Public bathhouse · Open
Attaka-yu public bath
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- ¥500checked 2026-10-09
- Hours
- 9:00–21:00checked 2026-10-09
Photo information
Save to passport
Official classification
Spring type (therapeutic classes)
Official spring-type name (as recorded)Sulfur spring (the association's declaration gives no formal name; Wikipedia lists it as a sulfur spring. Travel media give 'acidic, sulfur-bearing calcium–aluminium sulfate spring (hydrogen-sulfide type)', not confirmed on an official notice)
- Source temperature
- 43–49.4°C
- pH
- Unconfirmed
- Flow rate
- Unconfirmed
- Radon
- Unconfirmed
Appearance & feel
Water colour · Feel
Milky white
Colour and feel are listed only where a source states them. They vary by day and by bath.
What makes it special
Nine sources, 2,589 litres a minute, and not a drop of tap water or a single boiler: the milky water is cooled only by gravity on its way down the hill.
Why?
The association's 'Gensen Kakenagashi Declaration' (June 2010) states that all seven facilities, six inns and one public bath, run free-flowing water from their own sources with no added water, heating, recirculation or chlorination, and lists nine sources totalling 2,589 litres a minute.[2]
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.
Ryokan (inn) · Open
Ryokan Tamago-yu
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- Unconfirmedno check date
- Hours
- Unconfirmedchecked 2026-10-09
Getting there
Reachable by public transport
From the west exit of JR Fukushima Station (bay 21) take the Fukushima Kotsu bus for Takayu Onsen, about 35–40 minutes (920 yen). Only three round trips a day (departing 9:23, 13:38 and 16:18).
- Getting there
- Fukushima Station · 40
- Getting there
- 3 round trips a day
- Through the year
- At about 750 m, expect snow in winter. The Bandai-Azuma Skyline closes for winter (dates not confirmed).
- Checked
- 2026-10-09
About the water
Takayu's water is a cloudy white sulfur spring; some sources throw off a lot of yunohana (mineral flakes), others carry fine sand. The nine sources sit in a 43–49 °C band, hot but not scalding, and together give 2,589 litres a minute. Those two facts are what let the village feed six inns and one public bath with untouched water, cooled only by its run downhill. In 2010 the tourist association put this in writing as its 'free-flow declaration'. The association's page on 'benefits' is the standard list of indications posted at onsen; we make no medical claims here.
| Source | Source temperature | pH | Radon | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Takayu No. 26 Taki-no-yu | 49.4 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
| Yubanasawa No. 3 | 48.9 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
| Takayu No. 16 Senki-no-yu | 46.9 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
| Takayu No. 10 Tamago-yu indoor | 45.9 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
| Yubanasawa No. 6 | 43 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
Three things not to miss
Photo information
Attaka-yu public bath
Centre of the village A public bath with open-air tubs only (men's, women's and a private tub): 500 yen, 9:00–21:00, closed Thursdays. No indoor bath, no showers, and the water is free-flowing with nothing added.
The cheapest and most direct way to meet Takayu's water. It also states in writing that tattoos alone are not a reason to refuse entry, which matters to many overseas visitors.[3]
Photo information
Gravity-fed water
The whole village, at about 750 m The sources run at 43.7–49.4 °C. Since the Edo period the water has been piped downhill by gravity, cooling on the way to a temperature fit for bathing.
Where Kusatsu stirs its water to cool it and most places add cold water, Takayu uses distance and time. It is a place to see with your own eyes what makes true free-flow bathing possible: sources that are hot but not scalding, and plenty of them.[2][6]
Photo information
The bath hut at Tamago-yu
Ryokan Tamago-yu A long-established inn with a thatched bath hut, the 'Tamago-yu', plus the open-air Tenkei-no-yu and Tensho-no-yu. It accepts day visitors, per the association's list.
Milky sulfur water filling a wooden hut is the defining image of Takayu. We could not read the inn's day-use fee and hours on its official site, so check before you go.[4]
The story
One of the three Takayu
Takayu lies about 18 km west of Fukushima Station at roughly 750 m in the Azuma range. Known historically as Shinobu-Takayu, it is grouped with Shirabu and Zao in Yamagata as the 'three Takayu of the Ou mountains'. Almost the whole village is inside Bandai-Asahi National Park, and its inns line the entrance to the Bandai-Azuma Skyline road.[6]
What the declaration says
In June 2010 the tourist association issued its 'Gensen Kakenagashi Declaration'. It says all seven facilities, six inns and one public bath, use spring water rising on their own land, add no water or heat, and neither recirculate nor chlorinate. The declaration lists nine sources with temperatures and flows: the hottest, Taki-no-yu (Takayu No. 26), is 49.4 °C at 695 litres a minute, and the total is 2,589 litres a minute. A tenth source, confusingly named Atsuyu ('hot water'), is too cool and goes unused.[2]
Cooling by altitude
The sources being in the upper 40s °C, hot but not scalding, is what makes Takayu's free-flow bathing work. Since the Edo period the water has been led downhill to the inns by gravity alone, dropping to bathing temperature on the way. There is no need to stir it as at Kusatsu, or to dilute it as most places do. Some sources shed abundant yunohana flakes, others carry sand, so each inn's bath has a slightly different character.[2][6]
Getting there
There are only three buses a day from Fukushima Station's west exit, so fix your bus times before booking a room. The Attaka-yu public bath is open 9:00–21:00, has open-air tubs only and no showers, but for 500 yen you get water the bathhouse itself describes as 'natural free-flow with nothing added, nothing heated'.[5][3]
Going solo
Solo stay unconfirmedUnconfirmed
Weekend / peak restrictionsUnconfirmed
Where to eat dinnerThe village is tiny; dinner is normally at your inn.
Private bathYes
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.
Dec · Jan · Feb · Mar — Snow bathing in the open-air tubs; Attaka-yu has no indoor bath, so dress warmly
Oct · Nov — Autumn colour on the Azuma range; driving season on the Bandai-Azuma Skyline
Editors' guide
Start with Attaka-yu. If you have time, move on to the Tamago-yu bath hut. Reading the association's table of source temperatures first makes the bath more interesting: you can picture where the water came from and how it cooled. Fix your bus times first; there are only three a day.
The "editors' guide" above is written by the editors from sources; it is not a visitor's opinion.
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Overview
Takayu Onsen (高湯温泉) is a hot spring resort in the Zainiwasaka district of the city of Fukushima, Fukushima, Japan. It is in the mountains about 14 km west of Fukushima Station.
This overview is based on the lead section of the English Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA 4.0). View original page
Onsen areas nearby
Unconfirmed & notes
- Formal spring-type name and pH not confirmed on an official notice; Wikipedia's 'sulfur spring' used
- Tamago-yu's day-use fee, hours and solo-stay policy are blank because the official site could not be read
- Winter closure dates of the Bandai-Azuma Skyline unconfirmed
Sources
- 高湯温泉観光協会 公式サイト高湯温泉観光協会 · 2026-10-09
- 高湯温泉 源泉かけながし宣言高湯温泉観光協会 · 2026-10-09
- 共同浴場 あったか湯高湯温泉観光協会 · 2026-10-09
- 高湯温泉 宿泊施設ガイド高湯温泉観光協会 · 2026-10-09
- 高湯温泉 アクセス高湯温泉観光協会 · 2026-10-09
- 高湯温泉 - WikipediaWikipedia · 2026-10-09
Register sources
- 高湯温泉 - Wikipedia(日本語版)Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-10-09
- Wikidata Q7677489Wikidata · CC0 · 2026-10-09
Data status
Name & locationPublishedCoordinatesPublishedSpring typePublishedPhotosPublishedFacilitiesPublishedVisiting info (dated)PublishedEditorial articlePublished
Updated 2026-10-09
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