous mist. An old white monkey appeared and led them to a hot pool by the road, where their strength returned. That is Hirayu's founding legend; the cooperative also tells of a proud mountain ascetic who leapt into a scalding pool and could not climb out, now called 'Yamabushi-no-yu'. The late-Edo gazetteer 'Hishu-shi' includes a 'Record of Hirayu Hot Spring', and daimyo from the Hokuriku coast stopped here on their journeys to Edo. It is counted the oldest spring in Okuhida.[17][2][4]
Forty sources, four kinds of water
Hirayu has about 40 wells and sources. The cooperative's table lists temperatures from roughly 21 to 98 °C and flows from 13.4 to 700 litres a minute each, 8,600 litres a minute in all, heated by the active volcanoes Yakedake and Norikura. The water falls into bicarbonate, simple, chloride and sulfur types, so the colour in the tub, clear, brown, greenish or milky, depends on which inn you are in. Hirayu was designated a National Health Resort Hot Spring on 11 June 1964.[2][16][9]
A donation bath and sixteen pools
There are two easy ways in for day visitors. Hirayu-no-yu at the folk museum is a village bath open by donation, from 6:00 in summer and 8:00 in winter. Hirayu-no-mori charges 700 yen for sixteen open-air pools (seven men's, nine women's) of differing water and temperature; its 67.7 °C source is too hot to use neat, so stream water is added, but there is no recirculation, chlorine or heating. Kami-no-yu, held to be the original bath of Hirayu, is currently closed.[3][7][9]
The town where everyone changes buses
Buses reach Hirayu Bus Terminal in about an hour from Takayama, 1 h 40 min from Matsumoto (seven a day) and 4 h 35 min from Shinjuku. Because private cars are banned from Kamikochi and Mt Norikura, this is where everyone changes to the shuttles: about 30 minutes and 1,500 yen one way to Kamikochi (17 April–15 November in 2026), about 60 minutes to Norikura. Whether heading up the mountain or down, you get off at Hirayu, so there is never any need for an excuse to stop for a bath.[5][10][8][11]
Going solo
Easy for solo travellersYes
Weekend / peak restrictionsUnconfirmed
Where to eat dinnerThe cooperative site has a 'Where to eat' list
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.
Feb — Hirayu Great Falls ice festival (15–25 February): the 64 m waterfall freezes
Dec · Jan · Feb · Mar — The ski area opens on the third Sunday of December. Some Hirayu-no-mori pools close; Hirayu-no-yu runs 8:00–19:00
Apr · May · Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep · Oct · Nov — Kamikochi shuttle season (17 April–15 November 2026)
Jun — 26 June: Open-Air Bath Day
Aug — Hirayu Enman festival (early August)
Oct — Autumn colour early–late October, best at Hirayu Great Falls
Food, culture & experiences
Hirayu Great Falls
64 m high and 6 m wide, one of Hida's three great waterfalls; autumn colour and the February ice festival[12][11]
From the village (time not confirmed)Hirayu Folk Museum and Okuhida Visitor Centre
Relocated farmhouses with the Hirayu-no-yu bath, and the national-park visitor centre[13][9]
In the villageKamikochi
About 1,500 m up, with Taisho Pond and trails along the Azusa River; private cars banned, so bus or taxi only[10][8]
About 30 minutes by shuttle from Hirayu, 1,500 yen one wayMt Norikura
3,026 m; buses and taxis climb the Norikura Skyline to near the summit[10]
About 60 minutes by bus from HirayuHirayu Onsen ski area
Beginner to advanced runs; opens the third Sunday of December[12][11]
Just above the villageEditors' guide
Arriving by bus from Takayama, start with the foot bath near the terminal. Work through the sixteen pools at Hirayu-no-mori, and next morning drop a donation at Hirayu-no-yu before the Kamikochi shuttle. In February, see the frozen falls.
The "editors' guide" above is written by the editors from sources; it is not a visitor's opinion.
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Overview
平湯温泉（ひらゆおんせん）は、岐阜県高山市の奥飛騨温泉郷にある温泉。
This overview is based on the lead section of the Japanese Wikipedia article "平湯温泉" (CC BY-SA 4.0). View original page
Unconfirmed & notes
- pH and analysis sheets not read. Flow is 8,600 L/min on the cooperative site but about 13,000 on Wikipedia; the cooperative's figure is used
- Hirayu-no-mori's child fee is 500 yen on its own site and 400 on the cooperative page; Hirayu-no-yu's free-flow notice not confirmed
- Takayama–Hirayu fare, walking times from the terminal and distance to the falls not confirmed
- Solo terms at inns other than Hirayu-no-mori, and tattoo policies, not confirmed
Sources
- 平湯温泉旅館協同組合 公式サイト平湯温泉旅館協同組合 · 2026-10-09
- 平湯温泉について(泉質・源泉・歴史)平湯温泉旅館協同組合 · 2026-10-09
- 公共の場(平湯の湯・神の湯・ひらゆの森・足湯)平湯温泉旅館協同組合 · 2026-10-09
- 温泉情報(源泉一覧)平湯温泉旅館協同組合 · 2026-10-09
- 奥飛騨温泉郷観光協会 温泉奥飛騨温泉郷観光協会 · 2026-10-09
- アクセス(平湯温泉旅館協同組合)平湯温泉旅館協同組合 · 2026-10-09
- ひらゆの森 公式サイトひらゆの森 · 2026-10-09
- ひらゆの森 温泉ひらゆの森 · 2026-10-09
- 濃飛バス 上高地線濃飛乗合自動車 · 2026-10-09
- 平湯温泉 - WikipediaWikipedia · 2026-10-09
- 平湯の伝説平湯温泉旅館協同組合 · 2026-10-09
- 周辺観光(上高地・乗鞍)平湯温泉旅館協同組合 · 2026-10-09
- イベント一覧平湯温泉旅館協同組合 · 2026-10-09
- 遊ぶ(平湯大滝・スキー場ほか)平湯温泉旅館協同組合 · 2026-10-09
- 知る(民俗館・ビジターセンターほか)平湯温泉旅館協同組合 · 2026-10-09
- アルピコ交通 松本〜高山線アルピコ交通 · 2026-10-09
- 濃飛バス 新穂高線濃飛乗合自動車 · 2026-10-09
Register sources
- 平湯温泉 - Wikipedia(日本語版)Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-10-09
- Wikidata Q11483231Wikidata · CC0 · 2026-10-09
Data status
Name & locationPublishedCoordinatesPublishedSpring typePublishedPhotosPublishedFacilitiesPublishedVisiting info (dated)PublishedEditorial articlePublished
Updated 2026-10-09
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