Official classification
Official spring-type name (as recorded)Sodium chloride spring (weak saline). Saraku's listing: chloride spring, colourless and clear, strongly salty, odourless
Appearance & feel
Colour and feel are listed only where a source states them. They vary by day and by bath.
What makes it special
In Ibusuki you lie down in your yukata on the beach and are buried in sand warmed by hot spring water rising from below.
The Ibusuki tourism site explains that at Saraku you are buried right at the water's edge at spring low tide, or under a roof at high tide and in bad weather, and that the source is over 80 °C, so steam rises from the beach as the tide goes out.[1]
Facilities come from the register (Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, official sites). Those marked "natural spring unconfirmed" are listed on the basis of their name only.
| Type | Gender | Source | Bath temperature | Free-flowing | Added water | Heated | Recirculated | Disinfected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open-air bath | Unconfirmed | Chloride spring | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed[1] | Unconfirmed[1] | Unconfirmed[1] | Unconfirmed[1] | Unconfirmed[1] |
| Indoor bath | Separate | Chloride spring | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed[1] | Unconfirmed[1] | Unconfirmed[1] | Yes[1] | Unconfirmed[1] |
From JR Kagoshima-Chuo Station the Ibusuki-Makurazaki Line takes about an hour to Ibusuki Station. Saraku is 5 minutes by bus (Sunamushi Kaikan-mae stop, right outside) or about 20 minutes on foot. A direct bus from Kagoshima Airport takes about 1 h 35 min.
Ibusuki's water is a salty sodium chloride spring; at Saraku it is listed as clear, strongly salty and odourless, 84.7 °C at the source. According to Wikipedia there are around 500 active sources producing about 120,000 tonnes a day, rainwater from Lake Ikeda and Lake Unagi mixing underground with seawater from Kagoshima Bay. The tourism association suggests towelling off without rinsing to keep the moisturising effect. Saraku lists indications such as stiff shoulders, back pain, neuralgia and poor circulation; we make no medical claims. Some town baths, like Muranoyu, have alkaline alum water instead.
Listed at Saraku: stiff shoulders, back pain, neuralgia, poor circulation, atopic skin, asthma, beauty and others
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saraku source | 84.7 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
| Yajigayu | 50 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
| Muranoyu (alkaline alum spring) | 75 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
On Surigahama beach, 5 minutes by bus from JR Ibusuki Station Ibusuki's largest sand-bath facility. You put on a yukata, lie in the warm sand, then rinse off in the main baths. Adults 1,500 yen including sand bath and yukata; 8:30–21:00 (last admission 20:00).
At spring low tide you are buried at the real water's edge, feeling the weight and warmth of the sand with the waves in your ears, an experience you get nowhere else.[1]
Surigahama The source runs above 80 °C, so as the tide falls steam drifts up from the sand. Ibusuki's water rises close to the sea and is a sodium chloride spring.
The link between sea and spring is written on the beach itself. Take a walk along the shore before or after your sand bath.[1][4]
Around Ibusuki town Yajigayu, founded in 1892, has two free-flowing sources: Yajigayu, which cannot be diluted, and Daikoku-yu, which can (adults 400 yen). Muranoyu has alkaline alum water, costs 350 yen and opens every day.
Beyond the sand baths, these are the everyday baths of local people for a few hundred yen. Muranoyu also records that in 1945 airmen bathed here before flying kamikaze missions.[2][3]
According to the Ibusuki tourism association, sand-bath healing has a long history: the Satsuma domain's gazetteer Sangoku Meisho Zue, compiled in 1843, already praised it. You lie down in a yukata and are covered with sand raked to the right temperature, an experience quite unlike soaking in a tub.[1][4]
According to Wikipedia, Ibusuki's springs are rainwater from Lake Ikeda and Lake Unagi that mixes underground with seawater from Kagoshima Bay, heated by magma linked to the Ata Caldera. Around 500 sources yield about 120,000 tonnes a day. In the Edo era this was marshland dotted with springs, and serious drilling began around 1919.[4]
Ibusuki was home to a naval air base. Muranoyu's notice records that around May 1945, airmen bathed here to purify themselves before flying kamikaze missions against the fleet off Okinawa. The town's public bath keeps a memory far from the sand-bath brochures.[3]
checked 2026-10-09
"Recommended" and "open" are recorded separately. Check the season for seasonal springs.
Jan · Feb · Mar · Apr · May · Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep · Oct · Nov · Dec — At spring low tide the sand bath is at the water's edge; at high tide or in bad weather it moves under the roof. Check the tide times
Jul · Dec — Saraku closes for maintenance at some point in July and December
Sand baths facing Mt Kaimon and the East China Sea. Adults 1,100 yen, 8:30–17:00, closed Wednesdays; free-flowing indoor baths too[6]
20 minutes by bus from JR Yamakawa StationAn old spa village on Lake Unagi where you can cook in sume, natural ovens powered by spring steam[7]
About 20 minutes by car from JR Ibusuki StationTake the bus from Ibusuki Station to Saraku, and if you can, time it for a spring low tide so you are buried at the water's edge. Afterwards, towel off without rinsing away the salty water. With more time, try a local bath at Yajigayu or Muranoyu. Note that Saraku stops admissions from 12:00 to 13:00 on weekdays.
The "editors' guide" above is written by the editors from sources; it is not a visitor's opinion.
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Ibusuki Onsen (指宿温泉) is a group of hot springs in the east of Ibusuki, Kagoshima in Japan. It is known for hot spring-heated sand bathing which allegedly has therapeutic effects. 90% of the water is used for industry.
This overview is based on the lead section of the English Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA 4.0). View original page
Updated 2026-10-09
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