Nagasaki

Nagasaki has 37 onsen areas and 203 springs (Ministry of the Environment, FY2024), with more than 1.62 million overnight stays a year. The heart of it is the Shimabara peninsula, where Unzen, inside Japan's first national park and over 1,300 years old, and seaside Obama, recorded in the Hizen Fudoki of 713, show the mountain and the sea sides of the region.

Main onsen areas

On the Shimabara peninsula, Unzen city has Unzen and Obama, and Shimabara city has Shimabara Onsen. In the north are Hirado and Sechibaru in Sasebo, and on the outlying islands Iki Yunomoto on Iki and Arakawa in the Goto Islands.

Characteristic spring types

Chloride and bicarbonate springs are the most common in our records. Unzen is known for its sulfur smell and strong acidity. Obama is a sodium chloride spring that sends up 15,000 tonnes a day of 100°C water from 30 sources around town, and claims to rank first in Japan for heat output and temperature.

Reachable by public transport

Unzen is about 70 minutes by bus from Isahaya on the JR Nagasaki Line, and Obama about 60 minutes by bus from the same station. For Shimabara Onsen, get off at Shimabarako Station on the Shimabara Railway.

For solo travellers

A walking trail loops through the Unzen Jigoku hot-spring vents in about 30 minutes, and Obama has Hot Foot 105, billed as Japan's longest foot bath, easy to drop into on your own.

Food & culture

Unzen flourished as a summer retreat and became one of Japan's first resorts. Unzen Jigoku, more than 30 steaming vents with names such as Daikyokan, Oito and Seishichi, was also a site of Christian martyrdom, marked by a memorial; eggs steamed in its vapour are the local treat. Miyama-kirishima azaleas colour the mountain in spring, red leaves in autumn and rime ice in winter. Obama is a seaside spa town known for its sunsets.