Official classification
Official spring-type name (as recorded)Alkaline simple hot spring
Appearance & feel
Colour and feel are listed only where a source states them. They vary by day and by bath.
What makes it special
Women once did the laundry in hot water rising through the river, keeping watch for bears and wolves as they worked. Their foot-treading wash is still re-enacted at nine on Sunday mornings beside the bridge.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indoor bath | Separate | Hanabijin source (39 °C) | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed[4][5] | Unconfirmed[4][5] | Unconfirmed[4][5] | Unconfirmed[4][5] | Unconfirmed[4][5] |
| Private bath | Mixed | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed[4] | Unconfirmed[4] | Unconfirmed[4] | Unconfirmed[4] | Unconfirmed[4] |
From JR Tsuyama Station about 50–60 minutes on the Chutetsu Hokubu bus to the 'Okutsu Onsen' stop; or from JR Innosho Station about 40 minutes on the Ishikoshi-bound bus to 'Okutsu-kyoku-mae', beside Hanabijin-no-sato. By car about 25 minutes from the Innosho exit of the Chugoku Expressway along Route 179 towards Kurayoshi.
Okutsu's water is an alkaline simple spring. The tourism bureau says it rises from 150 m down at over 40 °C and 1,000 litres a minute; Hanabijin-no-sato's source is pH 9.3, 39 °C, colourless and odourless. The strong alkalinity softens and lifts dead skin, hence the 'beautifying bath' nickname, and the foot-treading laundry made household use of the water's bleaching power (Wikipedia). At Okutsuso's Kagi-yu, 42.6 °C water rises through the tub floor with no heating or dilution. Many sources are close to body temperature, which suits long, slow toji-style soaking. Posted indications could not be read.
| Source | Source temperature | pH | Radon | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kagi-yu (Okutsuso, floor-fed) | 42.6 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
| Hanabijin-no-sato source | 39 | 9.3 | Unconfirmed | no check date |
The laundry place beside Okutsu bridge Women in kimono with red sashes re-enact the wash, treading cloth in the river's hot water. 2026 dates: 7, 21, 22 March; 4, 17, 31 May; 14, 28 June; 12, 19, 20 July; 9, 16 August; 6, 20, 22 September; 4, 11, 25 October; 1, 8, 15, 22 November. No demonstrations December to February.
A memory of when the spring was a household tool. Halted by typhoon damage in 2023 and resumed in May 2026 (Wikipedia). It is brief, so be there on time.[1][2]
Okutsuso inn A bath where the spring rises straight through the floor beneath the bathers. In the Edo period the Tsuyama lord Mori Tadamasa kept it under lock for his own use, hence 'the locked bath'. The 42.6 °C water is used without heating or dilution. The building is a registered cultural property, and day bathing is offered (check times and fees on the official site).
Baths fed directly from below are rare anywhere in Japan; proof that Okutsu's water reaches you untouched.[3][1]
261 Okutsu-Kawanishi A day bathhouse: adults 940 yen, children 470; 10:00–19:00 (last entry 18:00), closed Thursdays. Open-air bath, jet baths, sauna and a family bath (1,500 yen an hour). Its site lists the source as pH 9.3, 39 °C, 150 litres a minute, a colourless alkaline simple spring. On the fourth Sunday of each month flowers float in the women's open-air bath.
The one place in Okutsu where day bathing is assured; the bus from Innosho Station stops here too.[4][5]
Okutsu lies on the upper Yoshii river in northern Okayama. Warlords such as Sakazaki Dewa-no-kami used it in the Sengoku period, and in the Edo period the Tsuyama lord Mori Tadamasa built a private bathhouse and locked it, leaving the name Kagi-yu, 'the locked bath'. One of the 'three baths of Mimasaka' with Yugo and Yubara, it lost much of the town to fire in 1926 and was designated a National Recuperation Spa in 1966. The 1962 film 'Akitsu Onsen', based on a novel by Fujiwara Shinji, was set here and spread its name (Wikipedia).[1][2][6]
People in Okutsu did their laundry in the hot water that rose through the river. Alkaline water lifts dirt and whitens cloth, ideal in an age without detergent. Because bears and wolves came down from the hills, the women washed standing, treading the cloth with their feet so they could keep watch, and that, tradition says, is how 'foot-treading laundry' began; the poet Yosano Tekkan wrote a verse on the scene. Today women in kimono with red sashes demonstrate it at the laundry place by Okutsu bridge. Typhoon damage in 2023 halted it until May 2026; demonstrations now run on set Sundays and holidays in March and from May to November.[2][1]
Okutsu's water is an alkaline simple spring rising from 150 m down at over 40 °C and 1,000 litres a minute. At Okutsuso the Kagi-yu's 42.6 °C water comes straight up through the tub floor, neither heated nor diluted. For a day visit there is Hanabijin-no-sato (940 yen, closed Thursdays). The bus from Tsuyama takes a little under an hour and runs rarely, so check the timetable. A handful of inns stand along the river, restaurants are few and nights are quiet. Downstream the Okutsu gorge is famed for autumn leaves; in autumn, pair the gorge with a Sunday demonstration and a soak.[1][3][4][6]
checked 2026-10-09
"Recommended" and "open" are recorded separately. Check the season for seasonal springs.
Mar · May · Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep · Oct · Nov — Foot-treading laundry demonstrations, two to four mornings a month on set Sundays and holidays
Oct · Nov — Autumn colour in the Okutsu gorge downstream
Dec · Jan · Feb — Snow bathing; no demonstrations, and buses may be delayed
A gorge the Yoshii river has cut through granite; famous for autumn leaves[6]
About 5 minutes by car downstreamAt the spa's entrance; local produce and meals[6]
A few minutes' walkThe inn is associated with the printmaker Munakata Shiko and displays his works (prefectural association)[3]
Within the spaPick a Sunday with a demonstration, arrive by bus from Tsuyama the day before and stay at Okutsuso or another riverside inn. Watch the laundry at nine by the bridge, take a day bath in the Kagi-yu in the morning (confirm hours and fee), then Hanabijin-no-sato or the gorge in the afternoon. Buses are rare, so fix your return time first.
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奥津温泉（おくつおんせん）は、岡山県苫田郡鏡野町に湧出する温泉である。かつての美作国に当たる場所であり、湯郷温泉、湯原温泉と共に「美作三湯」と呼ばれる。
This overview is based on the lead section of the Japanese Wikipedia article "奥津温泉" (CC BY-SA 4.0). View original page
Updated 2026-10-09
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