Hotel · Open
KKR Hakodate
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- ¥1,000checked 2026-10-09
- Hours
- 11:00–21:00checked 2026-10-09
Photo information
Save to passport
Official classification
Spring type (therapeutic classes)
Official spring-type name (as recorded)Chloride spring (sodium-calcium chloride), neutral and isotonic
- Source temperature
- 65°C
- pH
- Unconfirmed
- Flow rate
- 4,861 L/min
- Radon
- Unconfirmed
Appearance & feel
Water colour · Feel
ClearRed
Colour and feel are listed only where a source states them. They vary by day and by bath.
What makes it special
Five minutes from the airport, at the end of the tram line: a spring of 4,861 litres a minute in the middle of a working port city.
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.
Hotel · Open
Hotel Tetora Yunokawa Onsen
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- ¥550checked 2026-10-09
- Hours
- 13:00–22:00checked 2026-10-09
Foot bath · Open
Yumeguri Butai footbath
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- ¥0checked 2026-10-09
- Hours
- 9:00–21:00checked 2026-10-09
Getting there
Reachable by public transport
Hakodate's streetcar runs from Hakodate Station to the Yunokawa-Onsen and Yunokawa stops in about 31 minutes (240 yen). From Hakodate Airport the Teisan shuttle bus takes about 5 minutes (230 yen), or 5 minutes by car. Hakodate Bus routes 95 and 96 take 25–30 minutes from the station.
- Getting there
- Yunokawa-Onsen tram stop · 1
- Checked
- 2026-10-09
About the water
Yunokawa's water is a chloride spring close to the sea, neutral and roughly as salty as body fluid (isotonic). There are two strands: a clear 'shirayu' and a reddish 'akayu', and inns draw one or both. The flow is a generous 4,861 litres a minute, and many of the inns that take day visitors advertise free-flowing source water. Salt springs are said to keep you warm after bathing, though that is a tradition rather than a guarantee.
| Source | Source temperature | pH | Radon | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shirayu (clear spring) | 65 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
| Akayu (red spring) | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
Three things not to miss
Photo information
Yumeguri Butai footbath
1-16-5 Yukawa-cho, beside the Yunokawa-Onsen tram stop A free footbath open daily 9:00–21:00, steps from the tram.
Your first, free taste of Yunokawa's salty water, the moment you arrive.[3]
Bathing monkeys at the Tropical Botanical Garden
3-1-15 Yukawa-cho, at the east end of the resort A city botanical garden famous for its Japanese macaques soaking in a hot-spring pool in winter.
Yukura Shrine, birthplace of the spring
2-28-1 Yukawa-cho Where Yunokawa began: a woodcutter is said to have healed his wounds here in 1453, and in 1653 a young lord of the Matsumae clan recovered after bathing and dedicated a Buddhist statue in thanks. A stone marks the spring's birthplace.
A 570-year-old memory of healing baths kept alive at a city shrine.[1][3]
The story
A woodcutter and a young lord
Yunokawa's story begins in 1453, when a woodcutter is recorded healing his injuries in the spring. In 1653 the young Matsumae lord Senkatsumaru, later Matsumae Takahiro, recovered from a serious illness after bathing here and dedicated a Buddhist statue and a temple gong in thanks. A stone at Yukura Shrine marks the birthplace of the spring.[1]
From horse tram to streetcar
In 1885 Ishikawa Tosuke struck a hot, abundant source, and a newspaper advertisement the next year announced the opening of the baths. A horse-drawn tramway reached Yukawa in 1898 and was electrified in 1913, linking the resort to the city centre in 30 minutes; Japan's first road reserved for motor cars opened here in 1918. That same streetcar still runs from Hakodate Station to Yunokawa today.[1]
The spa nearest an airport
Five minutes from Hakodate Airport, the inn cooperative bills Yunokawa as the hot-spring town closest to an airport in Japan. The Emperor and Empress stayed at the Wakamatsu inn in 1954, and in 1976 Hokkaido designated the area a protected hot-spring zone. Large seafront hotels stand beside old inns, and at the post-Bon fireworks festival the inns still offer spring water to Yukura Shrine.[1][2][6]
Going solo
Easy for solo travellersUnconfirmed
Weekend / peak restrictionsUnconfirmed
Where to eat dinnerCafés and diners in Yunokawa; the Hakodate morning market and izakaya in the city
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.
Dec · Jan · Feb · Mar — The macaques bathe at the botanical garden; winter seas on the Tsugaru Strait
Aug — Yunokawa fireworks festival after the mid-August Bon holiday, with an offering of spring water at Yukura Shrine
May — Cherry blossom at Goryokaku (about 13 min by tram)
Food, culture & experiences
Hakodate Tropical Botanical Garden
Macaques soak in a hot-spring pool in winter[3]
About 15 min walk from the tram stopYukura Shrine
Stone marking the spring's birthplace; site of the water-offering rite during the fireworks festival[3][6]
About 5 min walk from the Yunokawa tram stopHakodate Yunokawa Onsen Fireworks
Launched from the mouth of the Matsukura River over the Tsugaru Strait, after the Bon holiday[6]
On the seaward side of the resortHakodate Morning Market
Seafood bowls and squid, beside Hakodate Station[5]
About 31 min by tram from YunokawaEditors' guide
Take the tram from Hakodate Station to the end of the line. Try the salty water in the footbath by the stop, see the birthplace stone at Yukura Shrine, then bathe at KKR Hakodate (11:00–21:00) or Hotel Tetora (13:00–22:00). Tram back for the night view from Mt Hakodate, morning market the next day. With the airport five minutes away, it makes a good last stop.
The "editors' guide" above is written by the editors from sources; it is not a visitor's opinion.
Photo gallery
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Overview
The Yunokawa Onsen (湯の川温泉) is a well known onsen in Japan on the northern island of Hokkaidō. It is located on the outskirts of Hakodate city close to Hakodate Airport.
This overview is based on the lead section of the English Wikipedia article (CC BY-SA 4.0). View original page
Unconfirmed & notes
- Legal water-treatment notices and single-occupancy policies at the inns not confirmed
- Source pH not confirmed (only 'neutral')
- 2026 fireworks date not confirmed
Sources
- 湯の川温泉 (北海道) - Wikipedia(日本語版)Wikipedia · 2026-10-09
- 函館湯の川温泉 公式サイト函館湯の川温泉旅館協同組合 · 2026-10-09
- みどころ - 函館湯の川温泉函館湯の川温泉旅館協同組合 · 2026-10-09
- 日帰り温泉 - 函館湯の川温泉函館湯の川温泉旅館協同組合 · 2026-10-09
- アクセス - 函館湯の川温泉函館湯の川温泉旅館協同組合 · 2026-10-09
- 湯の川温泉花火大会函館湯の川温泉旅館協同組合 · 2026-10-09
Register sources
- 湯の川温泉 (北海道) - Wikipedia(日本語版)Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-10-09
- Wikidata Q3916336Wikidata · CC0 · 2026-10-09
Data status
Name & locationPublishedCoordinatesPublishedSpring typePublishedPhotosPublishedFacilitiesPublishedVisiting info (dated)PublishedEditorial articlePublished
Updated 2026-10-09
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