Shimane

Shimane has 41 onsen areas and 267 springs (Ministry of the Environment, FY2024), with more than 1.2 million overnight stays a year. Tamatsukuri was recorded as 'the hot water of the gods' in the Izumo Fudoki of 733, Yunotsu was the port that shipped silver from the Iwami mine, and Arifuku claims a founding legend of about 1,300 years ago: spas with long records and legends are scattered across the Izumo and Iwami regions.

Main onsen areas

In the eastern Izumo region are Tamatsukuri and Matsue Shinjiko on the north shore of Lake Shinji in Matsue, Sagi-no-yu in Yasugi and Yunokawa in Izumo. The western Iwami region has Yunotsu and Sanbe in Oda, Arifuku in Gotsu and Mimata in Hamada, and the Oki Islands have Oki Onsen.

Characteristic spring types

Chloride springs are the most common in our records, followed by simple and sulfate springs. Tamatsukuri is a sulfate-chloride spring of about 42°C that the tourism association calls 'lotion-like'. Yunotsu is a sodium chloride spring flowing straight from the rock; the tubs at Motoyu (about 50°C) and Yakushi-yu (about 46°C) are crusted thick with brown salt and iron deposits. Matsue Shinjiko draws its water from more than 1,250 m below ground.

Reachable by public transport

For Tamatsukuri, take a bus or taxi from Tamatsukuri-onsen Station on the JR San'in Line, one stop from Matsue; a shuttle also runs from Izumo Enmusubi Airport. Matsue Shinjiko has its own station, Matsue Shinjiko Onsen, on the Ichibata Railway. Yunotsu is about 8 minutes by local bus or about 15 minutes on foot from JR Yunotsu. Arifuku is about 30 minutes by bus from JR Gotsu (six a day) or 35 minutes from JR Hamada (seven a day).

For solo travellers

At Tamatsukuri the Yu-yu day bathhouse makes a perfectly good visit on its own, and the inn list includes a guesthouse. Yunotsu's two public baths, Motoyu and Yakushi-yu, are easy to drop into alone.

Food & culture

Tamatsukuri means 'bead-making', after the agate magatama beads once made here, and Tamatsukuriyu shrine at the top of the town honours the gods of bead-making and of the spring. Yunotsu means 'the port with the hot spring'; from the 16th to the 19th century it shipped silver from the Iwami mine and welcomed coastal kitamae-bune traders. Yakushi-yu uses a source that appeared in the Hamada earthquake of 1872, and its Taisho-era old building is now a cafe. Arifuku is said to have been found around 650 by Hodo Sennin, a monk from India, and the village has three public baths.