Japan Onsen Atlas温泉アトラス
Inns along a narrow street
Photo information
Bsx Public domain View original page

Chugoku · Onsen area

Tawarayama Onsen

たわらやまおんせん · 俵山温泉

Yamaguchi · 長門市

OpenNational Health Resort Onsen100 Onsen to Know Japan — No. 80
Save to passport

Official classification

Spring type (therapeutic classes)

Simple hot spring

Official spring-type name (as recorded)Alkaline simple hot spring

Source temperature
41°C
pH
9.9
Flow rate
Unconfirmed
Radon
Unconfirmed

Appearance & feel

Water colour · Feel

Silky / slippery

Colour and feel are listed only where a source states them. They vary by day and by bath.

What makes it special

The inns have no baths. Guests step out in yukata and walk to one of the two bathhouses, Machi-no-yu or Hakuen-no-yu. The old pattern of a toji spa survives intact in the hills of Yamaguchi.
Why?

The Yamaguchi tourism federation describes Tawarayama as a spa where 'most inns have no bath of their own and the culture of walking to public baths survives', naming the two bathhouses Machi-no-yu and Hakuen-no-yu. Wikipedia likewise records that only one inn has its own bath and guests use the public ones.[1][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.

Public bathhouse · Open

Machi-no-yu

Day-use bathing
Yes
Fee
Unconfirmedno check date
Hours
Unconfirmedchecked 2026-10-09
Official site
Baths3
TypeGenderSourceBath temperatureFree-flowingAdded waterHeatedRecirculatedDisinfected
Indoor bathSeparateMachi-no-yu source41°CUnconfirmed[3]Unconfirmed[3]Unconfirmed[3]Unconfirmed[3]Unconfirmed[3]
Indoor bathSeparateUnconfirmedUnconfirmedUnconfirmed[3]Unconfirmed[3]Unconfirmed[3]Unconfirmed[3]Unconfirmed[3]
Private bathMixedUnconfirmedUnconfirmedUnconfirmed[3]Unconfirmed[3]Unconfirmed[3]Unconfirmed[3]Unconfirmed[3]
Public bathhouse · Open

Hakuen-no-yu

Day-use bathing
Yes
Fee
Unconfirmedno check date
Hours
Unconfirmedchecked 2026-10-09
Official siteDetails
Baths2
TypeGenderSourceBath temperatureFree-flowingAdded waterHeatedRecirculatedDisinfected
Open-air bathSeparateThe largest-flowing sourceUnconfirmedUnconfirmed[1][3]Unconfirmed[1][3]Unconfirmed[1][3]Unconfirmed[1][3]Unconfirmed[1][3]
Foot bathMixedUnconfirmedUnconfirmedUnconfirmed[3]Unconfirmed[3]Unconfirmed[3]Unconfirmed[3]Unconfirmed[3]

Getting there

Reachable by public transport

From JR Nagato-Yumoto Station on the Mine line, 20–30 minutes on the Sanden bus towards Tawarayama to the 'Tawarayama Onsen' stop, then 5–7 minutes' walk; or about 60 minutes by bus from JR Ozuki Station on the San'yo main line towards Nagato-shi. By car about 50 minutes from the Mine (or Ozuki) exit of the Chugoku Expressway.

Getting there
Nagato-Yumoto Station · 30
Through the year
The Mine line has suffered disaster closures; check it is running
Checked
2026-10-09
Show on mapOpen in Google MapsOfficial site

About the water

Tawarayama's water is a strongly alkaline simple spring, pH 9.9, about 41 °C at the source (Wikipedia and the prefectural federation). Low in minerals, its strong alkalinity gives the slippery, skin-smoothing feel typical of the type. Wikipedia says the two main sources, 'Machi-no-yu' and 'Kawa-no-yu', rise naturally without pumping; a federation article counts five sources. Machi-no-yu's tub no. 1 takes the raw spring at about 41 °C, usable without heating. Federation articles also mention hydrogen content, which we do not treat as evidence of health effects. The spa was designated a National Recuperation Spa in 1955 and is also a National Health Spa.

SourceSource temperaturepHRadonChecked
Machi-no-yu source419.9Unconfirmedno check date

Three things not to miss

Inns along a narrow street
Photo information
Bsx Public domain View original page
01

Machi-no-yu

Centre of the spa The public bath on the original source. Two tubs: no. 1 with the raw spring at about 41 °C and no. 2 with a softer, silkier feel, plus a bookable family bath. Overnight guests buy a bath pass valid for unlimited visits to both bathhouses. Fees and hours could not be read officially; check on site.

The hub of the spa, where toji guests come morning and evening in yukata and wooden sandals.[1][3][2]

02

Hakuen-no-yu

Towards the entrance of the spa The newer bathhouse, opened in December 2004, drawing on the source with the largest flow. Indoor and open-air baths, a foot bath, a drinking fountain and even a bath for pets. The prefectural federation relays claims for skin and atopic conditions; treat these as posted claims, not promises.

With Machi-no-yu it makes a two-stop bath circuit; the foot bath and fountain are the entry point for day visitors.[1][3]

03

The white monkey and the three-monkey cakes

A sweet shop on the spa street In 916, legend says, a white monkey, an incarnation of the Yakushi Buddha, led a hunter to the spring. A confectioner founded in 1951 still sells 'three-monkey' cakes, and the three monkeys appear in designs around town.

A spa's founding legend living on in its souvenirs and street decoration.[2][3]

The story

The spring a white monkey revealed

Tawarayama lies in the hills of Nagato, Yamaguchi. Tradition dates it to 916, when a white monkey, an incarnation of the Yakushi Buddha, led a hunter to the water. In the Edo period it served as a toji spa run directly by the Mori lords of Choshu (official site). One of the 'four baths of Bocho' with Yuda, Kawatana and Nagato-Yumoto, it was designated a National Recuperation Spa in 1955.[4][2][1]

A town without private baths

Tawarayama's defining trait is that the inns have no baths. Wikipedia counts just one inn with its own; everyone else walks to the public bathhouses. The prefectural federation explains this as a way of protecting a limited supply of water. The inns have dwindled from about forty to sixteen, but the sight of guests in yukata heading down the street to Machi-no-yu or Hakuen-no-yu is unchanged. Machi-no-yu uses the original source, with tub no. 1 at about 41 °C and the silkier tub no. 2; Hakuen-no-yu, opened in 2004, draws on the biggest source and adds an open-air bath, a foot bath and a drinking fountain. Overnight guests buy a pass good for both.[2][1][3]

Using it as a toji spa

The pH 9.9 water is slippery on the skin and enters the tubs at bathing temperature. The bus from Nagato-Yumoto takes 20–30 minutes, and the single street means you cannot get lost even over several days. With few restaurants, meals are mostly at the inn. The toji day, first bath at Machi-no-yu, a nap, then Hakuen-no-yu towards evening, works perfectly well alone. Confirm fees and hours on the notices or with the Tawarayama Onsen company (0837-29-0001).[2][1][5]

Going solo

Easy for solo travellersUnconfirmed
Weekend / peak restrictionsUnconfirmed
Where to eat dinnerA soba izakaya, a bakery and a sweet shop among a handful of shops (federation article); dinner is normally at the 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.

Apr · May — The nearby rhododendron garden opens (federation article)

Jun — Firefly season

Nov — Autumn colour at the temples

Jan · Feb — The traditional toji season; quiet, and inns are easy to book

Food, culture & experiences

Available / bookable

Three-monkey cakes (Fukuda Sengetsudo)

Founded 1951; cakes named for the white-monkey legend[3][2]

On the spa street
Available / bookable

Mara Kannon

A fertility shrine on the outskirts, with phallic votive offerings[2]

About 20 minutes' walk from the spa

Editors' guide

Take the bus from Nagato-Yumoto to Tawarayama. Buy a bath pass at your inn and start with Machi-no-yu's tub no. 1 to feel the spring at its natural temperature. Lunch on soba and three-monkey cakes, then the open-air bath at Hakuen-no-yu towards evening. If you can stay two nights or more, settle into the toji rhythm. Choose this place knowing your inn will have no bath of its own.

The "editors' guide" above is written by the editors from sources; it is not a visitor's opinion.

Photo gallery

Visitor reviews

No reviews yet. While the review platform is being prepared, we do not display fictional reviews or ratings.

Review posting is in preparation, with visit date, facility, comments on water, scenery and access, photos, language and reporting.

Onsen areas nearby

Unconfirmed & notes

  • Fees, hours and closures of the two bathhouses could not be read officially (travel articles give 650 yen / 6:00–22:00 for Machi-no-yu and 850 yen / 12:00–21:00, closed Tue–Thu for Hakuen-no-yu, unconfirmed; Wikipedia's 480 yen may be outdated)
  • Bath-pass price, inns' solo and long-stay rates, and bus frequency/fare from Nagato-Yumoto are unconfirmed
  • Number of sources (two or five), analysis sheets and treatment notices are unconfirmed; one federation article gives pH 9.8

Sources

  1. 俵山温泉 - 山口県観光連盟(やまぐち観光サイト)一般社団法人山口県観光連盟 · 2026-10-09
  2. 俵山温泉 - WikipediaWikipedia · 2026-10-09
  3. 俵山温泉 特集・記事 - 山口県観光連盟一般社団法人山口県観光連盟 · 2026-10-09
  4. 俵山温泉 公式サイト俵山温泉合名会社 · 2026-10-09
  5. "俵山マスター"がガイドする温泉堪能ランチツアー - 山口県観光連盟一般社団法人山口県観光連盟 · 2026-10-09
  6. 俵山しっちょる会 - 山口県観光連盟一般社団法人山口県観光連盟 · 2026-10-09

Register sources

Data status

Name & locationPublishedCoordinatesPublishedSpring typePublishedPhotosPublishedFacilitiesPublishedVisiting info (dated)PublishedEditorial articlePublished

Updated 2026-10-09

Suggest a correction or addition