Day-use bath · Open
Taka-no-yu (Matsunoyama Onsen Centre)
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- ¥600checked 2026-10-09
- Hours
- 11:00–20:00checked 2026-10-09
Photo information
Save to passport
Official classification
Spring type (therapeutic classes)
Official spring-type name (as recorded)Sodium-calcium chloride spring (hypertonic, mildly alkaline, high temperature)
- Source temperature
- 88.7°C
- pH
- Unconfirmed
- Flow rate
- 943 L/min
- Radon
- Unconfirmed
Appearance & feel
Water colour · Feel
Unconfirmed
Colour and feel are listed only where a source states them. They vary by day and by bath.
What makes it special
Seawater trapped twelve million years ago comes back up heated to 88°C, salty enough to make salt, in a valley buried in snow.
Why?
The Matsunoyama community site gives 88.7°C for the blended Taka-no-yu sources and 16,257 mg/kg of dissolved solids, about 16 times the legal threshold, describing the water as roughly twelve-million-year-old fossil seawater. Wikipedia notes that salt was extracted from it during the war and that snow here can exceed four metres.[1][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
Nastview Yunoyama
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- ¥800checked 2026-10-09
- Hours
- 10:00–21:00checked 2026-10-09
Getting there
Reachable by public transport
From Matsudai Station on the Hokuhoku line, the Tokei bus to Matsunoyama Onsen takes 25–30 minutes (a taxi about 20). A direct bus from Tokamachi Station's east exit takes about 60 minutes. In winter a reservation-only 'Snow Country Liner' runs from Echigo-Yuzawa in about 70 minutes. Inns will arrange pick-ups when you book. By car it is about 50 minutes from the Shiozawa-Ishiuchi exit of the Kan-etsu Expressway.
- Getting there
- Matsudai Station · 30
- Through the year
- Packed snow on the roads in winter; winter tyres essential. There is no public transport from Echigo-Tazawa or Tsunan stations
- Checked
- 2026-10-09
About the water
Matsunoyama's water is a sodium-calcium chloride spring. The blended Taka-no-yu source is a scalding 88.7°C with 16,257 mg/kg of dissolved solids, about sixteen times the legal threshold for a hot spring. It is 'hypertonic', denser than body fluids, and so salty that salt was extracted from it during the war. Metaboric acid, with its disinfectant action, measures 287.4 mg/kg (said to be the highest boric-acid content in Japan), metasilicic acid 169.5 mg/kg, and there is iodine too. The community site explains the water as seawater trapped roughly twelve million years ago and heated underground; Niigata University researchers call it a 'geopressure' spring forced up by the weight of the strata. Seawater warmed by pressure and ground heat rather than by a volcano: that is Matsunoyama's defining trait. The site lists indications of cuts, poor peripheral circulation, cold sensitivity, low mood and dry skin for this water type; we make no claims. Drinking is discouraged, as no health-office licence has been obtained.
Indications (as posted on the analysis)
Community site (indications by water type): cuts, poor peripheral circulation, cold sensitivity, low mood, dry skin. Posted at Taka-no-yu: cuts, burns, chronic skin complaints, frail children, cold sensitivity, chronic gynaecological complaints 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taka-no-yu Nos. 1–3 (blended) | 88.7 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
Three things not to miss
Photo information
Try one of Japan's 'three great medicinal waters' at Taka-no-yu
Middle of the village (Yumoto 18-1) The Taka-no-yu day bathhouse has indoor and open-air baths: 600 yen for adults (500 after 17:00), 300 yen for children, 11:00–20:00 (last entry 19:30), closed Thursdays. Sodium-calcium chloride water.
The water long grouped with Kusatsu and Arima as Japan's three great medicinal springs, for a few hundred yen and no overnight stay. It is very salty and is said to keep you warm long after, even in winter.[2][3][5]
Photo information
Reading the fossil seawater
The spring analysis published on the community site The blended Taka-no-yu sources are 88.7°C with 16,257 mg/kg of dissolved solids, 287.4 mg/kg metaboric acid, 169.5 mg/kg metasilicic acid and 5.8 mg/kg iodide, classed as a 'sodium-calcium chloride spring, hypertonic, mildly alkaline, high temperature'. Niigata University researchers describe it as a 'geopressure' spring of fossil seawater some ten million years old.
The numbers explain why water near 90°C gushes out in hills with no volcano. 'Hypertonic', denser than your own body fluids, is the key to this spring's character.[1][5]
Photo information
Snow, and the groom-throwing of Little New Year
The Yakushido hall beside the village Every 15 January, grooms married in the past year are thrown down the snowy slope below the Yakushido hall (mukonage), and everyone smears each other's faces with ash and snow (suminuri). Snow can exceed four metres.
A toji village was also a place to get through winter. In one day you see how bathing and festival grew together under deep snow.[5][3]
The story
Found by a hawk, visited by a governor's daughter
Matsunoyama Onsen lies in the hills of Tokamachi, Niigata, close to the Nagano border. Legend says it was found some 700 years ago when a hawk was seen healing its wounds in the water, and one of the sources is still called Taka-no-yu, 'hawk's bath'. It is also said to have been a secret bath of the warlord Uesugi Kenshin. The written record begins in 1503, with a letter postponing a governor's daughter's August wedding to November because she was going to Matsuyama for a toji cure. An Edo-period ranking of hot springs placed it first in Echigo province. Today it is a small village of a dozen inns, a public bathhouse, footbaths and eateries, including inns over a century old and one listed as a tangible cultural property.[5]
Seawater warmed underground
The water is a sodium-calcium chloride spring: 88.7°C at source, with 16,257 mg/kg of dissolved solids, sixteen times the legal threshold and denser than body fluid. The community site explains it as seawater trapped about twelve million years ago and heated underground, and Niigata University researchers describe it as a 'geopressure' spring squeezed up by the weight of the rock. It is so salty that salt was produced from it during the Pacific War. Metaboric acid, a disinfectant, reaches 287.4 mg/kg, reportedly the highest boric-acid content in Japan. That concentration and heat are presumably why it has been grouped with Kusatsu and Arima as Japan's three great medicinal waters. The 2011 northern Nagano earthquake reduced the flow, and new wells have since been drilled.[1][5]
Taka-no-yu and Yunoyama
For a day visit, head for Taka-no-yu in the middle of the village: indoor and open-air baths on each side, 600 yen for adults (500 after 17:00), 300 yen for children, 11:00–20:00 (last entry 19:30), closed Thursdays. Tickets pass through a gate like a railway station's, and there is a lounge to rest in; the city tourism association recommends the snow view from the open-air bath in winter. A little outside the village, Nastview Yunoyama opens 10:00–21:00, closes Tuesdays, charges 800 yen on weekdays and 850 on weekends, and from April to November opens at 5:00 on weekends for a sunrise bath. The footbath in the village carries a 'Danger 86°C' sign, a visible reminder of how hot the source runs.[2][3]
A toji village in the snow
Matsunoyama is one of Japan's snowiest places, with drifts sometimes over four metres, and winter life and the hot spring are inseparable. Every 15 January at the Yakushido hall next to the village, grooms married in the past year are hurled down the snowy slope in the mukonage rite, and everyone smears each other's faces with ash and snow from the sacred fire. The spring's heat serves daily life too: in 2020 a 210 kW binary power plant began using the 98°C source and its surplus flow, and the spring-heated snow-melting pipes and streetscape won a Good Design Award. Around the village are the Bijinbayashi beech wood, terraced rice fields and works from the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale. The bus from Matsudai Station takes about 30 minutes, and in winter a reservation-only coach runs from Echigo-Yuzawa.[5][4]
Going solo
Solo stay unconfirmedUnconfirmed
Weekend / peak restrictionsUnconfirmed
Where to eat dinnerA few restaurants in the village and the 'Toji Bar' at the Satoyama visitor centre
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.
Jan — 15 January: mukonage groom-throwing and suminuri ash-smearing at the Yakushido hall; open-air baths in the snow
Dec · Jan · Feb · Mar — Heavy snow, sometimes over 4 m; the ski area opens and snowshoe tours run
May · Oct · Nov — Fresh green and autumn colour in the Bijinbayashi beech wood, and the terraced-rice-field seasons
Food, culture & experiences
Mukonage and suminuri
Every 15 January at the Yakushido hall: newly married grooms are thrown down the snow slope, then everyone daubs faces with ash from the sacred fire[5]
Adjoining the villageBijinbayashi beech wood
A grove of tall, slender beech trees; guided walks leave from the village, with snowshoe tours in winter[5]
About 10 minutes by car from the villageEchigo-Tsumari Art Field works
Art Triennale works are scattered around Matsunoyama, including Santiago Sierra's 'The Black Symbol' beside the village waterfall[5]
Around the villageGeothermal binary power from the spring
Using the 98°C source and surplus flow, a 210 kW power plant was completed in 2020; the spring-heated snow-melting pipes and streetscape won a Good Design Award[5]
In the villageEditors' guide
Bus from Matsudai Station to the village. Check the '86°C' sign at the footbath to see how hot the source is, then take a short soak in the dense salty water at Taka-no-yu (do not linger). To stay, a toji inn for two nights or more suits the place. Time it for 15 January and you get the groom-throwing; in spring or autumn, walk the Bijinbayashi beech wood. Driving in winter means full snow kit.
The "editors' guide" above is written by the editors from sources; it is not a visitor's opinion.
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Overview
松之山温泉（まつのやまおんせん）は、新潟県十日町市松之山にある温泉。積雪が4 mを超えることもある国内有数の豪雪地帯に位置する。
This overview is based on the lead section of the Japanese Wikipedia article "松之山温泉" (CC BY-SA 4.0). View original page
Onsen areas nearby
Unconfirmed & notes
- pH and analysis date are not shown in the published table; radon and total sulfur are listed as 'not measured'
- Taka-no-yu's hours have changed several times since 2025 (11:00 opening is the latest notice); its bath-management notice unread
- Inns' solo-stay terms and day fees, bus frequency and fares unconfirmed; colour and feel left blank as sources do not state them
Sources
- 松之山ドットコム 松之山温泉(温泉分析表の読み方)松之山自治振興会 · 2026-10-09
- 松之山ドットコム 日帰り温泉施設松之山自治振興会 · 2026-10-09
- 日本三大薬湯を楽しめる日帰り温泉「松之山温泉センター 鷹の湯」(2026年1月15日)一般社団法人十日町市観光協会 · 2026-10-09
- 松之山ドットコム 松之山へのアクセス松之山自治振興会 · 2026-10-09
- 松之山温泉 - WikipediaWikipedia · 2026-10-09
Register sources
- 松之山温泉 - Wikipedia(日本語版)Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-10-09
- Wikidata Q11529038Wikidata · CC0 · 2026-10-09
Data status
Name & locationPublishedCoordinatesPublishedSpring typePublishedPhotosPublishedFacilitiesPublishedVisiting info (dated)PublishedEditorial articlePublished
Updated 2026-10-09
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