Tokyo

Tokyo has 22 onsen areas and 168 springs (Ministry of the Environment, FY2024), with about 610,000 overnight stays a year. Even this megacity has hot springs, and they come in three very different forms: city baths in the 23 wards, from neighbourhood bathhouses with Ota Ward's 'black water' such as Kamata to Otemachi in the business district; mountain baths at Mt Takao and Okutama; and island springs in the Izu Islands.

Main onsen areas

Within the 23 wards, black water is spread widely under Ota Ward's waterfront, and bathhouses such as Kamata are dotted among its shopping streets and homes. Central Tokyo has Otemachi, and Itabashi lies to the north. The Tama area has Keio Takaosan, Iwakura in Ome, Tsurunoyu in Okutama, and Kazuma and Janoyu in Hinohara village. Out in the Izu Islands are Oshima and Hachijojima, and on Shikinejima, part of Niijima village, the seaside pools of Jinata, Ashitsuki and Matsugashita Miyabi-yu.

Characteristic spring types

Chloride springs are the most common in our records, followed by simple springs. Ota Ward's black water gets its colour from ancient seaweed and plant matter broken down underground; at Kamata it is so dark your hand disappears. Jinata on Shikinejima is iron-rich water flowing into a rock pool by the sea: at high tide it mixes with seawater to a comfortable temperature, while at low tide it gets very hot. Ashitsuki is the island's only clear, colourless spring.

Reachable by public transport

Keio Takaosan is a minute's walk from Takaosanguchi Station on the Keio Takao Line, and Kamata is a walk from the east exit of Kamata Station (JR and Tokyu). For Izu Oshima, Shikinejima and Hachijojima, Tokai Kisen ships leave from Takeshiba Pier: as little as 1 hour 45 minutes to Oshima by jetfoil, about three hours to Shikinejima by high-speed boat, and about 10 hours 20 minutes to Hachijojima by ship. Hachijojima is also about 55 minutes by air from Haneda.

For solo travellers

Kamata is a public bathhouse rather than an inn, where bathing alone is the norm. Keio Takaosan is a day spa by the station, an easy solo stop after a hike.

Food & culture

Much of Tokyo's onsen life is tied to the culture of the neighbourhood sento; upstairs at Kamata there is a diner known for its onsen kamameshi rice pot. In the Izu Islands, island flavours are as much a draw as the springs: kusaya dried fish made on Niijima and Hachijojima, shima-zushi of soy-marinated fish on slightly sweet rice, and ashitaba, known as a medicinal herb on Hachijojima since the Edo period. Izu Oshima is known for its camellias and camellia oil.