Public bathhouse · Open
Yumedokoro Unazuki (town bath)
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- ¥510checked 2026-10-09
- Hours
- 9:00–22:00checked 2026-10-09
Photo information
Save to passport
Official classification
Spring type (therapeutic classes)
Official spring-type name (as recorded)Simple spring, mildly alkaline; all water piped from the Kuronagi sources (wells 3, 4, 6, 9 and a natural spring)
- Source temperature
- 98.3°C
- pH
- 8.19
- Flow rate
- 3,000 L/min
- Radon
- Unconfirmed
Appearance & feel
Water colour · Feel
Clear
Colour and feel are listed only where a source states them. They vary by day and by bath.
What makes it special
The source is seven kilometres up the gorge. Water that leaves it above 90°C arrives in town through a pipe at a convenient 63°C.
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.
Day-use bath · Seasonal
Tochi-no-yu (Onuma lakeside bath)
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- ¥510checked 2026-10-09
- Hours
- 10:00–17:00(入浴受付16:30まで)checked 2026-10-09
Ryokan (inn) · Seasonal
Kuronagi Onsen Ryokan
- Day-use bathing
- Unconfirmed
- Fee
- Unconfirmedno check date
- Hours
- Unconfirmedchecked 2026-10-09
Ryokan (inn) · Open
Kurobe Unazuki Onsen Yamanoha
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- ¥1,200checked 2026-10-09
- Hours
- 13:00–16:00(日帰り・平日)checked 2026-10-09
Getting there
Reachable by public transport
Take the Hokuriku Shinkansen to Kurobe-Unazuki-Onsen (as little as 2 h 17 min from Tokyo), change to the Toyama Chiho Railway at Shin-Kurobe and ride to Unazuki-Onsen Station. The town spreads from the station, with the public bath a few minutes' walk away; the Kurobe Gorge Railway's Unazuki Station is a short walk to the south-east. By car, from the Kurobe exit of the Hokuriku Expressway.
- Getting there
- Unazuki-Onsen Station (Toyama Chiho Railway) · 5
- Through the year
- The gorge railway does not run in winter (full line 1 October–30 November, partial service 20 April–30 September). Tochi-no-yu and the Kuronagi inn close for winter. Around Keyakidaira station repair work limits access to the station and visitor centre
- Checked
- 2026-10-09
About the water
Unazuki's water is a mildly alkaline simple spring, colourless and clear, with only 394 mg/kg of dissolved solids and a pH of 8.19 (as of December 2023): a soft, undemanding water. What makes it special is not the chemistry but the delivery. Every drop comes from Kuronagi Onsen, seven kilometres up the Kurobe gorge, where it emerges at a scalding 92–98°C. Mixed with a little cold water for bathing along the way, it reaches the town at 63°C through one of the longest hot-spring pipelines in Japan; in the 1970s water was also drawn from Futami, further upstream. After the 2024 Noto earthquake the metasilicic acid and manganese content rose; the manganese later fell back, but metasilicic acid was still three to four times its level of a decade earlier as of July 2025. The tourist board notes that the town bath uses Kurobe-river granite for its tubs. We make no medical claims.
| Source | Source temperature | pH | Radon | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kuronagi Onsen (pipeline source) | 98.3 | 8.19 | Unconfirmed | no check date |
Three things not to miss
Photo information
Yumedokoro Unazuki, the town bath
A few minutes' walk from Unazuki-Onsen Station (Unazuki Onsen 256-11) Unazuki's communal 'soyu': 510 yen for adults, 250 for school children, 9:00–22:00 (last entry 21:00), closed the fourth Tuesday and 1 January. The tourist information office is inside.
The place to bathe in water carried 7 km from Kuronagi at the same price as the locals. Before the hotels, learn the clarity and softness of Unazuki's water here.[2][3]
Photo information
Ride the trolley to the source: Kuronagi Onsen
From Kuronagi Station on the Kurobe Gorge Railway, up a mountain path At Kuronagi, the origin of Unazuki's water, there is a single inn, about 150 years old. It operates from 1 May to the morning of 24 November, takes solo guests, and accepts cash only. The trolley train from Unazuki to Kuronagi is 830 yen one way for adults (Oct–Nov); the full line runs 1 October–30 November, with a partial service 20 April–30 September.
You can ride a train to the very place the water you bathed in comes from. The distance between source and town stops being an idea and becomes a journey.[6][7][5]
Photo information
The pipeline and the 'wooden pipe case'
In town: displayed pipe section and the memorial stone Opened on 22 November 1923 alongside hydroelectric development on the Kurobe. Water was first piped from Kuronagi through red-pine wooden pipes; a land dispute over the pipeline became the 'Unazuki Onsen wooden pipe case' in Japanese law textbooks, commemorated by a stone in town. A hot-spring fountain steams in front of the station.
The pipe section and the stone quietly show that this town rests on the engineering, and the legal rights, of moving hot water.[5]
The story
A spa born of hydroelectric power
Unazuki Onsen sits on a river terrace about 200 m above sea level where the Kurobe river leaves the mountains in Toyama prefecture. It is a young spa, opened on 22 November 1923 in the wake of hydroelectric development on the Kurobe, and grew with the exploration of the gorge and the building of power stations. Today it is the largest hot-spring resort in Toyama and the base for the Kurobe Gorge Railway's trolley trains. The name is modern: a tale of visitors nodding (unazuki) in contentment at the sound of water and wind, and a wish to make it 'a place of the famous moon to rank with Uji and Nara'. A hot-spring fountain steams outside the station, and poem stones by the Showa Emperor and Yosano Akiko stand in the park.[5]
Seven kilometres of pipe
Unazuki's springs are not in town but at Kuronagi Onsen, seven kilometres up the Kurobe. Water from wells 3, 4, 6 and 9 and a natural spring emerges at 92–98°C; a little cold water is mixed in along the way, and it reaches the town at 63°C. Such a long pipeline is rare in Japan, and in the 1970s water was also drawn from Futami, further upstream. The first pipes were of red pine, and a 1.2-metre section is displayed in town. A dispute over the land the pipe crossed became the 'Unazuki Onsen wooden pipe case', a staple of Japanese civil-law casebooks on the abuse of rights. The water itself is a mildly alkaline simple spring, clear and colourless, with 394 mg/kg of dissolved solids at pH 8.19. Since the 2024 Noto earthquake its metasilicic acid content has reportedly stayed three to four times higher than a decade earlier.[5]
From the town bath to the lakeside bath
The gateway for day visitors is the town bath, Yumedokoro Unazuki, a few minutes' walk from the station: 510 yen for adults and 250 for school children, 9:00–22:00 (last entry 21:00), closed the fourth Tuesday and 1 January. The second-floor Momo-no-yu and third-floor Tsukimi-no-yu (with an open-air tub) swap between men and women daily, and the tubs are cut from Kurobe granite; the tourist information office is inside. Tochi-no-yu on the shore of the Unazuki dam lake costs 510 yen, opens 10:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30) and closes for winter from early December. The hotels and inns also take day bathers: the tourist board lists Yamanoha at 1,200 yen on weekdays and 1,500 on weekends (13:00–16:00), Entaijiso at 1,000 yen and Hotel Kurobe at 1,100. The 'Kuronagi' footbath at the station and 'Omokage' in town are free.[2][3]
Up the gorge to the source
From the gorge railway's Unazuki Station, a short walk from the Toyama Chiho station, trolley trains climb the ravine. One-way adult fares in October and November are 830 yen to Kuronagi, 1,780 to Kanetsuri and 2,480 to the terminus at Keyakidaira. The full line runs 1 October–30 November, part of it from 20 April to 30 September, and nothing in winter. A mountain path from Kuronagi Station leads to the single inn at Kuronagi Onsen, the source of Unazuki's water: about 150 years old, open from 1 May to the morning of 24 November, happy to take solo guests, cash only, no drones, booking required. You can see for yourself where the water you bathed in town comes from and how hot it rises. That is what makes Unazuki the model of a spa town far from its source.[7][6][5]
Going solo
Easy for solo travellersYes
Weekend / peak restrictionsUnconfirmed
Where to eat dinnerRestaurants and souvenir shops in town, the largest spa in Toyama prefecture
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 — Autumn colour in the gorge with the trolley running its full line (1 Oct–30 Nov); the Kuronagi inn closes on the morning of 24 November
Apr · May — Partial trolley service from 20 April, full line from the May holidays; the Kuronagi inn reopens 1 May
Dec · Jan · Feb · Mar — No trolley trains. The town, its baths and the small snow park stay open; the town bath in the snow
Food, culture & experiences
Kurobe Gorge Railway trolley train
A 20 km narrow-gauge line up the gorge to Keyakidaira. Oct–Nov one-way adult fares: Kuronagi 830 yen, Kanetsuri 1,780, Keyakidaira 2,480. All seats reserved; no toilets on board; no pets[7]
From Unazuki Station, a few minutes' walk from the Toyama Chiho stationThe 'Omokage' and 'Kuronagi' footbaths
Footbaths in town and at the station, listed by the tourist board[3]
At the station and in townKurobe River Electricity Memorial Hall and Selene Museum
A museum on the hydroelectric development that gave birth to the spa, and the city's Selene art centre[5]
In town, walking distanceUnazuki Park and the wooden-pipe case stone
A park with poem stones by the Showa Emperor and the poets Yosano Tekkan and Akiko; in town, a stone marks the famous civil-law 'wooden pipe case' over the spring pipeline[5]
Across the tracks and through the shopping street from the stationEditors' guide
Shinkansen to Kurobe-Unazuki-Onsen, then the local railway to Unazuki-Onsen Station. Test the water at the station fountain and footbath, then bathe at the town bath (closed fourth Tuesdays). Next morning ride the trolley up to Kuronagi and compare 'the same water' at the source inn or its open-air bath. In October and November the full line runs to Keyakidaira. In winter the trains stop, so keep to the town and its snowbound bath.
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.
Overview
Unazuki Onsen (宇奈月温泉, Unazuki onsen) is a hot spring resort located in the city of Kurobe, Toyama Prefecture, Japan, at the entrance of the Kurobe Gorge.
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
- Day bathing at the Kuronagi inn (availability, fee, hours) and room rates unconfirmed; walking time from Kuronagi Station unconfirmed
- The town bath's bath-management notice and tub temperatures unconfirmed; Toyama Chiho Railway time and fare from Shin-Kurobe unconfirmed
- Source figures (98.3°C, pH 8.19, 394 mg/kg) are from Wikipedia as of December 2023; hotels' solo-stay terms and tattoo policies unconfirmed
Sources
- 黒部・宇奈月温泉観光局 公式サイト一般社団法人黒部・宇奈月温泉観光局 · 2026-10-09
- 黒部・宇奈月温泉観光局 日帰り入浴一般社団法人黒部・宇奈月温泉観光局 · 2026-10-09
- 黒部・宇奈月温泉観光局 温泉一覧 / 湯めどころ宇奈月 公式サイト湯めどころ宇奈月 / 黒部・宇奈月温泉観光局 · 2026-10-09
- 黒部・宇奈月温泉観光局 黒部へのアクセス一般社団法人黒部・宇奈月温泉観光局 · 2026-10-09
- 宇奈月温泉 - WikipediaWikipedia · 2026-10-09
- 黒薙温泉旅館 公式サイト黒部観光開発株式会社 · 2026-10-09
- 黒部峡谷鉄道 運賃黒部峡谷鉄道株式会社 · 2026-10-09
Register sources
- 宇奈月温泉 - Wikipedia(日本語版)Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-10-09
- Wikidata Q11449258Wikidata · CC0 · 2026-10-09
Data status
Name & locationPublishedCoordinatesPublishedSpring typePublishedPhotosPublishedFacilitiesPublishedVisiting info (dated)PublishedEditorial articlePublished
Updated 2026-10-09
Suggest a correction or addition