Niseko Yumeguri Meijin

Niseko Yumeguri Meijin (ニセコ湯めぐり名人, "the Niseko hot-spring-hopping master") is a hot-spring stamp rally run by the Niseko Onsen-bu (ニセコ温泉部), a 1,000-strong club of onsen fans centred on the Niseko hot-spring resorts and the wider Shiribeshi region of southwest Hokkaido. Buy a stamp book, soak your way around the member onsen, and climb a ladder of master ranks named after the peaks that ring the valley, all the way to the great cone of Mt. Yotei.

How it works

1. Buy the stamp book. Pay the ¥200 entry fee at the Roadside Station Niseko View Plaza (information hall) and pick up the 集湯～印帳 (shūyū-inchō, "stamp book").
2. Bathe, then stamp. Soak at a member facility, then collect its stamp.
3. Earn a rank every 8 stamps. Each set of 8 stamps certifies you at the next 段位 (master rank), each with its own title and prize. Eleven rounds and 88 stamps earns the highest title, Mt. Yotei. There is no time limit, so take it slowly.
4. Apply for certification. Hand in your stamp book (with the entry filled in) at the Roadside Station Niseko View Plaza, or apply online. The certification fee is ¥1,000 per rank (¥2,500 for the apex Mt. Yotei rank). You receive a certificate and a commemorative prize.

The eleven master ranks

Each rank is named after a peak of the Niseko range, ascending by elevation. Prizes are a commemorative towel (white, then yellow, then a black towel with gold embroidery at the summit) and a per-rank can-badge.

• 1st dan — Konbudake (昆布岳, 1,045 m): 1 round, 8 stamps
• 2nd dan — Weisshorn (ワイスホルン, 1,046 m): 2 rounds, 16 stamps
• 3rd dan — Shakunagedake (シャクナゲ岳, 1,074 m): 3 rounds, 24 stamps
• 4th dan — Nitonupuri (ニトヌプリ, 1,080 m): 4 rounds, 32 stamps
• 5th dan — Shiribetsudake (尻別岳, 1,107 m): 5 rounds, 40 stamps
• 6th dan — Iwaonupuri (イワオヌプリ, 1,116 m): 6 rounds, 48 stamps
• 7th dan — Chisenupuri (チセヌプリ, 1,134 m): 7 rounds, 56 stamps — a special prize at this rank
• 8th dan — Raidenzan (雷電山, 1,211 m): 8 rounds, 64 stamps
• 9th dan — Mekunnaidake (目国内岳, 1,220 m): 9 rounds, 72 stamps
• 10th dan — Niseko Annupuri (ニセコアンヌプリ, 1,308 m): 10 rounds, 80 stamps
• 11th dan — Mt. Yotei (羊蹄山, 1,898 m): 11 rounds, 88 stamps — the summit, certified a full Yumeguri Meijin

Good to know

• The Nukabira satellite. ぬかびら源泉郷 (Nukabira Onsen-kyo), far to the east, runs a limited-time satellite version of the rally; while its own stamp books last, Nukabira stamps count toward Niseko Yumeguri Meijin too, and the two areas' stamps may be mixed in one book.
• One non-onsen stamp spot. The official roster also includes the Arishima Memorial Museum (有島記念館) in Niseko Town as a stamp location. It is a literary museum, not a bathing facility, so it does not appear in the facility list below, but rally participants can collect a stamp there too.
• It pairs with the Niseko Onsen Pass. Some members also join the separate ニセコ湯めぐりパス discount pass; on this page those facilities are tagged "Red group" (admission under ¥800) or "Blue group" (¥800 and up).
• Hours and prices vary and many baths are seasonal. Several mountain and coastal onsen close in winter or keep shorter cold-season hours, and admission ranges from a few hundred yen at a village bath to a ryokan day-use rate. Always check before you set out.

Earn the badge

Onsen Oni mirrors the rally's ladder as three repeatable badges: Konbudake Meijin (the 1st-dan entry rank), Chisenupuri Meijin (the 7th-dan special-prize rank), and the apex Yotei Yumeguri Meijin (11th dan, all 88 stamps). Climb the ranks and claim the matching badge here.

The member facilities

The list on this page is matched to Onsen Oni's own catalog, so each facility links through to its full page with map, hours, and details. Hours come from each facility's public listing and can change seasonally; the official Niseko Onsen-bu site has the most current participation details.

Sources

• ニセコ湯めぐり名人 — ニセコ温泉部 (official)
• 加盟施設一覧 (member facilities)
• ニセコ湯めぐりパス — Niseko Resort Tourism Association