Official classification
Official spring-type name (as recorded)(1) Iodine-bearing sodium-chloride spring (weakly alkaline, hypertonic); (2) iodine-bearing sodium-chloride and bicarbonate cold mineral spring (weakly alkaline, hypertonic)
Appearance & feel
Colour and feel are listed only where a source states them. They vary by day and by bath.
What makes it special
They drilled for oil and struck hot water: an amber, petrol-scented spring that draws long-stay bathers from all over Japan.
Toyotomi's spring burst out in 1926 during test drilling for oil, together with natural gas. The water contains crude oil — rare anywhere in the world — and is yellowish and smells of petroleum. The town runs a concierge desk and self-catering lodgings for bathers with skin conditions who come for toji (long-stay therapeutic bathing).[1][2]
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 | Source water as it rises (cooler) | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed[1][3] | No[1][3] | Unconfirmed[1][3] | Unconfirmed[1][3] | Unconfirmed[1][3] |
| Indoor bath | Separate | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed[1] | Yes[1] | Unconfirmed[1] | Unconfirmed[1] | Unconfirmed[1] |
From Toyotomi Station on the JR Soya Line, an Engan Bus (Toyotomi–Rumoi line) takes about 10 minutes to the spa. Wakkanai Airport is about an hour by car; the Haboro express bus from Sapporo takes about 5 hours.
Toyotomi's water rises together with oil and natural gas, so a thin film of oil floats on the bath and the air smells faintly of petroleum. It is pale yellow, very salty (hypertonic) and contains iodine. The source is a mild 34°C, and the toji bath at the Fureai Center keeps it cool so people can soak for a long time. Chronic skin conditions are among the officially posted indications, but results vary, and the local custom is to ask the concierge how to bathe.
Posted indications: chronic skin conditions, neuralgia, muscle and joint pain, frozen shoulder, motor paralysis, stiff joints, bruises, sprains, chronic digestive complaints, haemorrhoids, poor circulation, convalescence, fatigue, cuts and burns
Indications are an official statement based on the water analysis, not a guarantee of treatment. They are kept separate from opinions.
| Source | Source temperature | pH | Radon | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Source 1 | 34.2 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
| Source 2 | 27.7 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
Centre of the spa village, on the site of the old Motoyukan The town's day-use bathhouse has two sets of baths: a cooler toji bath fed directly from the source for long soaks, and a general bath. 510 yen. Certified in 2017 by the health ministry as a hot-spring health facility.
Every bath in town An iodine-bearing sodium-chloride spring that rises with petroleum and natural gas, so it carries a film of oil. Pale yellow and cloudy, salty to taste, with a petroleum smell. Source 34.2°C.
A smell and feel found nowhere else in Japan.[2]
Inside the Fureai Center and around the village A concierge desk opened in 2009 advises on bathing and stays; the town's self-catering lodge Yukaijuku (since 1999, 5,500 yen for two nights) and others make long stays affordable.
In 1926, test drilling for oil at Toyotomi struck hot water that gushed out with natural gas. It was then Japan's northernmost hot spring. Kawashima Ryokan opened the next year. The gas itself was put to work: in 1957 Hokkaido Electric built Japan's first commercial gas-turbine power station here, which ran until 1972.[1]
The oily water drew people with skin conditions from across Japan, and in 1992 Toyotomi was designated a National Recuperation Hot Spring Area. The town opened the self-catering lodge Yukaijuku in 1999 and a concierge desk in the Fureai Center in 2009. In 2017 the board of education even recruited students with skin conditions for a bathing trial. Toji here is public policy; about 250,000 people visit each year.[1]
The town's Fureai Center has two sets of baths side by side: a cooler toji bath fed straight from the source for long soaks, and a filtered, diluted general bath. Long-stay bathers settle into the cool water; visitors try the oily water in the general bath. Keeping the two uses apart under one roof is how Toyotomi's bathing culture works.[1][3]
checked 2026-10-09
"Recommended" and "open" are recorded separately. Check the season for seasonal springs.
Jun · Jul · Aug — Wildflowers on the Sarobetsu plain and views of Mt Rishiri; good cycling weather
Dec · Jan · Feb · Mar — Deep winter; few buses from the station and only one taxi, so allow time
Wetlands, coast and views of Rishiri Island; the tourism association promotes cycling here[6]
About 15 min by car from the spaAdvice on bathing and stays (tel. 0162-82-3782), set up in 2009[4][1]
Inside the Fureai CenterBus from Toyotomi Station to the spa. Ask the concierge desk at the Fureai Center how to bathe, get used to the oil smell and salt in the general bath, then if time allows settle into the cooler toji bath for a long soak. In summer rent a bicycle for the Sarobetsu plain. For a longer stay, book one of the self-catering lodges.
The "editors' guide" above is written by the editors from sources; it is not a visitor's opinion.
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Updated 2026-10-09
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