Onsen Sommelier

Certified Onsen Sommelier, by the Onsen Sommelier Association

CertifiedAwarded by moderators— Awarded by moderators for verified real-world certificates

Earned this one in real life?

Send your stamp book, certificate, or other proof, and we'll add this badge to your passport.

Onsen Sommelier (onsen somurie, 温泉ソムリエ) is a private certification run by the Onsen Sommelier Association since 2002. It started in Akakura Onsen, on the slopes of Mount Myoko in Niigata, as a way for the town's innkeepers to learn their own springs, and opened to everyone in 2005. By 8 October 2026 it had been awarded to 36,292 people.

It is for people who want to understand onsen properly, and anyone can take it: on the overnight certification tour in Akakura, at a seminar in Tokyo, Osaka and other cities or in an onsen town, or through the online course. The course covers what legally makes an onsen, the spring types, how to bathe safely, and above all how to read the analysis certificate (onsen bunsekisho, 温泉分析書), the chemistry behind the notice every hot spring bath has to display. The title does not expire.

The full story, from Akakura to the star ranks above the basic title, is in our post What Is an Onsen Sommelier?

How to earn

This badge is awarded by Onsen Oni moderators to people who hold the Onsen Sommelier title. Apply from this page and attach a photo of your certificate (ninteisho, 認定証), the one handed out at the end of the seminar or mailed after the online course.

Any route to the title counts: a seminar anywhere in Japan, a certification tour, or the online course. The badge is for the basic title; the step-up licences above it, such as Analysis Certificate Master, are not part of it.

About the art

The badge is a tastevin, the small silver cup a wine sommelier uses for tasting, filled with spring water instead of wine. It is our own design. Onsen Oni is not affiliated with the Onsen Sommelier Association.