Public bathhouse · Open
Bijin-no-izumi public bath
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- ¥550checked 2026-10-09
- Hours
- 10:00–21:30checked 2026-10-09
Photo information
Save to passport
Official classification
Spring type (therapeutic classes)
Official spring-type name (as recorded)Sulfur-bearing sodium chloride spring (mildly alkaline, hypotonic, high temperature); about 51°C at source, pH 8
- Source temperature
- 50°C
- pH
- 8
- Flow rate
- 1,062 L/min
- Radon
- Unconfirmed
Appearance & feel
Water colour · Feel
GreenMilky whiteChanges colourSilky / slippery
Colour and feel are listed only where a source states them. They vary by day and by bath.
What makes it special
A green so vivid people think it is bath salts: the sulfur in the water shows itself as colour in the tub.
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.
Foot bath · Open
Yutabi footbath
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- ¥0checked 2026-10-09
- Hours
- 8:00–21:00checked 2026-10-09
Foot bath · Open
Gensen-no-mori (drinking fountain and hand bath)
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- ¥0checked 2026-10-09
- Hours
- 8:00–22:00checked 2026-10-09
Getting there
Reachable by public transport
Tokyo to Niigata by Joetsu Shinkansen in about 2 h 10 min, then the direct bus (Niigata Kotsu) from the station's south exit, about 60 minutes, 1,500 yen (departs 13:00 and 15:30, no booking, first 50 aboard). From JR Shibata Station a direct bus takes about 25 minutes for 500 yen (10:50 and 15:30). From Tsukioka Station on the Uetsu line a taxi takes about 10 minutes. Niigata Airport is about 40 minutes by car.
- Getting there
- Shibata Station · 25
- Getting there
- Two direct buses a day from each of Niigata and Shibata stations (and two back); if full, you are routed via Shibata
- Through the year
- Snow on the Niigata plain in winter; watch road conditions
- Checked
- 2026-10-09
About the water
Tsukioka's water is a sulfur-bearing sodium chloride spring, about 51°C at source and mildly alkaline at pH 8. In the tub it is a clear emerald green. The inn association calls it 'the sulfur spring with the highest mineral content in Japan'; according to Wikipedia it has the country's highest hydrogen-sulfide ion content, total sulfur second only to Manza, and the highest of any mildly alkaline sulfur spring. The colour can shift to milky white with the season and weather, and locals once read tomorrow's weather from it. Being a chloride spring as well, it is said to keep you warm for a long time. The association says the water softens the outer layer of skin for a smooth feel, and lists indications such as cuts, burns and chronic skin complaints; we make no medical claims.
Indications (as posted on the analysis)
Posted by the inn association (by water type): cuts, burns, chronic skin complaints, frail children, chronic gynaecological complaints, diabetes
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tsukioka sources (shared supply) | 51 | 8 | Unconfirmed | no check date |
Three things not to miss
Bijin-no-izumi public bath
Tsukioka Onsen 403-8 The public bath where you can soak in the emerald water without staying at an inn: 550 yen for adults, 330 for children, 10:00–21:30 (last entry 20:30), closed Tuesdays and the third Wednesday. The water is changed daily.
The footbath shows you the colour, but to feel the sulfur water on your whole body this is the place, and it costs only a few hundred yen.[3]
Drink 'Japan's worst-tasting spring' at Gensen-no-mori
The birthplace of the spring (Tsukioka Onsen 378) The spot where hot water gushed from an oil well in 1915. A hand bath, a statue you pour water over for luck, and a rare drinking fountain for sulfur spring water, which the inn association cheerfully calls 'the worst-tasting spring in Japan'. 8:00–22:00, free.
Here you can check the source of the colour with your tongue; the sulfur and salt turn the numbers on the analysis sheet into something you remember.[4][5]
Photo information
A town built to be walked
The centre of the onsen town The free Yutabi footbath (8:00–21:00), a sake shop pouring every Niigata brewery, a dried-fish and fermented-food shop, a rice-cracker shop where you grill your own, all opened in once-empty buildings, plus the Tsukiakari lantern garden laid out on a former inn site in 2018.
After the bubble burst, visitors halved and the town was said to have 'nothing but the baths'. It rebuilt, one reason to walk at a time, and that recovery is itself worth seeing.[2][5]
The story
Drilling for oil, they struck hot water
Tsukioka Onsen stands on the eastern edge of the Echigo plain in Shibata, Niigata, long known as 'Niigata's back parlour'. It opened in 1915, when a well being drilled for oil near today's 'birthplace' stone began pouring out water above 50°C, and a man named Honma Shuzaburo built a communal bath on the spot. A toji inn, Aokikan, opened next door, followed by shops for self-catering guests. In the late 1920s a new source was drilled and a second district grew around a two-storey bathhouse; by 1957 twenty-five inns had piped baths, and by 1986 all of them did. In 1959 a health centre with the prefecture's first zoo opened, drawing families from across the region.[5][4]
Sulfur that turns into colour
The water is a sulfur-bearing sodium chloride spring, about 51°C at source and mildly alkaline at pH 8. In the bath it is a transparent emerald green, so striking that visitors mistake it for bath salts. The inn association calls it the most mineral-rich sulfur spring in Japan; Wikipedia records the country's highest hydrogen-sulfide ion content, total sulfur second only to Manza, and the highest for any mildly alkaline sulfur spring. The colour can turn milky with the season and weather, and locals once forecast the next day's weather from it. The more sulfur, the deeper the colour: Tsukioka lets you see that relationship directly. It is counted with Bandai-Atami and Iwaki-Yumoto as the 'three beauty baths of Ban-etsu'.[1][5]
Rebuilding a town that had 'nothing but the baths'
The 1.2 million visitors a year of the bubble era halved after it burst, and two-thirds of the inns closed. As the survivors grew bigger and kept guests inside, the street lost its purpose, and for a while Tsukioka was said to have 'nothing but the baths'. Around the spring's centenary in 2015, a push began to make it 'a town you want to walk'. In 2014 the tourism association turned the overgrown birthplace of the spring into Gensen-no-mori, with a drinking fountain, and shopfronts were repainted in matching browns. A company founded by young inn owners filled empty buildings with hands-on shops: a sake bar pouring every Niigata brewery (2014), a dried-fish and fermented-food shop, a grill-your-own rice-cracker shop, a wine shop and a rice-flour bakery. In 2018 the Tsukiakari lantern garden opened on a former inn site. The effort has won the national inn federation's top prize and a transport-ministry award.[5][2][4]
From the footbath to the public bath
The Yutabi footbath in the town centre runs 100% free-flowing spring water, costs nothing and is open 8:00–21:00; towels are 100 yen at the inn next door, there is a women's changing room and toilets, and at night paper umbrellas light it up. At Gensen-no-mori (8:00–22:00, free) you can dip your hands and dare the drinking fountain of 'Japan's worst-tasting spring'. For a full bath, the Bijin-no-izumi public bath: the city tourism association lists 550 yen for adults and 330 for children, 10:00–21:30 (last entry 20:30), closed Tuesdays and the third Wednesday, with the water changed daily. Direct buses from Niigata Station run twice a day (about 60 minutes, 1,500 yen), and from Shibata Station about 25 minutes for 500 yen. The town is flat, and everything is a few minutes apart on foot.[4][3][6]
Going solo
Easy for solo travellersUnconfirmed
Weekend / peak restrictionsUnconfirmed
Where to eat dinnerSushi, izakaya, cafes and bun shops in town; the tasting shops close around 18:00
Private bathUnconfirmed
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.
Oct · Nov — Harvest in the surrounding paddies and autumn colour; lanterns in the Tsukiakari garden from 17:00 to 22:00
Dec · Jan · Feb — A snowy town; the water can turn milky with the weather
Apr · May — Cherry blossom and fresh green; Shibata Castle nearby is worth a stroll
Food, culture & experiences
Premium Sake 'Kura'
Taste from about 90 premium labels covering every brewery in Niigata; three cups 600 yen. 9:30–18:00, open daily[2]
Town centre, a few minutes from the footbathGrill-your-own rice crackers at 'Den'
Hand-grill and paint your own rice cracker, 1,250 yen; 9:30–18:00, closed Mon/Wed/Fri[2]
Town centreTsukiakari garden
A free garden on a former inn site; patterned lanterns line the walkway, lit 17:00–22:00. Parking for 10 cars[2][5]
In townTsukioka geigi
A geisha tradition dating from the early Showa era that still continues; the inn association has a page on it[5][1]
At the innsEditors' guide
Take the 13:00 or 15:30 direct bus from Niigata Station. Look at the colour in the footbath first, taste a sip at Gensen-no-mori, then soak properly at Bijin-no-izumi (closed Tuesdays and the third Wednesday). Before the shops close, three cups of Niigata sake at Kura; after dark, the lantern garden. Inns range from old toji houses to big hotels. Return buses leave at 10:15 and 14:10, so take your morning bath early.
The "editors' guide" above is written by the editors from sources; it is not a visitor's opinion.
Photo gallery
Visitor reviews
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Unconfirmed & notes
- Bijin-no-izumi's fee differs between the city (550/330 yen) and prefectural (600/350 yen) tourism sites; confirm before visiting
- The source analysis (dissolved solids, date) and the public bath's bath-management notice unconfirmed
- Inns' solo-stay terms, day bathing and tattoo policies unconfirmed; the Tsukioka Wakuwaku Farm complex closed at the end of September 2025 (Wikipedia)
Sources
- 月岡温泉旅館組合 月岡温泉について月岡温泉旅館組合 · 2026-10-09
- 月岡温泉旅館組合 歩きたくなる温泉街月岡温泉旅館組合 · 2026-10-09
- 共同浴場 美人の泉(しばた観光ガイド)新発田市観光協会 · 2026-10-09
- 月岡温泉◎ちかたび 源泉の杜 / あしゆ湯足美、新発田市 施設案内 湯足美月岡温泉旅館組合 / 新発田市 · 2026-10-09
- 月岡温泉 - WikipediaWikipedia · 2026-10-09
- 月岡温泉旅館組合 アクセス(直通バス)月岡温泉旅館組合 · 2026-10-09
Register sources
- 月岡温泉 - Wikipedia(日本語版)Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-10-09
- Wikidata Q11516058Wikidata · CC0 · 2026-10-09
Data status
Name & locationPublishedCoordinatesPublishedSpring typePublishedPhotosPublishedFacilitiesPublishedVisiting info (dated)PublishedEditorial articlePublished
Updated 2026-10-09
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