Hot springs in Japan

A hot spring town in Fukui Prefecture often called the gateway to Hokuriku, known for its high-temperature saline waters and the concentration of ryokan along tree-lined streets. The town is compact and easy to explore on foot or in a yukata.

A historic hot spring town in Nakanojo, Gunma Prefecture, set deep in the Shima River valley. Over 40 distinct spring sources feed the ryokan and public bathhouses here. The most famous inn, Sekizen-kan Honkan, was built in 1691 and is recognized as an Important Cultural Asset. It is said to have been one of the inspirations for the bathhouse in Studio Ghibli's Spirited Away.

A quiet hot spring village in the Rubeshibe district of eastern Hokkaido, its name taken directly from the Ainu language: onne meaning large and yu meaning hot spring. The village sits surrounded on three sides by the overlapping territories of the Akan, Daisetsuzan, and Shiretoko national parks. The waters are a sodium sulfate spring known for skin-softening effects.

A small hot spring town on the Shimabara Peninsula in Nagasaki Prefecture, set at the foot of Mount Unzen with views across the Shimabara Straits. The springs here are among the hottest in Japan, reaching 105 degrees Celsius. The famous 105-meter outdoor footbath on the seafront is the longest in Japan and open to all visitors free of charge.

A hot spring town in Fukushima Prefecture with one of the most extraordinary spring outputs in Japan: roughly five tonnes of water per minute from a single underground source. The waters are a sodium chloride and sulfate spring with an unusual sulfur character. The town is counted alongside Arima and Dogo as one of Japan's Three Ancient Hot Springs.

A small hot spring resort in Komatsu, Ishikawa Prefecture, founded in 718 AD by the Nara-period monk Taich, who followed the instruction of the mountain deity of Hakusan. With only about a dozen ryokan, each drawing from its own well, the resort is intimate by Hokuriku standards. The Hoshi Ryokan within the district was once recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest hotel.