Official classification
Official spring-type name (as recorded)Sodium–calcium chloride spring (hypertonic, weakly alkaline, high temperature)
Appearance & feel
Colour and feel are listed only where a source states them. They vary by day and by bath.
What makes it special
An 82.7 °C salt spring on the shore of Nanao Bay. The New Year's Day earthquake of 2024 shut all 21 inns; now the lights are coming back one by one.
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 | Wakura Onsen | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed[4] | Unconfirmed[4] | Unconfirmed[4] | Unconfirmed[4] | Unconfirmed[4] |
| Open-air bath | Separate | Wakura Onsen | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed[4] | Unconfirmed[4] | Unconfirmed[4] | Unconfirmed[4] | Unconfirmed[4] |
From Kanazawa the 'Noto Kagaribi' limited express reaches Wakura-Onsen Station in about 90 minutes (Wikipedia). From the station a Hokutetsu Noto bus takes about 5 minutes to the spa town, or 5 minutes by car. By road, the Noto Satoyama Kaido's Wakura exit is about 5 minutes from town.
Wakura's water is a salt spring that rises beside the sea. The tourist association describes a sodium–calcium chloride spring at 82.7 °C with a pumped flow of 990 litres a minute, colourless and rich in salt. 'Hypertonic' means it holds more dissolved minerals than body fluids; many bathers feel the salt stay on the skin and the warmth linger afterwards. Wikipedia gives 89.1 °C, pH 7.6 and about 2,618 tonnes a day. The association lists indications such as chronic rheumatoid arthritis, poor circulation and neuralgia for bathing, and atrophic gastritis and constipation for drinking; no medical claims are made here.
Bathing: chronic rheumatoid arthritis, poor circulation, neuralgia, bruises and sprains, recovery from fatigue. Drinking: atrophic gastritis, constipation (as posted by the association)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wakura Onsen (association figures) | 82.7 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
| Wakura Onsen (Wikipedia figures) | 89.1 | 7.6 | Unconfirmed | no check date |
Centre of the spa town A communal bathhouse with large and small tubs, a standing-depth bath, an open-air bath, sauna and cold plunge. 500 yen for adults, 7:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30). It closed after the quake and is back to normal hours; its foot bath remains closed for damage.
While the inns rebuild, the water itself is always available here. It is also the bath that has kept the town going.[4]
By the shore near the public bath A plaza over the spring source where you can boil eggs in the water. Just beyond, the collapsed seawall of Wakura port is being fully rebuilt; the association's recovery guided tour (March–November 2026, about 40 minutes) explains the works and the day of the quake.
One spot shows how a seaside spring built the town, how the earthquake broke it, and how it is being repaired.[2][5]
Around town As of July 2026, 11 inns had reopened (Hanagoyomi, Hosenkaku, Yunohana, Notoraku, TAOYA Wakura, Hamazuru, Noshu Iroha, Biwanso and Hotel Kaibo on a provisional basis, Okudaya, Shirasagi-no-yu Noto Kaishu). Kagaya remains closed.
This is a spa town where simply staying is the most direct form of support. Check the association's lodging-status page before booking.[3][8]
The association dates the spring to around 806–810 and tells of a fisherman and his wife who, in the 1040s, saw a white heron bathing a wound in the sea and found the hot water. The source lay offshore; in 1641 the Kaga lord Maeda Toshitsune ordered land reclaimed around it, the 'Yushima', which gave the bathing village its shape. In 1674 the name changed from Wakuura, 'bubbling bay', to Wakura. The crown prince, later Emperor Taisho, visited in 1909.[2]
The Noto earthquake registered an upper 6 on the Japanese intensity scale at Wakura and closed all 21 inns. The privately owned seawall facing the bay collapsed; by December 2024 it had been taken into public ownership so the national government could rebuild it as one project (Travel Voice). The public bath reopened on 26 March 2024 (Wikipedia). The plan was for 4 inns to reopen in fiscal 2024, 4 in 2025 and 5 in 2026, with the association aiming for every inn to be back by 2028. As of July 2026, 11 had reopened; Kagaya remains closed while it is rebuilt.[7][3][6][8]
Local owners drew up a 'Creative Recovery Vision for Wakura Onsen' looking ahead to 2040, with six themes: landscape, livelihoods, sharing, cooperation, daily life and safety. The association speaks of the 'creative recovery of the whole town' and from March to November 2026 runs guided tours past Yumoto Plaza and the seawall works, with guides recounting the day of the quake. Visiting a town in mid-recovery has become the most concrete support a traveller can offer.[7][5][1]
checked 2026-10-09
"Recommended" and "open" are recorded separately. Check the season for seasonal springs.
Mar · Apr · May · Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep · Oct · Nov — Recovery guided tour (1 Mar–30 Nov 2026): Yumoto Plaza, seawall works and the Festival Hall
Jun — Noto Yosakoi Festival (second weekend of June, per Wikipedia)
Dec · Jan · Feb — Winter on Nanao Bay and the season for winter yellowtail; check winter rail and bus timetables
Displays the festival floats of Nanao; operating normally[11]
In townA plaza where you can cook eggs in the spring; Bentenzaki Source Park is also close[2]
A few minutes' walk from the public bathAn art museum on Notojima island across the bridge; open year round[11]
About 15 minutes by car (approximate, unconfirmed)Try kumiko, the traditional lattice woodwork; resumed after the quake[1]
About 10 minutes by car from Wakura (approximate, unconfirmed)Before booking, check which inns are open on the association's lodging-status page. On arrival soak first at the public bath and feel what a salt spring does to the skin. Boil an egg at Yumoto Plaza and join the recovery tour to see the seawall works. Dinner at the inns means Noto fish. Even as a day trip, the public bath and the foot bath make the journey worthwhile.
The "editors' guide" above is written by the editors from sources; it is not a visitor's opinion.
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.
Wakura Onsen (和倉温泉) is a hot spring (onsen) resort on the edge of Nanao Bay at the base of the Noto Peninsula in Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan and one of several well-known, high-end onsen resorts in Japan.
This overview is based on the lead section of the English Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA 4.0). View original page
Updated 2026-10-09
Suggest a correction or addition
