Public bathhouse · Open
Oyu
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- ¥0checked 2026-10-09
- Hours
- おおむね5:00–23:00(季節で変動)checked 2026-10-09
Photo information
Save to passport
Official classification
Spring type (therapeutic classes)
Official spring-type name (as recorded)Sulfur springs (simple sulfur spring and others), varying by source; 42–90 °C (Wikipedia)
- Source temperature
- 42–90°C
- pH
- Unconfirmed
- Flow rate
- Unconfirmed
- Radon
- Unconfirmed
Appearance & feel
Water colour · Feel
ClearGreenChanges colour
Colour and feel are listed only where a source states them. They vary by day and by bath.
What makes it special
All 13 public baths are kept by village 'yu-nakama' bath guilds; you drop a donation in the box and go in. At the Ogama source, villagers still boil vegetables in 90 °C water.
Why?
The Nozawa Onsen Tourist Association explains that the 13 public baths have been held in common by villagers through the 'yu-nakama' system since the Edo period and are open free (donations welcome). The Ogama source gives about 500 litres a minute, is a village natural monument and serves as a communal kitchen for boiling vegetables and eggs.[2][3]
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.
Public bathhouse · Open
Kuma-no-tearai-yu
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- ¥0checked 2026-10-09
- Hours
- おおむね5:00–23:00(季節で変動)checked 2026-10-09
Public bathhouse · Open
Taki-no-yu
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- ¥0checked 2026-10-09
- Hours
- おおむね5:00–23:00(季節で変動)checked 2026-10-09
Getting there
Reachable by public transport
From Iiyama Station on the Hokuriku Shinkansen the 'Nozawa Onsen Liner' bus takes about 25 minutes (600 yen adults, 300 yen children; 10 round trips a day on the 30 Mar–30 Nov 2026 timetable). The local bus takes about 40 minutes (Wikipedia).
- Getting there
- Iiyama Station · 25
- Getting there
- Nozawa Onsen Liner 10 a day (from Iiyama 8:45–21:20)
- Through the year
- Heavy snow in winter; check the Liner's winter timetable and the tight shinkansen connections
- Checked
- 2026-10-09
About the water
Nozawa's water is sulfurous, with many sources ranging from 42 to 90 °C (Wikipedia). The association's bath guide gives Oyu at 66 °C, Taki-no-yu 78 °C, Kawahara-yu about 60 °C and Kuma-no-tearai-yu about 40 °C; Taki-no-yu is emerald green with a strong sulfur smell, and Shin-yu is called the 'five-colour bath' because its colour changes from day to day. Most baths receive the source undiluted and run hot, so the custom is not to add tap water but to ladle it over yourself and take short dips. The Ogama source is near 90 °C with a flow of about 500 litres a minute. No medical claims are made here.
| Source | Source temperature | pH | Radon | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oyu | 66 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
| Ogama | 90 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
| Taki-no-yu | 78 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
| Kuma-no-tearai-yu | 40 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
Three things not to miss
Photo information
Oyu
Centre of the village The village's emblem, a bathhouse in traditional 'yuya' style with hot and cooler tubs. Simple sulfur spring, source 66 °C (association). Free with donation, roughly 5:00–23:00 (varies by season).
First among the 13. Here you learn the Nozawa manner: no cold tap, just ladle the water over yourself until you can bear it.[3]
Photo information
Ogama
Upper part of the village The 'kitchen of Nozawa', where about 500 litres a minute of roughly 90 °C water surface. A village natural monument. Villagers boil vegetables, eggs and nozawana greens; visitors watch from outside the fence because of the scalding risk.
Through the steam you see hot water as a tool of daily life, not a tourist attraction.[2][3][4]
Photo information
The bath circuit and the yu-nakama
13 sites, all within walking distance Thirteen baths with differing sources and temperatures: Kawahara-yu (about 60 °C), Shin-yu (about 55 °C, the colour-changing 'five-colour bath'), Taki-no-yu (about 78 °C, emerald), Kuma-no-tearai-yu (about 40 °C) and more. No soap provided; leave a donation in the box.
Villagers in the yu-nakama guilds clean and run the baths; visitors repay the favour with a donation. Japan's communal-bath culture at its most alive.[2][3]
The story
From Gyoki's spring to a cure village
The association says the spring was found by the monk Gyoki and mountain ascetics in the reign of Emperor Shomu (8th century); Wikipedia adds that in the Kamakura period it was counted among the 'three imperial baths'. By the Edo period it was an established cure village, and the 'yu-nakama' system arose, in which villagers jointly manage the 13 baths. They remain village property today: locals share the cleaning and upkeep, and travellers are let in for a donation in the box.[2][4]
A hot spring as a kitchen
Ogama, at the top of the village, is a village natural monument where about 500 litres a minute of roughly 90 °C water surface; it is called 'the kitchen of Nozawa'. The name recalls the days when hemp was boiled here to strip its fibre; now villagers cook vegetables and eggs and, in autumn, wash and blanch nozawana greens. Visitors stay outside the fence for safety but can watch daily life carry on in the steam. The association traces nozawana to turnip seed the priest of Kenmeiji brought back in the 1750s.[2][4]
Fire and snow
On 15 January each year the Dosojin Fire Festival sees the village's 25- and 42-year-old men build, defend and finally burn a wooden shrine; it is an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property and counted among Japan's three great fire festivals (association). The ski resort turns 101 in 2026, and the village is twinned with St Anton in Austria. In winter the Nozawa Onsen Liner from Iiyama Station (about 25 minutes, 600 yen) brings you in, and bath-hopping through the snow is the village at its best.[2][5][4]
Going solo
Easy for solo travellersUnconfirmed
Weekend / peak restrictionsUnconfirmed
Where to eat dinnerMany restaurants and bars in the village (association's eat-and-drink listings)
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 Jan: Dosojin Fire Festival, an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property and one of Japan's three great fire festivals
Dec · Jan · Feb · Mar — Nozawa Onsen ski resort (101 years old in 2026); bath-hopping in the snow
Oct · Nov — Nozawana harvest and pickling; the greens are washed at Ogama
Food, culture & experiences
Nozawa Dosojin Fire Festival
Every 15 January; over 300 years old and nationally designated[2]
In the villageNozawana pickled greens
Said to derive from turnip seed brought back by the priest of Kenmeiji temple in the 1750s (association)[2]
In the villageNozawa Onsen ski resort
A historic resort begun by the village; twinned with St Anton, Austria (Wikipedia)[2][4]
Walking distance from the villageOnsen eggs at the baths
Some baths such as Kamitera-yu have egg-boiling basins (association)[3]
In the villageEditors' guide
Carry a small towel and coins for the donation boxes. The water is hot, so start at Kuma-no-tearai-yu (about 40 °C), then Oyu, Shin-yu and Taki-no-yu. No soap, no cold tap; ladle plenty of water over yourself first. Watch Ogama from outside the fence. Mornings belong to the villagers, so keep it short and quiet.
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
- Exact seasonal hours for each bath could not be read beyond 'roughly 5:00–23:00, varying by season'
- Formal spring names, pH, analysis sheets, water-handling notices and tattoo policy at the baths were not confirmed
- Fees and hours of the paid Furusato-no-yu day spa were not confirmed
- The Liner's winter timetable and direct buses from Nagano were not confirmed
Sources
- 野沢温泉観光協会 公式サイト野沢温泉観光協会 · 2026-10-09
- 野沢温泉観光協会 野沢温泉について(歴史・外湯・麻釜・道祖神祭り)野沢温泉観光協会 · 2026-10-09
- 野沢温泉観光協会 温泉(13の外湯)野沢温泉観光協会 · 2026-10-09
- 野沢温泉 - WikipediaWikipedia · 2026-10-09
- 野沢温泉観光協会 アクセス(野沢温泉ライナー)野沢温泉観光協会 · 2026-10-09
Register sources
- 野沢温泉 - Wikipedia(日本語版)Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-10-09
- Wikidata Q11645764Wikidata · CC0 · 2026-10-09
Data status
Name & locationPublishedCoordinatesPublishedSpring typePublishedPhotosPublishedFacilitiesPublishedVisiting info (dated)PublishedEditorial articlePublished
Updated 2026-10-09
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