Day-use bath · Open
Kogome-no-yu
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- ¥1,100checked 2026-10-09
- Hours
- 9:00–21:00checked 2026-10-09
Photo information
Save to passport
Official classification
Spring type (therapeutic classes)
Official spring-type name (as recorded)Simple springs, mild saline (sodium chloride) springs and gypsum (calcium sulfate) springs; 30–88°C at source
- Source temperature
- 30–88°C
- pH
- Unconfirmed
- Flow rate
- Unconfirmed
- 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
A spring sung about in the eighth-century Manyoshu still rises in the Fujiki valley, sixty minutes by train from Yokohama.
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 · Open
Yugawara Soyu Books and Retreat (Soyu Terrace)
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- ¥3,500checked 2026-10-09
- Hours
- 10:00–18:30(最終入館16:15)checked 2026-10-09
Getting there
Reachable by public transport
Take the JR Tokaido line to Yugawara (about 60 minutes from Yokohama, about 1.5 hours from Tokyo). From bay 2 outside the station, buses for Fudotaki/Oku-Yugawara take about 10 minutes to Ochiaibashi (Manyo Park) or Koen-iriguchi (Kogome-no-yu); a taxi is 8–10 minutes. Walking to the onsen quarter takes about 30 minutes, uphill.
- Getting there
- Yugawara Station · 10
- Checked
- 2026-10-09
About the water
Yugawara's water rises inside the eroded caldera of the Yugawara volcano, which stopped erupting several hundred thousand years ago. The springs are simple, mildly saline and gypsum types, with source temperatures from 30 to 88°C. The dilute chloride water is clear, nearly odourless and gentle on the skin; the town bath Kogome-no-yu describes its own water as 'a gentle mild-saline spring'. The sources lie on the hill side of town, and a pipeline carries water across the Shinkansen line to the inns nearer the sea. The mildness of the water and the climate probably explain why Meiji-era writers came here for long convalescent stays. The official sites list benefits; we make no medical claims.
| Source | Source temperature | pH | Radon | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kogome-no-yu (mild saline spring) | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
Three things not to miss
Photo information
Kogome-no-yu, the town-run day bath
At the entrance to Manyo Park (Miyakami 562-6) A town-run bathhouse with an open-air bath and a large indoor bath on each side, a free rest room and a canteen. 9:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30), closed Mondays. 1,100 yen for adults and 600 yen for children, falling to 600 yen after 19:00. Mild saline water.
The one place in Yugawara's onsen quarter to spend a whole day in the water without booking a room. The evening discount makes it an easy end to a walk.[2][3]
Photo information
Manyo Park and Yugawara Soyu
Centre of the onsen quarter, where the Chitose and Fujiki rivers meet A riverside park with the Manyoshu poem stone. The old Doppo-no-yu footbath site is now 'Soyu Terrace', a reservation-only day spa (age 12+, 3,500 yen for three hours), while the 'Genkan Terrace' at the gate has a cafe, tourist information and a free footbath.
A 1,300-year-old poem, the memory of a footbath named after the novelist Doppo, and a new retreat built around books and bathing share one riverbank. Yugawara's tie between literature and hot water is all here.[4][6][5]
Photo information
Walking the writers' town
From the station up to the onsen quarter (30 minutes on foot) and around it Kunikida Doppo wrote 'From Yugawara' late in life, Natsume Soseki worked on his unfinished last novel 'Light and Dark' here, and Akutagawa and Tanizaki visited. From the station the prefectural road climbs steadily, about 30 minutes on foot to the quarter known simply as 'Onsenba'. Weekend storytelling shows run at the geisha hall, and kabuki is staged in December.
Unlike neighbouring Atami's high-rise hotels, Yugawara is still mostly traditional inns and keeps the feel of an old spa town. It suits a trip of walking, bathing and visiting the places where the words were written.[5][1]
The story
The spring of the Manyoshu
Yugawara Onsen lies at the western tip of Kanagawa, in the valley where the Chitose and Fujiki rivers run down to Sagami Bay. The eighth-century Manyoshu anthology sings of 'the hot water that rises in the river valley of Toi in Ashigara', and the poem stands carved in stone in Manyo Park at the heart of town. Founding legends credit the ascetic En no Gyoja, the monk Gyoki, Kobo Daishi and even a raccoon dog. The water rises inside the eroded caldera of a volcano extinct for hundreds of thousands of years; the springs are simple, mildly saline and gypsum types at 30–88°C. Where neighbouring Atami bristles with high-rise hotels, Yugawara remains a town of Japanese inns with the feel of an old spa.[5]
A convalescent retreat for writers
From the Meiji era Yugawara drew Japan's writers. Kunikida Doppo wrote his late stories 'From Yugawara' and 'Bound for Yugawara' here; Natsume Soseki worked on 'Light and Dark', the novel left unfinished at his death. Shimazaki Toson, Akutagawa Ryunosuke and Tanizaki Jun'ichiro visited, and Akutagawa set 'The Trolley' and other stories in the area. The big footbath in Manyo Park was named Doppo-no-yu after the novelist; it has since closed, and on its site 'Yugawara Soyu Books and Retreat' now offers a day of reading and bathing, carrying the writers' legacy forward in a new form.[5][4]
The town bath and the bath you book
For a day visit, start with the town-run Kogome-no-yu at the gate of Manyo Park: an open-air bath and a big indoor bath on each side, a free rest room and a canteen looking over the rooftops. It opens 9:00–21:00 (last entry 20:30), closes Mondays, and costs 1,100 yen for adults and 600 for children, dropping to 600 yen after 19:00. The water is a mild saline spring. From the station the Oku-Yugawara bus takes about nine minutes to Koen-iriguchi, then a three-minute walk. Deeper in the park, Soyu Terrace works differently: reservation only, age 12 and over, 3,500 yen for a three-hour stay without a meal. At the gate, the Genkan Terrace has tourist information, a cafe and a small footbath anyone may use.[3][4][6]
An onsen town you can walk up to
Yugawara Station is about 60 minutes from Yokohama and 1.5 hours from Tokyo on the Tokaido line. Follow Route 75 uphill and in 15 minutes you reach the edge of the onsen town; the slope steepens, and the quarter known as 'Onsenba' is about 30 minutes on foot, 10 by bus or 5–8 by taxi. Inns line the valley of the Chitose and Fujiki rivers. The geisha hall hosts storytelling every weekend, kabuki dance in December, and in October the 'Yutanpo' walking event opens up the back streets. At the spring Yukake festival hot-spring water is flung over the crowd. The sources are on the hill side, and a dedicated pipeline carries water under the Shinkansen to the inns nearer the sea.[1][5]
Going solo
Easy for solo travellersUnconfirmed
Weekend / peak restrictionsUnconfirmed
Where to eat dinnerRestaurants in the onsen quarter and around the station; Kogome-no-yu has a canteen
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 — The 'Yutanpo' town-walk event in the onsen quarter (3–4 October in 2026)
Dec — Yugawara kabuki dance performances (4–6 December in 2026); autumn colour along the Fujiki river runs late November into December
May — The Yukake festival, when hot-spring water is splashed over the crowds; the date varies by year
Food, culture & experiences
Storytelling at the Kemban geisha hall
Rakugo comic storytelling every Saturday and Sunday at the geisha registry hall in the onsen quarter[1]
In the onsen quarterThe Manyoshu poem stone and Manyo-tei tea house
The stone inscribed with the Manyoshu poem, and a thatched tea house by architect Horiguchi Sutemi; a riverside path runs through the park[4][5][3]
A few minutes' walk from Kogome-no-yuCafe at the Genkan Terrace
Pizza, toasted sandwiches, doughnuts and local mikan juice, 10:00–17:30, with a free footbath outside[4][1]
At the park entranceYugawara Town Art Museum
About 400 works by painters linked to Yugawara, including Takeuchi Seiho and Yasui Sotaro[3]
Near Kogome-no-yuEditors' guide
Start on foot from Yugawara Station and take 30 minutes up the Fujiki valley to the onsen quarter. Pause at the poem stone in Manyo Park and the free footbath at the Genkan Terrace, then bathe at Kogome-no-yu (closed Mondays). For an afternoon of books and baths, reserve Soyu Terrace. On weekends catch the storytelling at the geisha hall. Stay in a traditional inn and take the bus back down.
The "editors' guide" above is written by the editors from sources; it is not a visitor's opinion.
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Overview
湯河原温泉（ゆがわらおんせん）は神奈川県足柄下郡湯河原町にある温泉。奥湯河原温泉、湯河原温泉、浜湯河原温泉、伊豆湯河原温泉の総称としても用いる。
This overview is based on the lead section of the Japanese Wikipedia article "湯河原温泉" (CC BY-SA 4.0). View original page
Onsen areas nearby
Unconfirmed & notes
- Source temperatures, pH and analysis sheets, and Kogome-no-yu's bath-management notice unconfirmed (30–88°C is from Wikipedia)
- Soyu Terrace's fee and hours are from the tourist association's page; meal-inclusive prices and bath layout unconfirmed
- Yukake festival date, bus frequency, inns' solo-stay terms and tattoo policies unconfirmed
Sources
- 湯河原温泉公式観光サイト湯河原温泉公式観光サイト運営協議会 · 2026-10-09
- 湯河原温泉公式観光サイト 日帰り温泉湯河原温泉公式観光サイト運営協議会 · 2026-10-09
- こごめの湯(湯河原温泉公式観光サイト・こごめの湯公式)湯河原温泉公式観光サイト運営協議会 / 湯河原温泉こごめの湯 · 2026-10-09
- 湯河原町 万葉公園施設・駐車場紹介湯河原町 · 2026-10-09
- 湯河原温泉 - WikipediaWikipedia · 2026-10-09
- 万葉公園 湯河原惣湯(惣湯テラス)湯河原温泉公式観光サイト運営協議会 / 湯河原惣研株式会社 · 2026-10-09
Register sources
- 湯河原温泉 - Wikipedia(日本語版)Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-10-09
- Wikidata Q11563664Wikidata · CC0 · 2026-10-09
Data status
Name & locationPublishedCoordinatesPublishedSpring typePublishedPhotosPublishedFacilitiesPublishedVisiting info (dated)PublishedEditorial articlePublished
Updated 2026-10-09
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