Chubu
19 onsen areas
Niigata
2 →
Senami Onsen
On the Sea of Japan coast at Murakami in northern Niigata, Senami Onsen was discovered in 1904 when oil prospectors struck near-boiling water instead of crude. Its 95 °C sodium-chloride springs face straight out to sea, famous for sunsets sinking into the water beside the open-air baths.
Echigo-Yuzawa Onsen-kyo
Ski-and-onsen town on the Joetsu Shinkansen, immortalized by Kawabata's 'Snow Country'. Cluster of 10+ onsen along the Uono Valley.
Toyama
1 →
Ishikawa
2 →
Wakura Onsen
Sea-side onsen on the Noto Peninsula coast (Ishikawa) with 1200 years of history. Strong sodium chloride springs feeding luxury ryokan, including the famed Kagaya inn.
Kaga Onsen-go
Group of four historic spa towns in southern Ishikawa: Yamashiro, Yamanaka, Awazu, and Katayamazu. Each has its own character but shares the Kaga lacquerware tradition.
Nagano
4 →
Kamisuwa Onsen
A lakeside spa town on the eastern shore of Lake Suwa, where open-air baths face the water beneath the floating castle of Takashima, a timed geyser, five sake breweries, and the great August lake fireworks.
Nozawa Onsen
Snow-country ski resort village with 13 free public bathhouses (sotoyu) maintained by the residents themselves.
Hakuba-Happō Onsen
Ski-resort onsen at the base of the Hakuba Happō-One slopes, in the Northern Japanese Alps.
Yudanaka–Shibu Onsen-kyo
Nine-area onsen group along the Yokoyu River. Shibu's nine outer baths, Edo-period townscape, and proximity to the snow monkeys of Jigokudani are the draws.
Gifu
2 →
Gero Onsen
One of Japan's three great onsen (Sanmeisen). Alkaline springs along the Hida River, with a free outdoor bath in the riverbed.
Okuhida Onsen-go
Five mountain hamlets (Hirayu, Fukuji, Shin-Hirayu, Tochio, Shin-Hotaka) in the northern Japanese Alps. Famous for outdoor baths with views of the Hotaka range.
Shizuoka
7 →
Inatori Onsen
A fishing port on a cape of the Izu Peninsula's east coast, where saline cliffside baths look out over the Pacific. Famous for branded kinmedai snapper and the Hina no Tsurushi-kazari hanging-doll festival, one of Japan's three great tsurushi displays.
Izukogen Onsen
A planned highland resort above Itō on the eastern Izu Peninsula, laid out in the 1960s on lava from Mt. Ōmuro, with mild simple-thermal springs, sea-view open-air baths, pensions and small art museums, the Jōgasaki Coast, and a cherry-blossom avenue.
Izunagaoka Onsen
A hot-spring town on the central Izu plain, joining the ancient Kona spring — named in the Azuma Kagami and tied to the Hōjō clan — with Meiji-era Nagaoka. Gentle alkaline "beauty water," Mt. Katsuragi's Fuji-and-Suruga-Bay views, and the Genji history of nearby Hirugakojima.
Shuzenji Onsen
1200-year-old onsen at the head of the Katsura River in central Izu. Bamboo grove, red bridges, the historic Shuzenji temple complex.
Shimoda Onsen
Port town at the southern tip of the Izu Peninsula, famous as the site of Commodore Perry's 1854 landing. Sulfate springs and Pacific-coast ryokan with views of the Izu islands.
Itō Onsen
Coastal Izu resort with a long Edo-period bathing history. Famous for the wooden Tokaikan inn, sodium chloride springs, and fresh sashimi at the morning market.
Atami Onsen
Seaside city on the Izu Peninsula, an hour from Tokyo by Shinkansen. Coastal sodium chloride springs; fireworks over Sagami Bay in summer.
