Saitama

Saitama has 31 onsen areas and 117 springs (Ministry of the Environment, FY2024), with about 830,000 overnight stays a year. Most of its onsen inns are small mineral-spring inns scattered through the Chichibu mountains in the west, while the plains have day spas within easy reach of central Tokyo.

Main onsen areas

Most onsen inns are in the Chichibu region: Shibahara, Shiroku, Wado Kosen, Araki Kosen and Otaki in Chichibu City and Ryokami in Ogano. Further east, Sawarabi and Naguri lie in the hills behind Hanno. On the plains there are day spas such as Hyakkannon in Kuki and Hanasaki-no-yu in Ageo.

Characteristic spring types

Chloride and simple springs are the most common in our records, followed by sulfur springs. In Chichibu, Shibahara, Wado Kosen and Araki Kosen are cool simple sulfur springs that emerge well below bathing temperature. Hyakkannon on the plains is a chloride spring that also contains iodine.

Reachable by public transport

The Seibu 'Laview' limited express runs from Ikebukuro to Seibu-Chichibu in as little as 77 minutes, and the Matsuri-no-yu day spa is right by the station. Sawarabi is reached by bus from Hanno on the Seibu Ikebukuro Line.

For solo travellers

The Matsuri-no-yu day spa by Seibu-Chichibu Station is right off the train, an easy solo stop.

Food & culture

Miso-marinated pork and soba are classic Chichibu souvenirs. The Chichibu Night Festival is counted with Kyoto's Gion Festival and the Takayama Festival as one of Japan's three great float festivals, and in 2016 it was inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list as part of the Yama, Hoko, Yatai float festivals. You can also combine a soak with the pilgrimage to the 34 Kannon temples scattered through the villages of the Chichibu basin.