Public bathhouse · Open
Yakushi-yu
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- Unconfirmedno check date
- Hours
- Unconfirmedchecked 2026-10-09
Photo information
Save to passport
Official classification
Spring type (therapeutic classes)
Official spring-type name (as recorded)Sodium chloride spring (some sources described as earthy saline springs)
- Source temperature
- 46–50°C
- pH
- Unconfirmed
- Flow rate
- Unconfirmed
- Radon
- Unconfirmed
Appearance & feel
Water colour · Feel
Brown
Colour and feel are listed only where a source states them. They vary by day and by bath.
What makes it special
Two public bathhouses in the port that once shipped Iwami's silver. The water seeps naturally from the rock, and decades of brown mineral crust have built up around the tubs.
Why?
Yakushi-yu's official site says its naturally welling, free-flowing water earned the Japan Spa Association's top 'all fives' rating; Wikipedia records sodium-chloride sources at about 50 °C and 46 °C, the 2004 designation as the first hot-spring town among Japan's preserved historic districts, and inclusion in the World Heritage 'Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Landscape'. The ledger's spring entry notes the water's brown colour.[1][2]
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.
Public bathhouse · Open
Motoyu Sen'yakuto
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- Unconfirmedno check date
- Hours
- Unconfirmedchecked 2026-10-09
Ryokan (inn) · Open
Yunotsu-an (Yakushi-yu's annex inn)
- Day-use bathing
- No
- Fee
- Unconfirmedno check date
- Hours
- Unconfirmedchecked 2026-10-09
Getting there
Reachable by public transport
From JR Yunotsu Station on the San'in main line, about 8 minutes on the Oda city community bus (Yunotsu line), or about 15 minutes on foot (roughly 1 km). By car, exit at Yunotsu on the San'in Expressway.
- Getting there
- Yunotsu Station · 8
- Through the year
- Winter snow and wind on the Sea of Japan coast can disrupt trains
- Checked
- 2026-10-09
About the water
Yunotsu's water is a salty sodium chloride spring, and each of the two public baths has its own source: Motoyu at about 50 °C, Yakushi-yu about 46 °C (Wikipedia). Both let the water that seeps from the rock run straight into the tubs; Yakushi-yu's site stresses that nothing is added, neither cold water nor heat. Decades of salty, iron-bearing water have built thick brown crusts on the rims and floors and left flakes floating on the surface. That is the visual signature of Yunotsu, noted as brown in our ledger. Chloride springs are the type said to keep you warm after bathing. The water is hot, so keep soaks short and drink water. Posted indications could not be read.
| Source | Source temperature | pH | Radon | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Motoyu source | 50 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
| Yakushi-yu source (emerged after the 1872 Hamada earthquake) | 46 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
Three things not to miss
Photo information
Motoyu Sen'yakuto
Mid-way along the spa street (Yunotsu-guchi) Regarded as Yunotsu's oldest bath. In the founding legend a travelling monk found the water healing a wounded tanuki, and a carving of a tanuki on a lotus sits above the bathhouse. The water wells naturally from the rock and the tubs are divided by temperature.
Mineral flakes and brown deposits coat the tubs: a hot spring in its raw form. It is hot, so start with the cooler tub.[2][4]
Photo information
Yakushi-yu and its Taisho-era old building
On the spa street (7 Yunotsu) A public bath fed by the source that appeared after the 1872 Hamada earthquake. Its site states the water flows naturally and untreated and that it is the only San'in spa rated 'all fives' by the Japan Spa Association. Source about 46 °C. The adjoining Taisho-era old building, the oldest bathhouse architecture surviving in Yunotsu, is now the 'Shin-yu Cafe Kuranojo', and the bath also runs the small inn Yunotsu-an nearby. Closed Tuesdays.
A spring born of an earthquake, and a cafe named for it: the town's memory kept in its buildings.[1][2]
Photo information
The silver port's streetscape
The whole town of Yunotsu The port from which Iwami's silver was shipped in the Edo period. In 2004 it became the first hot-spring town designated an Important Preservation District for Groups of Historic Buildings, and in 2007 part of the World Heritage 'Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Landscape'.
The spa street itself is a component of the World Heritage site; a stroll in a yukata puts you inside it.[2]
The story
A port with a hot spring
The name Yunotsu means 'the port with the hot spring'. Some 1,300 years ago, legend says, a travelling monk found the water as a tanuki bathed its wounds there, and a tanuki on a lotus is carved above the Motoyu bath. From the Sengoku to the Edo period the harbour shipped silver from the Iwami mine and welcomed the coastal kitamae-bune traders. Wikipedia notes that from 1555 the Ito family ran Motoyu, keeping the bath rights in return for silver paid to successive lords.[2][4]
A second spring born of an earthquake
The Hamada earthquake of 1872 opened a new source in Yunotsu, and Yakushi-yu uses it, independent of Motoyu. Motoyu at about 50 °C and Yakushi-yu at about 46 °C both run water straight from the rock into their tubs, where salt and iron have built thick brown crusts. Yakushi-yu's site records the Japan Spa Association's top 'all fives' rating, unique in the San'in region, and its Taisho-era old building, the oldest bathhouse architecture left in town, lives on as a cafe.[2][1]
A spa inside a World Heritage site
In 2004 Yunotsu became the first hot-spring town to be named a national Important Preservation District for Groups of Historic Buildings, and in 2007 it was inscribed as part of the World Heritage 'Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Landscape'. Inns, the two baths, temples and merchant houses line one street; walk it in a yukata and you are inside the heritage. The station is about 8 minutes away by community bus or 15 on foot, and the mine's Omori district about half an hour by bus or car, so the town also works as a base for the mine.[2][3]
Going solo
Easy for solo travellersUnconfirmed
Weekend / peak restrictionsUnconfirmed
Where to eat dinnerFew restaurants; the Shin-yu Cafe serves by day. Plan dinner at your inn
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.
Apr · May · Oct · Nov — Comfortable weather for walking the old town and visiting the silver mine
Jan · Feb — The season when the warming chloride water counts most; the Sea of Japan is at its roughest
Jul · Aug — The water is hot; in summer bathe morning or evening
Food, culture & experiences
Iwami Ginzan silver mine (Omori district and Ryugenji shaft)
The World Heritage mine itself; Yunotsu was its shipping port[1][2]
About 30 minutes by bus or car from YunotsuShin-yu Cafe Kuranojo
A cafe in Yakushi-yu's Taisho-era former bathhouse[1]
Next to Yakushi-yuYunotsu port and Okidomari
The harbour from which silver was shipped; at Okidomari, mooring stones carved for the ships survive[2]
About 15 minutes' walk from the spaEditors' guide
Reach the town from Yunotsu Station by community bus or on foot. Spend the morning at the mine's Omori district, come back for an afternoon soak starting in Motoyu's cooler tub, then Yakushi-yu towards evening (closed Tuesdays) and the cafe in its old building afterwards. The brown crust is mineral, not dirt. The water is hot, so bathe briefly and often. Check fees and hours on the notices at the door.
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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Onsen areas nearby
Unconfirmed & notes
- Fees and hours of Motoyu and Yakushi-yu could not be read on official pages and are left blank (travel sites give 600 yen and 500 yen respectively, unconfirmed)
- Formal spring names, pH, mineral tables and posted indications are unconfirmed, as is Motoyu's treatment notice
- Community-bus frequency and fare and solo-stay terms at inns are unconfirmed
Sources
- 薬師湯 公式サイト(温泉津温泉)薬師湯 · 2026-10-09
- 温泉津温泉 - WikipediaWikipedia · 2026-10-09
- 薬師湯 アクセス薬師湯 · 2026-10-09
- 薬師湯 温泉津の魅力(アピール)薬師湯 · 2026-10-09
Register sources
- 温泉津温泉 - Wikipedia(日本語版)Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-10-09
- Wikidata Q11562956Wikidata · CC0 · 2026-10-09
Data status
Name & locationPublishedCoordinatesPublishedSpring typePublishedPhotosPublishedFacilitiesPublishedVisiting info (dated)PublishedEditorial articlePublished
Updated 2026-10-09
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