Official classification
Official spring-type name (as recorded)Sodium–calcium sulfate/chloride hot spring (most public baths); No. 5 Matsu-no-yu is a sodium–calcium sulfide/sulfate spring. Wikipedia lists simple and chloride springs from 37 sources
Appearance & feel
Colour and feel are listed only where a source states them. They vary by day and by bath.
What makes it special
Borrow a key from your inn, take a towel, walk the stone-paved street and stamp it at nine public baths in turn. In Shibu Onsen, staying the night is the ticket to the baths.
The Shibu Onsen inn association explains that the nine public baths are free for overnight guests only (keys from the inn), 6:00–22:00, and that collecting stamps on a 'prayer towel' at all nine 'washes away hardship', a pun on nine (ku) and suffering (ku). Only No. 9, Oyu, admits day visitors, for 800 yen.[2][3]
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 | Oyu source (50 °C) | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed[2][3] | Unconfirmed[2][3] | Unconfirmed[2][3] | Unconfirmed[2][3] | Unconfirmed[2][3] |
| Foot bath | Mixed | Oyu source | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed[3] | Unconfirmed[3] | Unconfirmed[3] | Unconfirmed[3] | Unconfirmed[3] |
| Type | Gender | Source | Bath temperature | Free-flowing | Added water | Heated | Recirculated | Disinfected |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indoor bath | Separate | Na–Ca sulfate/chloride, 65.0 °C | 56°C | Unconfirmed[2] | Unconfirmed[2] | Unconfirmed[2] | Unconfirmed[2] | Unconfirmed[2] |
| Indoor bath | Separate | Same type, 65.0 °C | 42°C | Unconfirmed[2] | Unconfirmed[2] | Unconfirmed[2] | Unconfirmed[2] | Unconfirmed[2] |
| Indoor bath | Separate | Same type, 86.5 °C | 50°C | Unconfirmed[2] | Unconfirmed[2] | Unconfirmed[2] | Unconfirmed[2] | Unconfirmed[2] |
| Indoor bath | Separate | Na–Ca sulfide/sulfate, 86.5 °C | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed[2] | Unconfirmed[2] | Unconfirmed[2] | Unconfirmed[2] | Unconfirmed[2] |
Take the Nagano Electric Railway express from Nagano Station to Yudanaka, then a Nagaden bus about 5 minutes (Wikipedia). Express buses from Nagano Station to Shiga Kogen also pass through (the monkey park site gives 41 minutes Nagano–Snow Monkey Park). By car, Route 292 from the Shinshu-Nakano exit of the Joshin-etsu Expressway.
Shibu has 37 sources (Wikipedia), and each public bath differs a little in water and temperature. The inn association's guide gives baths No. 1 to 4 as sodium–calcium sulfate/chloride springs with sources at 65–86.5 °C, cooled to 42–56 °C where they enter the tubs. Only No. 5, Matsu-no-yu, is a sulfide-bearing sulfate spring. No. 6, Mearai-no-yu (50.6 °C), is by tradition the 'eye-washing' bath, and No. 9, Oyu (50 °C), the sacred spring said to have been found by the monk Gyoki. Each bath carries a traditional 'benefit', for the stomach, the skin, the eyes and so on, but no medical claims are made here.
| Source | Source temperature | pH | Radon | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 1 Hatsu-yu | 65 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
| No. 4 Take-no-yu | 86.5 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
| No. 6 Mearai-no-yu | 50.6 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
| No. 8 Shinmeidaki-no-yu | 58.7 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
| No. 9 Oyu | 50 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
Along the stone-paved street, baths No. 1 to No. 9 Hatsu-yu, Sasa-no-yu, Wata-no-yu, Take-no-yu, Matsu-no-yu, Mearai-no-yu, Nanakuri-no-yu, Shinmeidaki-no-yu and Oyu. Guests borrow a key, bathe free between 6:00 and 22:00 and stamp a prayer towel at each; after all nine they climb to the Takayakushi temple to complete the vow.
The baths belong to the townspeople. By staying, you are entrusted with a key for a night as a temporary member of the town; the system is that relationship made concrete.[2][3]
Centre of town near the tourist information office The only one of the nine open to day visitors: 800 yen adults, 500 yen children, 10:00–17:00, tickets from the information office or nearby inns. It has a steam bath and a rooftop foot bath. No soap or shampoo; hair washing is not allowed.
The one place a day-tripper can experience Shibu's bath culture. The door locks automatically behind you, so there is no re-entry once you leave.[3][4]
The whole town Thirty-five inns line a narrow stone-paved lane beside the Yokoyu River (Wikipedia). The poet Kobayashi Issa and the artist Hokusai came here, and early-20th-century multi-storey wooden inns survive. At night the street fills with guests in yukata and wooden sandals.
A town where the route between baths has itself become the sight; best seen at walking pace.[4][1]
Shibu is said to have been discovered about 1,300 years ago by the monk Gyoki and counted among the 'hidden springs' of Takeda Shingen (inn association, Wikipedia). In the Edo period the haiku poet Kobayashi Issa and the artist Hokusai visited. Thirty-five inns line a narrow stone street beside the Yokoyu River, drawing on 37 sources at 60–90 °C (Wikipedia). Early-20th-century wooden inns survive, and the evening scene of guests clacking along in yukata and wooden sandals has become the town's signature.[1][4]
Shibu's nine public baths belong to the townspeople; a traveller gains a key by staying at an inn and may then bathe free from 6:00 to 22:00. The inn hands over a prayer towel, which is stamped at each bath from No. 1 onward; after No. 9, Oyu, a visit to the Takayakushi temple completes the vow, said to 'wash away hardship', a play on ku meaning both nine and suffering (association). Each bath carries a tradition: stomach at Hatsu-yu, skin at Wata-no-yu, eyes at Mearai-no-yu, women's ailments at Shinmeidaki-no-yu. The weight of the key teaches how inseparable the baths and the inns are.[2][3]
For those not staying, only bath No. 9, Oyu, is open; it has admitted paying day visitors since July 2006 (Wikipedia). Today it costs 800 yen for adults and 500 yen for children, 10:00–17:00, with tickets sold at the information office or nearby inns (association). Inside is a concrete bathroom with a wooden floor, no soap and no washing stations, hair washing forbidden, and a door that locks automatically behind you. There is a steam bath and a rooftop foot bath. That bare simplicity is exactly what conveys the feeling of being a guest in the townspeople's bath.[3][4]
checked 2026-10-09
"Recommended" and "open" are recorded separately. Check the season for seasonal springs.
Dec · Jan · Feb · Mar — Snow on the stone street; the season when the monkeys at Jigokudani bathe
Oct · Nov — Autumn colour along the Yokoyu River and up at Shiga Kogen
Jul · Aug — The baths feel hottest in summer; go early or late
The park of hot-spring-bathing macaques; 800 yen, 8:30–17:00 in summer and 9:00–16:00 in winter[5][7]
About 10 minutes' walk via the paid car park (closed in winter) or 2 km / 30 minutes on the trail from Kanbayashi OnsenWhere the nine-bath pilgrimage is completed; up the stone steps above town[2][4]
A few minutes' climb from OyuKnown for its 1930s four-storey wooden wing; one of the places selling Oyu day tickets[3][4]
Near OyuSkiing in winter, highland walks in summer, up Route 292 from Shibu[1]
About 30 minutes by bus or car (unconfirmed)Ideally stay a night and do the nine-bath circuit: collect key and towel at your inn, take four or five baths in the evening and the rest before breakfast. The water is hot, so keep each dip short. On a day trip buy an Oyu ticket at the information office, knowing you cannot wash your hair there. If you then walk to the monkey park, use the Kanbayashi trail in winter.
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渋温泉（しぶおんせん）は、長野県下高井郡山ノ内町にある温泉。一帯は「湯田中渋温泉郷」と呼ばれる温泉郷である。
This overview is based on the lead section of the Japanese Wikipedia article "渋温泉" (CC BY-SA 4.0). View original page
Updated 2026-10-09
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