Japanese Onsen (Hot Springs)

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Japanese Onsen (Hot Springs)

Onsen, Japan's natural hot springs, are one of the country's most cherished traditions: a way to relax, warm up, and soak in mineral-rich waters surrounded by nature. Hot-spring towns across Japan turn bathing into a whole getaway.

What are the best onsen towns in Japan?

Kusatsu Onsen in Gunma and Kinosaki Onsen in Hyogo are among Japan's most beloved hot-spring towns, famed for their waters and atmospheric streets. Hakone and Beppu are other favorites.

What are the onsen etiquette rules?

Wash and rinse thoroughly before entering the bath, keep your towel out of the water, and tie up long hair. Onsen are usually enjoyed nude and separated by gender, and some baths restrict guests with tattoos.

What is the difference between an onsen and a sento?

An onsen uses naturally heated, mineral-rich spring water, while a sento is a public bathhouse filled with ordinary heated water. Both are great ways to experience Japanese bathing culture.

Festival

Zao Juhyo Festival

The Zao Juhyo Festival in the Zao Mountains centres on the Snow Monsters, ice and snow formations that coat the trees, illuminated after dark.

27 Dec 2026 – 23 Feb 2027Exact date not confirmed yetYamagata

Onsen & Wellness

Dogo Onsen

A hot spring town in Matsuyama centred on the Dogo Onsen Honkan bathhouse, with water from 18 sources served neither heated nor diluted.

Matsuyama · Ehime

Story

Yuchelin 2026: Japan's 21 Three-Star Onsen

Yuchelin, a new rating for Japanese hot springs, judges the water itself. Its first three-star list names 21 onsen, from Hokkaido to Yakushima.

2026/10/27

Festival

Echigo Yukiwari Road

Spring's arrival is celebrated with delicate alpine flowers that bloom as snow melts across multiple scenic sites in the Echigo region.

7 Mar – 12 Apr 2027Exact date not confirmed yetNagaoka · Niigata

Onsen & Wellness

Yamashiro Onsen

Hokuriku hot spring town built around its public baths, keeping a traditional soyu bathhouse culture and the historic yunogawa town atmosphere.

Kaga · Ishikawa

Festival

Otaru Ushio Festival

This coastal festival celebrates Otaru's maritime heritage with parades, fireworks, and cultural activities honoring the harbour's role in the city's growth.

24–26 Jul 2027Exact date not confirmed yetOtaru · Hokkaido

Activity & Sport

Yamagata Zao Onsen Ski Resort

Ski resort above the Zao Onsen hot spring village in Yamagata, with 305 hectares of slopes, three ropeways and runs through the snow-covered trees called juhyo.

Yamagata

Performing Art

Yamashiro Daidengaku Festival

The Yamashiro Daidengaku Festival revives dengaku, an ancient dance form rooted in Shintoism, performed by local talent and renowned actors in period costume.

8–9 Aug 2027Exact date not confirmed yetKaga · Ishikawa

Onsen & Wellness

Tamatsukuri Onsen

A hot spring town on the Tamayu River, praised in the Nara-period Izumo Fudoki for water that beautifies the skin, and once a centre of magatama making.

Matsue · Shimane

Onsen & Wellness

Shibu Onsen

Hot spring town with over 1,300 years of history and nine public baths fed by natural springs, each believed to bring its own distinct health benefits.

Yamanouchi · Nagano

Onsen & Wellness

Sakakibara Onsen

Hot spring area in Tsu, Mie, praised in The Pillow Book and once a place where pilgrims purified themselves before visiting Ise Jingu.

Tsu · Mie

Onsen & Wellness

Kurokawa Onsen

Hot spring village of about 30 ryokan in the mountains beyond Aso, where one bath pass, the nyuto tegata, opens the open-air baths of 25 inns.

Minamioguni · Kumamoto

Amusement Park

Aso Farm Land

Health and leisure resort in Aso-Kuju National Park with an outdoor play area, a petting zoo of about 35 kinds of animals, hot springs and a dome hotel.

Minamiaso · Kumamoto

Lake

Lake Shikotsu

Hokkaido lake, the second deepest in Japan, surrounded by three volcanoes and notable as the nation's northernmost ice-free body of water.

Chitose · Hokkaido

Shrine

Isaniwa Shrine

A Shinto shrine in Matsuyama with roots in a visit by Emperor Chuai and Empress Jingu to Dogo Onsen, enshrining multiple emperors as cultural treasures.

Matsuyama · Ehime

Onsen & Wellness

Wakura Onsen

A hot spring town on Nanao Bay, said to date back about 1,200 years, with a salty spring that once rose from the sea and a white heron founding legend.

Nanao · Ishikawa

Amusement Park

Nagashima Spa Land

Amusement park in Kuwana, Mie, home to Steel Dragon 2000, the longest roller coaster in Japan, and Hakugei, the first hybrid coaster in Asia.

Kuwana · Mie

Onsen & Wellness

Ginzan Onsen

A nostalgic Taisho-era hot-spring town in the Yamagata mountains, lined with wooden inns along a gas-lit river - at its most magical under snow.

Obanazawa · Yamagata

What are the best onsen towns in Japan?

Kusatsu Onsen in Gunma and Kinosaki Onsen in Hyogo are among Japan's most beloved hot-spring towns, famed for their waters and atmospheric streets. Hakone and Beppu are other favorites.

What are the onsen etiquette rules?

What is the difference between an onsen and a sento?

An onsen uses naturally heated, mineral-rich spring water, while a sento is a public bathhouse filled with ordinary heated water. Both are great ways to experience Japanese bathing culture.

Festival

Zao Juhyo Festival

The Zao Juhyo Festival in the Zao Mountains centres on the Snow Monsters, ice and snow formations that coat the trees, illuminated after dark.

27 Dec 2026 – 23 Feb 2027Exact date not confirmed yetYamagata

Onsen & Wellness

Dogo Onsen

A hot spring town in Matsuyama centred on the Dogo Onsen Honkan bathhouse, with water from 18 sources served neither heated nor diluted.

Matsuyama · Ehime

Story

Yuchelin 2026: Japan's 21 Three-Star Onsen

Yuchelin, a new rating for Japanese hot springs, judges the water itself. Its first three-star list names 21 onsen, from Hokkaido to Yakushima.

2026/10/27

Festival

Echigo Yukiwari Road

Spring's arrival is celebrated with delicate alpine flowers that bloom as snow melts across multiple scenic sites in the Echigo region.

7 Mar – 12 Apr 2027Exact date not confirmed yetNagaoka · Niigata

Onsen & Wellness

Yamashiro Onsen

Hokuriku hot spring town built around its public baths, keeping a traditional soyu bathhouse culture and the historic yunogawa town atmosphere.

Kaga · Ishikawa

Festival

Otaru Ushio Festival

This coastal festival celebrates Otaru's maritime heritage with parades, fireworks, and cultural activities honoring the harbour's role in the city's growth.

24–26 Jul 2027Exact date not confirmed yetOtaru · Hokkaido

Activity & Sport

Yamagata Zao Onsen Ski Resort

Ski resort above the Zao Onsen hot spring village in Yamagata, with 305 hectares of slopes, three ropeways and runs through the snow-covered trees called juhyo.

Yamagata

Performing Art

Yamashiro Daidengaku Festival

The Yamashiro Daidengaku Festival revives dengaku, an ancient dance form rooted in Shintoism, performed by local talent and renowned actors in period costume.

8–9 Aug 2027Exact date not confirmed yetKaga · Ishikawa

Onsen & Wellness

Tamatsukuri Onsen

A hot spring town on the Tamayu River, praised in the Nara-period Izumo Fudoki for water that beautifies the skin, and once a centre of magatama making.

Matsue · Shimane

Onsen & Wellness

Shibu Onsen

Hot spring town with over 1,300 years of history and nine public baths fed by natural springs, each believed to bring its own distinct health benefits.

Yamanouchi · Nagano

Onsen & Wellness

Sakakibara Onsen

Hot spring area in Tsu, Mie, praised in The Pillow Book and once a place where pilgrims purified themselves before visiting Ise Jingu.

Tsu · Mie

Onsen & Wellness

Kurokawa Onsen

Hot spring village of about 30 ryokan in the mountains beyond Aso, where one bath pass, the nyuto tegata, opens the open-air baths of 25 inns.

Minamioguni · Kumamoto

Amusement Park

Aso Farm Land

Health and leisure resort in Aso-Kuju National Park with an outdoor play area, a petting zoo of about 35 kinds of animals, hot springs and a dome hotel.

Minamiaso · Kumamoto

Lake

Lake Shikotsu

Hokkaido lake, the second deepest in Japan, surrounded by three volcanoes and notable as the nation's northernmost ice-free body of water.

Chitose · Hokkaido

Shrine

Isaniwa Shrine

A Shinto shrine in Matsuyama with roots in a visit by Emperor Chuai and Empress Jingu to Dogo Onsen, enshrining multiple emperors as cultural treasures.

Matsuyama · Ehime

Onsen & Wellness

Wakura Onsen

A hot spring town on Nanao Bay, said to date back about 1,200 years, with a salty spring that once rose from the sea and a white heron founding legend.

Nanao · Ishikawa

Amusement Park

Nagashima Spa Land

Amusement park in Kuwana, Mie, home to Steel Dragon 2000, the longest roller coaster in Japan, and Hakugei, the first hybrid coaster in Asia.

Kuwana · Mie

Onsen & Wellness

Ginzan Onsen

A nostalgic Taisho-era hot-spring town in the Yamagata mountains, lined with wooden inns along a gas-lit river - at its most magical under snow.

Obanazawa · Yamagata

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