Ishikawa

Ishikawa has 48 onsen areas and 330 springs (Ministry of the Environment, FY2024), with over 2.5 million overnight stays a year. In the south, the Kaga onsen group gathers Yamashiro, Yamanaka, Katayamazu and Awazu; in the north, Wakura rises on Nanao Bay on the Noto Peninsula; and Yuwaku is Kanazawa's own retreat in the hills, making this one of the major onsen regions of Hokuriku. Noto is still recovering from the earthquake of 1 January 2024.

Main onsen areas

The Kaga group fills the south in Kaga and Komatsu, where Yamashiro, Yamanaka, Katayamazu and Awazu each form their own spa town. Kanazawa has Yuwaku, and at the foot of Mt Hakusan are Hakusan Ichirino and Chugu. On the Noto Peninsula, besides Wakura on Nanao Bay, there are small springs at Wajima and Suzu.

Characteristic spring types

Chloride springs are the most common in our records, followed by bicarbonate and sulfate. Wakura is a hot, salty spring said to have first been found rising from the sea, and Katayamazu, which wells up from the bed of Lake Shibayamagata, is also chloride water. Yamashiro, Yamanaka and Awazu are listed as sulfate springs in our records.

Reachable by public transport

The Kaga group's gateway is Kaga-Onsen Station on the Hokuriku Shinkansen. Hokutetsu Kaga buses take about 10 minutes to Yamashiro, 15 to Katayamazu and 30 to Yamanaka, and the CANBUS loop bus also runs. Awazu is about 30 minutes by local bus from JR Komatsu Station. Wakura is about 90 minutes by limited express from Kanazawa to Wakura-Onsen, then about 5 minutes by bus. Yuwaku is about 50 minutes from Kanazawa Station on a Hokuriku Railroad local bus.

For solo travellers

At Yamanaka, the Kiku-no-yu public bath and a walk along the Kakusenkei gorge make an easy solo day. Wakura's public bath is a 5-minute bus ride from the station, open to day visitors.

Food & culture

Crafts and hot springs are closely linked here: Yamashiro keeps the site of a late-Edo Kutani porcelain kiln, and Yamanaka is famous for its lacquerware. Jibuni duck stew, the signature dish of Kaga cuisine, Noto fish and winter crab grace inn tables. Yamashiro and Yamanaka still keep the traditional layout of a spa town built around a central public bath, the soyu.