Yama no Yado

乳頭温泉郷鶴の湯温泉別館山の宿にゅうとうおんせんきょうつるのゆおんせんべっかんやまのやど

Lodging

Tohoku·Akita

0187-46-2100 tsurunoyu.com

Bathing & Water

Natural onsen water

Uses natural hot spring water

Outdoor BathYes

Open-air outdoor bath

Indoor BathYes

Enclosed indoor bathing area

Capabilities

Private BathYes

Private bath available for day-use visitors or hotel guests to reserve

Mixed BathingNo

Shared bathing area for all genders

All baths are single-party kashikiri (locked from inside when in use), so no shared/mixed bathing occurs

Policies & Services

DiningYes

Restaurant or dining open to visitors (not just hotel meal plans)

Iori dining hall serves lunch to visitors 11:00-13:00, closed Wednesdays (yama-imo nabe teishoku ¥1,500-2,500, soba/udon from ¥800, groups by phone reservation); dinner/breakfast for lodging guests is served in-room around an irori hearth

ParkingYes

On-site or nearby parking available

A parking area exists at the property, per a 2025 reviewer's mention of posted hours at the parking-lot entrance; no official capacity/fee info found

白湯

Shiroyu (White Bath) Source

黄

Sulfur

+ Chloride · Bicarbonate

Color: milky white, turbid
Taste: not recorded
Odor: hydrogen sulfide

Sulfur-rich

Known good for

Skin conditionsatopic skin, eczema
Circulationtired legs
Warmingcold sensitivity

Sensitive-skin cautionbroken or dry skin

Shiroyu — the signature 'white bath' source of the Tsuru-no-yu lineage. A sulfur-bearing sodium-calcium chloride-bicarbonate spring (hydrogen-sulfide sub-type), emerging at 55.7 degC and delivered to the tubs at about 42 degC. The water is milky white from suspended sulfur with the unmistakable rotten-egg note of H2S, and beneath that the salt-tinged warmth of chloride is softened by bicarbonate. One of the iconic turbid baths of the Tohoku region.

Explore the water

Views

Forest

Programs

About

Yama no Yado is the annex of Tsurunoyu Onsen in Akita's Nyuto Onsenkyo, and its water comes straight from the main building: the same milky white sulfur spring, kept flowing fresh into three baths, two indoors and one outdoor. There's no reservation system, you wait until a bath is free and lock the door from inside for as long as you like. It's a plainer, quieter place than its well-known neighbor: an old wooden inn with simple rooms facing the forest, dinner and breakfast cooked over an in-room irori hearth, and a small dining hall that also serves lunch to day visitors, closed Wednesdays. Like the main building, it belongs to the Nihon Hitou wo Mamoru Kai (日本秘湯を守る会) network of secluded hot-spring inns.

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1 year ago

Yama no Yado (山の宿). A really great ryokan — decent rooms (there's even a rocking chair), nice baths, excellent food. No higaeri. Baths are all kashikiri (4 in summer, 3 in winter). 2 indoor and 2 rotenburo. Right now there aren't many guests, so you can use any bath as much as you want, but I imagine when fully booked you'd need to sign up. The main bath is still Tsuru-no-Yu. The hotel runs a bus fairly often and until late; in summer you can apparently walk through the forest (but I think you'd need 3 cans of bear spray per person, otherwise the odds of not making it increase). Or drive your own car. Last bus from the ryokan at 20:15, return at 21:30. By car, guests can apparently stay until 22:30. No charge for using Tsuru-no-Yu. Rooms have toilets and even a bathtub. The hair dryer is very weak — better bring your own. I've been thinking lately about how to rate onsen for myself, and I decided on "would I want to come back." I'll definitely return to this one.

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Last updated July 22, 2026