Hidden Gems Across Japan
35 spots found · Onsen
Higashiyama Onsen — Samurai Retreat Hot Spring Town
Higashiyama Onsen (東山温泉) is a historic hot spring town nestled in a mountain valley 5km east of Aizu-Wakamatsu, where st…
Bessho Onsen — Mountain Hot Spring Resort
Bessho Onsen is a secluded hot spring resort nestled in the mountains near Mt. Ishizuchi, known for its milky-white sulf…
Atsumi Onsen — Mogami River Hot Springs and Ryokan Tradition
Atsumi Onsen is a small hot spring village along the Atsumi River (a tributary of the Mogami River) about 40 minutes fro…
Tamatsukuri Onsen — 1,300-Year Beauty Hot Spring
Tamatsukuri Onsen (玉造温泉) is a 1,300-year-old hot spring resort famous for beautifying waters rich in sulfate and chlorid…
Dogo Onsen Honkan — Japan's Oldest Hot Spring Bathhouse
Dogo Onsen Honkan is Japan's most famous public bathhouse, a three-story wooden castle-like structure built in 1894 that…
Zao Onsen — Sulfur Springs and Ski Resort Village
Zao Onsen is a high-altitude hot spring village at 880 meters elevation on the slopes of Mt. Zao, one of Japan's oldest…
Ginzan Onsen — Taisho-Era Hot Spring Romance
Ginzan Onsen is a tiny hot spring village preserved in Taisho-era (1912-1926) architectural style, with multi-story wood…
Nyuto Onsen — Rustic Mountain Hot Springs Village
Nyuto Onsen (乳頭温泉郷) is a cluster of seven secluded hot spring inns deep in the Towada-Hachimantai National Park, 50 kilo…
Sakunami Onsen
Sakunami Onsen has welcomed travelers for over 1,500 years, a riverside hot spring town nestled in a forested mountain v…
Naruko Onsen Hot Spring Town
Naruko Onsen has soothed travelers for over 1,000 years, a mountain hot spring town nestled in a volcanic valley where f…
Hanamaki Onsen — Hot Spring Resort Town
Hanamaki Onsen is a collection of hot spring resort villages in the mountains west of Hanamaki City, including Hanamaki…
Aoni Onsen — Lamp-Lit Mountain Retreat
Aoni Onsen (青荷温泉) is a remote mountain hot spring inn accessible only via narrow forest road (or on foot), where electri…
Takegashima Hot Spring — Seaside Onsen with Pacific Views
Takegashima Onsen (竹ヶ島温泉) is a small hot spring resort on Tokushima's southern coast, featuring outdoor baths overlookin…
Iya Onsen Cliff Bath — Riverside Rotenburo via Cable Car
Hotel Iya Onsen (ホテル祖谷温泉) operates one of Japan's most dramatically positioned outdoor baths — a riverside rotenburo (露天…
Iwaki Yumoto Onsen — 1,600-Year-Old Coastal Hot Springs
Iwaki Yumoto Onsen (いわき湯本温泉) is one of Japan's oldest documented hot spring resorts, with written records dating to 556…
Spa Resort Hawaiians — Indoor Tropical Water Park & Hula Shows
Spa Resort Hawaiians (スパリゾートハワイアンズ) is Japan's largest indoor water park, a surreal tropical complex featuring constant…
Unazuki Onsen — Gateway Hot Spring to Kurobe Gorge
Unazuki Onsen (宇奈月温泉) is Toyama's premier hot spring resort town, nestled at the entrance to Kurobe Gorge where the Kuro…
Arima Onsen — Gold & Silver Hot Springs Since 631 CE
Arima Onsen (有馬温泉) is Japan's oldest onsen resort, with 1,400-year bathing history documented since 631 CE. The town is…
Kinosaki Onsen — Seven Public Bath Pilgrimage
Kinosaki Onsen (城崎温泉) is a traditional hot spring town famous for its seven public bathhouses (外湯, sotoyu) — each with d…
Echigo-Yuzawa Onsen — Snow Country Hot Spring Town
Echigo-Yuzawa is the onsen town that inspired Yasunari Kawabata's Nobel Prize-winning novel 'Snow Country' (雪国, 1948) —…
Awara Onsen — Historic Hot Spring Resort Town
Awara Onsen (芦原温泉) is Fukui's premier hot spring resort, established in 1883 when a farmer accidentally discovered therm…
Yamaga Onsen & Lantern Festival
Yamaga Onsen is a 1,800-year-old hot spring town in northern Kumamoto with alkaline waters (pH 9.5) that leave skin feel…
Ibusuki Sand Bath — Buried Alive on the Beach
Ibusuki is famous for sunamushi onsen (砂むし温泉) — hot sand baths where attendants bury visitors up to the neck in naturall…
Nagayu Onsen — Carbonated Hot Spring Soak
Nagayu Onsen (長湯温泉) in Taketa City is one of Japan's few naturally carbonated hot springs (炭酸泉, tansan-sen). The water c…
Myoban Onsen — Yunohana Sulfur Huts
Myoban Onsen is a hot spring district on Beppu's western hillside famous for yunohana (湯の花, 'hot spring flowers') — crys…
Hyotan Onsen — Family-Run Traditional Bath
Hyotan Onsen (ひょうたん温泉) is a family-operated bathhouse in Kannawa that has won 'Best Onsen in Japan' rankings multiple ti…
Beppu Sand Bath — Buried on the Beach
Takegawara Onsen (竹瓦温泉), operating since 1879, offers Beppu's most accessible sand bath experience. Visitors wear yukata…
Yufuin — Mountain Onsen Town with Mt. Yufu View
Yufuin is a highland hot spring resort (elevation 450m) set in a basin surrounded by mountains, most notably Mt. Yufu (1…
Kurokawa Onsen — Rustic Mountain Hot Spring Village
Kurokawa Onsen (黒川温泉) is a preserved onsen village in the mountains north of Mt. Aso, designed to look like an Edo-perio…
Ureshino Onsen — Skin-Softening Miracle Waters
Ureshino Onsen is called 'bijin no yu' (beautiful woman's water) — the sodium bicarbonate-rich water has a slippery, sil…
Obama Onsen — Longest Hot Spring Footbath in Japan
Obama Onsen is a coastal hot spring town facing the Tachibana Bay, known for having the highest water temperature of any…
Ureshino Onsen Ryokan Night Walk
Ureshino's 30 ryokan are concentrated within 800 meters of riverside corridor — close enough that walking the onsen town…
Saga Onsen Hizen Yumo — Scenic Mineral Spring Spa
Located 20km south of Saga City in the Sefurisan mountain range, Hizen Yumo Onsen is a concentrated cluster of three ryo…
Takeo Onsen Motoyu — Japan's Oldest Public Bath
Motoyu, the central public bath of Takeo Onsen, occupies a building constructed in 1915 in the style of a Noh stage — a…
Kirishima Onsen Village
The Kirishima volcanic highland is home to some of Kyushu's most celebrated hot spring villages. The Kirishima-Kinkowan…