Day-use bath · Open
Yu-yu Ariina
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- ¥620checked 2026-10-09
- Hours
- Unconfirmedchecked 2026-10-09
Photo information
Save to passport
Official classification
Spring type (therapeutic classes)
Official spring-type name (as recorded)Sodium–calcium chloride hot spring (Shinshiro City); Wikipedia notes some sources are simple springs
- Source temperature
- 19.5–35.9°C
- pH
- Unconfirmed
- Flow rate
- Unconfirmed
- Radon
- Unconfirmed
Appearance & feel
Water colour · Feel
Unconfirmed
Colour and feel are listed only where a source states them. They vary by day and by bath.
What makes it special
Step off at an unstaffed station on the Iida Line and ten or so inns face each other across a river whose bed is one flat sheet of rock, like laid boards. The salty spring a hermit is said to have found 1,300 years ago still rises beside it.
Why?
Shinshiro City describes Yuya as a village of about ten inns on both banks of the Ure River, drawing on the 'Horeki-sen' source found by the hermit Rishu who founded Horaiji temple 1,300 years ago, with sodium–calcium chloride water. The riverbed is bedrock, hence the nickname 'Itashiki-gawa' (board-floored river). Yuya-Onsen Station is unstaffed (Wikipedia).[2][3][6]
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.
Ryokan (inn) · Open
Yunokaze HAZU
- Day-use bathing
- Yes
- Fee
- Unconfirmedno check date
- Hours
- Unconfirmedchecked 2026-10-09
Foot bath · Suspended
Rishu Sennin foot bath and spring-water stand
- Day-use bathing
- No
- Fee
- ¥0checked 2026-10-09
- Hours
- Unconfirmedchecked 2026-10-09
Getting there
Reachable by public transport
Yuya-Onsen Station on the JR Iida Line; the village starts at the station. 38.0 km from Toyohashi, served by the Inaji limited express and 12 down / 13 up local trains a day. Unstaffed. The city's S-Bus (Horaijisan–Mokkuru Shinshiro line) also serves Yuya and Mt Horaiji at 200 yen a zone.
- Getting there
- Yuya-Onsen Station ·
- Getting there
- Iida Line: 12 down and 13 up locals a day. S-Bus frequency per the timetable PDF
- Through the year
- Busy in the gorge's autumn-leaf season; bike rental 10:00–16:00
- Checked
- 2026-10-09
About the water
Shinshiro City lists the water as a sodium–calcium chloride spring and traces it to the 'Horeki-sen' source found by the hermit Rishu, who founded Horaiji temple 1,300 years ago. A new source came in and began supplying the inns in February 2008. Per Wikipedia there are several sources, cool by onsen standards, from No. 1 at 19.5 °C (sodium–calcium chloride) to No. 7 at 35.9 °C, with No. 6 a simple spring; most baths are therefore heated, and the salt content is said to keep bathers warm afterwards. pH, analysis sheets and heating notices at the inns could not be read. The city sold source water from a stand, now suspended along with the foot bath after Legionella was detected.
| Source | Source temperature | pH | Radon | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Source No. 1 (Wikipedia) | 19.5 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
| Source No. 5 (Wikipedia) | 28.8 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
| Source No. 7 (Wikipedia) | 35.9 | Unconfirmed | Unconfirmed | no check date |
Three things not to miss
Photo information
The Itashiki River and Horai Gorge
Right in front of the inns Horai Gorge runs about 5 km up and downstream of Yuya along the Ure River. The riverbed is solid rock that looks like boards laid side by side, hence 'Itashiki-gawa'. Part of the Tenryu-Okumikawa Quasi-National Park; the Umase-iwa rock is a natural monument.
Looking down on that single sheet of rock from an inn window or open-air bath is the view Yuya is about. Best known in autumn colour.[3][7]
Yu-yu Ariina
Notose, Shinshiro, within the Yuya area The city's day-use complex: rock-lined open-air and indoor baths, a 25 m pool and gym. Baths only 620 yen adults, 310 children, 150 infants; whole complex 1,150 yen. Sodium–calcium chloride spring. The children's pool slide is currently out of use.
The public way into Yuya's water without booking a room.[4]
Photo information
Walking from Yuya-Onsen Station
Yuya-Onsen Station, JR Iida Line 38.0 km from Toyohashi. The Inaji limited express stops here, plus 12 down and 13 up local trains a day. Unstaffed; the old station building, which once housed an inn run by the Horaiji Railway, was demolished in 2019. A bus stop stands outside.
The village begins at the station, with river, inns and railway in one frame. A small resort you can reach without a car, made for travelling alone.[6][2]
The story
The hermit's spring
Shinshiro City traces Yuya's water to the 'Horeki-sen' source found by the hermit Rishu, who is said to have founded Horaiji temple in 703; that is where the claim of 1,300 years comes from. Mt Horaiji is a national scenic site and natural monument in its entirety, with a 1,425-step stone approach and a Toshogu shrine to Tokugawa Ieyasu completed in 1651. Yuya is the small bathing village in the Ure River gorge at its foot.[2][12]
A river floored with boards
For about 5 km up and downstream of Yuya the Ure River runs through Horai Gorge over a bed of tuff-breccia and rhyolite so flat it looks like laid boards, hence 'Itashiki-gawa'. It lies within the Tenryu-Okumikawa Quasi-National Park, and the Umase-iwa rock is a natural monument. About ten inns face each other across the water, some with open-air baths over the river. The city sums Yuya up as a bath 'taken while watching the forest's seasons and listening to the river'.[3][7][2][13]
A cool, salty spring
The city lists the water as a sodium–calcium chloride spring. Per Wikipedia there are several sources ranging from 19.5 °C (No. 1) to 35.9 °C (No. 7), all around or below body temperature, with No. 6 a simple spring; a new source began feeding the inns in February 2008. The salt is said to keep you warm after bathing. A stand selling source water (100 yen per 100 litres) and a foot bath at the village entrance are both suspended after Legionella was detected.[2][14][5]
The village starts at the station
Yuya-Onsen Station, 38.0 km from Toyohashi, is an unstaffed stop on the Iida Line served by the Inaji express and 12 down / 13 up local trains. The Horaiji Railway once ran an inn inside the station building; that building came down in 2019. Walk out and you are in the village, which also has the city's day-use bath Yu-yu Ariina (620 yen). The inn Yunokaze HAZU rents e-bikes for 500 yen a day, with an 8 km route along the Itashiki River and the railway.[6][4][10]
Going solo
Easy for solo travellersUnconfirmed
Weekend / peak restrictionsUnconfirmed
Where to eat dinnerUnconfirmed
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.
Nov — Autumn colour in Horai Gorge and on Mt Horaiji
Apr — Yuya Onsen flower festival (city event; the 2026 page could not be read)
May · Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep — Mt Horaiji is known as habitat of the 'Buppo-so' scops owl
Food, culture & experiences
Mt Horaiji, Horaiji temple and the Horaisan Toshogu shrine
695 m; Horaiji temple founded in 703 by the hermit Rishu, a Toshogu shrine completed in 1651 and a 1,425-step approach. The whole mountain is a national scenic site and natural monument (1931)[12][11]
By S-Bus from Yuya (time not confirmed)Horai Gorge (Itashiki River)
About 5 km of gorge centred on Yuya; the rock riverbed looks like laid boards[3]
In front of the villageCycling from Yuya
E-bikes from Yunokaze HAZU, 500 yen a day (10:00–16:00); three routes including an 8 km ride along the Itashiki River and the Iida Line[10]
From the villageThe Median Tectonic Line and Hyakken Falls
A great fault crossing south-east Shinshiro; the Hyakken Falls and Mt Horaiji nearby have long been sacred ground[3]
By car (time not confirmed)Editors' guide
Arrive on a morning Iida Line train. Leave your bag at the inn, walk the riverbank, then take an e-bike along the Itashiki River and railway route (about 8 km each way). Back in the village, look down on the river from Yu-yu Ariina or your inn's open-air bath. Next day, take the S-Bus to Mt Horaiji.
The "editors' guide" above is written by the editors from sources; it is not a visitor's opinion.
Photo gallery
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Onsen areas nearby
Unconfirmed & notes
- The official site listed in the ledger (yuya-spa.com) was an empty placeholder when checked; inn list, formal spring name and drinking-stand details could not be read
- Source temperatures from Wikipedia; pH, analysis sheets and heating/recirculation notices not confirmed. Yu-yu Ariina's hours and closing days are not on the city page
- Toyohashi–Yuya journey time, walking times from the station and S-Bus frequency not confirmed
- The spring-water stand and foot bath are suspended per the city; solo-stay terms at inns not confirmed
Sources
- 新城市 温泉(観光・文化・スポーツ)新城市 · 2026-10-09
- 湯谷温泉の紹介(新城市)新城市 · 2026-10-09
- 新城の自然に癒やされる(新城市)新城市 · 2026-10-09
- ゆ〜ゆ〜ありいな(新城市)新城市 · 2026-10-09
- 温泉スタンド(新城市)新城市 · 2026-10-09
- 湯谷温泉駅 - WikipediaWikipedia · 2026-10-09
- 鳳来峡 - WikipediaWikipedia · 2026-10-09
- 湯谷温泉 (愛知県) - WikipediaWikipedia · 2026-10-09
- 湯の風HAZU 公式サイト湯の風HAZU · 2026-10-09
- 湯谷園地及び美谷駐車場(新城市)新城市 · 2026-10-09
- 湯谷温泉でサイクリング(新城市)新城市 · 2026-10-09
- Sバス鳳来寺山もっくる新城線(新城市)新城市 · 2026-10-09
- 鳳来寺山 - WikipediaWikipedia · 2026-10-09
- 川沿いの温泉で癒やされる(新城市)新城市 · 2026-10-09
Register sources
- 湯谷温泉 (愛知県) - Wikipedia(日本語版)Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-10-09
- Wikidata Q11563791Wikidata · CC0 · 2026-10-09
Data status
Name & locationPublishedCoordinatesPublishedSpring typePublishedPhotosPublishedFacilitiesPublishedVisiting info (dated)PublishedEditorial articlePublished
Updated 2026-10-09
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