List of hot springs in Japan explained

This is a dynamic list of geothermal hot springs (onsen) as geological phenomena in Japan. This list is not for listing commercial establishments such as spa hotels, onsen ryokan, healing centers or other commercial establishments.

Japan has many geothermal spring systems as it is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire volcanic area. More than 27,000 hot spring sources exist in Japan,^[1] together they discharge over 2.6 million liters of water every minute.^[2]

These springs have played, and continue to play, an important role in Japanese culture throughout history.^{[3] [4]} In Shinto, Sukunabikona is the kami of the hot springs. As the deity of hot springs Sukunabikona and Ōkuninushi went to the Dōgo hot springs. There Ōkuninushi put Sukunabikona in the hot spring water to heal him of an ailment. Upon awakening, Sukunabikona danced atop a stone. It is said that his footprints left impressions on the rock, known as Tamanoishi, which still exists at Dogo Onsen north of the main building.^{[5] [6]}

Akita Prefecture

• Akinomiya Hot Springs
• Nyūtō Onsen
• Ōfuka Onsen
• Takanoyu Onsen also known as Falcon's Hot Spring
• Tamagawa Hot Spring is tied (with Higashi Onsen in Kagoshima) for the highest acid content of all hot springs in Japan, at a PH value of 1.2.
• Tsurunoyu Onsen

Aomori Prefecture

• Asamushi Onsen
• Furofushi Onsen
• Kappa-no-you Hot Spring
• Oku-yagen Hot Spring
• Sukayu Onsen
• Yagen Onsen

Ehime Prefecture

• Dōgo Onsen was mentioned in the oldest collection of Japanese poetry, the Man’yo Wakashu.

Fukui Prefecture

• Awara Onsen, Awara

Fukushima Prefecture

• , Nihonmatsu, Fukushima
• Iizaka Onsen
• Iwaki Yumoto Onsen
• Sabakoyu Onsen
• Takayu Onsen
• Tsuchiyu Onsen

Gifu Prefecture

• , Gero, Gifu, Hida River
• , Takayama
• Nagaragawa Onsen

Gunma Prefecture

• Akagi, Gunma
• , Ikaho, a.k.a. Ikaho Onsen, Kogane-no-Yu (The Golden Waters), Kodakara-no-Yu (Child Waters)
• Kusatsu Onsen
• Sawatari Hot Springs
• Rosoku Onsen has the highest radium content in all of Japan., also known as Yunoshima Radium Kosen Hoyojo (Rosoku Onsen) (有限会社 湯之島ラジウム鉱泉保養所)^[7]
• Shima Onsen
• Takaragawa Onsen

Hokkaido Prefecture

Hokkaido Prefecture has the third most hot springs with 2,304 registered. The hot springs in the prefecture have the second highest discharge rate of water at 260 kiloliters per minute.

• Asahidake Onsen
• Futamata
  • Kamuiwakka Falls
• Noboribetsu Jigokudani, or Hell Valley, the main source of the Noboribetsu onsen
  • Onnetō Hot Falls
  • Tenninkyo Onsen
• Tōyako, Hokkaidō, Shikotsu-Toya National Park
• Yunokawa Onsen

Hyōgo Prefecture

• Arima Onsen, Kobe, was mentioned in the Nihon Shoki, the second oldest account of the history of Japan (after the history presented in Kojiki)
• Kinosaki, Hyōgo
• Takarazuka, Hyōgo
• Yumura Onsen, (Shin'onsen, Hyōgo) Yumura Onsen has the hottest water in Japan with a temperature of 208.4 degrees Fahrenheit (98 degrees Celsius).

Ishikawa Prefecture

• Awazu Onsen, Komatsu, Ishikawa
• , Kaga, Ishikawa
• Wakura Onsen, Nanao
• Yamanaka Onsen, Kaga
• Yamashiro Onsen, Kaga
• Yuwaku Onsen

Iwate Prefecture

• Geto Onsen
• Hanamaki, Iwate
• Kindaichi Onsen

Kagawa Prefecture

• Naoshima

Kanagawa Prefecture

• Hakone, Kanagawa, near Tokyo. See also Ōwakudani
• Iiyama Onsen and one other hot spring (Tokigawa Onsen in Saitama Prefecture) are tied for the highest alkalinity in all of Japan.
• Miyanoshita Onsen
• Tsurumaki Onsen has the highest calcium content in its waters of all the hot springs in Japan.
• Yugawara

Kagoshima Prefecture

Kagoshima prefecture has the second most hot springs in Japan, with 2,824 registered. The hot springs systems in Kagoshima have the third highest discharge rate at 201 kiloliters per minute.

• Higashi Onsen and one other hot spring (Tamagawa Onsen in Akita) have the highest acidity content in its water at a PH value of 1.2, of all the hot springs in Japan.
• Ibusuki Onsen
• Kirishima

Kyoto Prefecture

• Funaoka Onsen, Kyoto

Kumamoto Prefecture

• Aso, Kumamoto, Mount Aso
• Kurokawa Onsen, Aso^[8]
• Nuruyu Onsen

Mie Prefecture

• Yunoyama Onsen

Miyagi Prefecture

• Naruko
• Sakan Onsen
• Sakunami Onsen

Nagano Prefecture

• Asama Onsen
• Honzawa Onsen has the highest elevation for an open-air onsen, at 2,150 meters.
• Jigokudani
  • Nozawaonsen
• Shibu
• Suwa

Nagasaki Prefecture

• Obama Onsen supposedly the hottest Japanese hot spring (105C)
• Shimabara, Nagasaki
• Unzen Onsen

Niigata Prefecture

• Iwamuro, Niigata
  • • • Yuzawa, Niigata

Okayama Prefecture

• , Okayama Prefecture at the foot of Yubara dam
• Yunogo Onsen, Okayama Prefecture

Ōita Prefecture

Oita is the prefecture with the most geothermal spring sources in Japan, 4,788 are registered. The prefecture also has the highest discharge rate of 296 kiloliters per minute

• Beppu Onsen, Hells of Beppu, Beppu, Ōita Prefecture
• Kankaiji Onsen
• Nagayu Onsen has the highest level of carbon dioxide of any hot spring in the world.
• Yufuin, Ōita Prefecture

Saga Prefecture

• Tara, Saga

Saitama Prefecture

• Tokigawa Onsen and one other hot spring (Iiyama Onsen in Kanagawa Prefecture) are tied for first place for the highest alkalinity in the water.

Shimane Prefecture

• Tamatsukuri Onsen is mentioned in the Izumo no Kuni Fudoki (Chronicle of the Land of Izumo) from the year, 733.

Shizuoka Prefecture

• , Atami
  • Itō, Shizuoka
  • Minami-Alps Akaishi Onsen Shirakaba-so
• Mine Onsen, Daifunto Park Kawazu town. (Dai funto park) Kawazu, Shizuoka https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Mine_Onsen
• Shuzenji Onsen

Tochigi Prefecture

• Kinugawa Onsen, Tochigi

Tottori Prefecture

• Hawai Onsen
• , Yonago, Tottori
• , Misasa
• Tōgō Onsen

Toyama Prefecture

• Mikuriga-ike Onsen has the highest elevation of all hot springs in Japan, with an elevation of 2,400 meters.
• Unazuki Onsen, Kurobe

Wakayama Prefecture

• , Tanabe, Wakayama
• Nanki-Katsuura Onsen, Nachikatsuura, Wakayama
• Nanki-Shirahama Onsen, Shirahama
• Ryujin Onsen, Tanabe, Wakayama
• Tsubaki Onsen
• Yunomine Onsen, Tanabe, Wakayama, site of the UNESCO World Heritage Tsuboyu bath

Yamagata Prefecture

• Akayu, Yamagata
• Ginzan Onsen, Obanazawa
• Zaō Onsen

Other locations

• Kaniyu Onsen
• Okukinu hot springs group
• Sashiusudake [Baransky] hot springs - in disputed territory between Japan & Russia

See also

• List of hot springs in the United States
• List of hot springs in the world
• Sentō
• Onsen

Further reading

Ishizu, Risaku. The Mineral Springs of Japan (1915), published by Sankyo Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo Imperial Hygienic Laboratory for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition

External links

• Sento Guide Guide to public baths in Japan
• Japan Onsen A mountain onsen guide of the Japan Alps

Notes and References

1. News: Phro . Preston . The hottest, highest and healthiest hot springs in Japan . 27 August 2020 . Japan Today . 20 December 2013.
2. Web site: Tadanori . Matsuda . Soaking up the Benefits: Japan's Hot Springs Tradition . 30 March 2015 . Nippon: Your doorway to Japan . 27 August 2020.
3. Mihaela . Serbulea . Unnikrishnan . Payyappallimana . Onsen (hot springs) in Japan—Transforming terrain into healing landscapes . Health & Place . 2012 . 18 . 6 . 1366–1373 . 10.1016/j.healthplace.2012.06.020 . 22878276 . 26 August 2020.
4. News: Nakata. Hiroko. 22 January 2008 . Japan's hot springs part of social, geologic, historic fabric . The Japan Times . 26 August 2020.
5. Web site: Spirited Away at Dogo Onsen. Taiken Japan.
6. A Handbook for Travellers in Japan, including the Whole Empire from Yezo to Formosa, by Basil Hall Chamberlain & W.B. Mason, 1901
7. Web site: Yunoshima Radium Kosen Hoyojo (Rosoku Onsen) (有限会社 湯之島ラジウム鉱泉保養所) . Japan Travel . 5 September 2021.
8. Book: Bro . Lindsey . Thermal: Healing with Heat - Saunas, Hot Springs & Baths . 182 . 2022 . Chronicle Books . San Francisco . 978-1-7972-1857-1.