A selection of hot springs in Kanto, Japan! Start a hot spring journey to heal your body and mind!

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🤗 Atami

Tokugawa Ieyasu's favorite hot spring

Located on the Izu Peninsula, Atami Hot Springs is one of the best seaside hot spring towns in Japan, with a pleasant climate by the mountains and the sea, and is only a 50-minute drive from Tokyo.

There are more than 300 springs, most of which are salt springs, which are good for arthritis, neuralgia, and gynecological disorders.

Atami Hot Springs was discovered about a thousand years ago, but it was more than 200 years ago that it became known as a tourist attraction. It is said that Tokugawa Ieyasu used to visit the hot springs every time he returned from a victory, and that he spent a lot of money and labor to transport the water from Atami to Edo (present-day Tokyo) so that he could enjoy the water all the time. Atami still has a footbath called “Tokugawa Ieyasu” today.

Location: Atami City, Shizuoka Prefecture (near Kanagawa Prefecture) Spring quality: Salt spring

🤗 Kinugawa·Kawaji

Scratch and Burn Sanctuary

Kinugawa Hot Spring is located along the Kinugawa River in Nikko National Park, and together with Kawaji Hot Spring 11 kilometers upstream, it is called Kinugawa-Kawaji Hot Spring Village. The traditional saying, “Bumps and bruises in the river, burns and scalds in Kinugawa,” which means, “Go to Kawaji for bumps and bruises, but go to Kinugawa for burns and scalds,” demonstrates the miraculous therapeutic effects of the hot springs in Kinugawa.

Today, the Kinugawa River has become a rare leisure and sightseeing spot in the Kanto region.

Location: Nikko City, Tochigi Prefecture Spring quality: Simple springs and alkaline springs

🤗 Ikaho

The first choice for passionate men and women

Mt. Haruna in Gunma Prefecture may be unfamiliar to you, but you will know it by its alias, Mt. Akira. At 700 meters above sea level on the side of Mt. Haruna lies Ikaho Onsen, one of the oldest hot springs in Japan, whose name appears in the earliest surviving collection of Japanese traditional songs, the Manyoshu.

Ikaho Onsen has a strong romantic atmosphere, and the famous Japanese writer, Tokutomi Ashika, who wrote his sad novel, “Rather Return,” is a favorite spot for lovers, who can often be seen at the end of the 365 stone steps asking for an autograph.

There are two main types of spring water in Ikaho Onsen, one of which is tea-brown in color and contains iron, and is known as the “Gold Soup”, while the other is a clarified spring that has gushed out in recent years, and is known as the “Silver Soup”. Both types of spring water have high medical value and are effective in treating burns, chronic skin diseases, and arteriosclerosis.

Location: Ikaho-machi, Gunma Spring quality: Iron and sulfate springs

🤗 Hakone

Jade fan hanging down in the sky of the East Sea

Hakone, located in the western part of Kanagawa Prefecture, is one of the most popular hot spring areas in Tokyo.

Hakone has a wide range of hot springs, the most famous of which are the Hakone Seven Hot Springs (Yumoto, Koga, etc.), and 17 other hot springs such as Kowakudani, Senshigahara, and Miyagino, all of which surround the mountain, making it a hot spring town of Hakone.

Location: Kusatsu-cho, Agatsuma-gun, Gunma Spring quality: Simple springs - Acidic springs - Sulfate springs - Salt springs - Mixed springs

🤗 Kusatsu

Japan's No. 1 Hot Spring

Kusatsu Onsen is located in Agatsuma-gun, Gunma Prefecture, and has been known as one of the “Three Great Hot Springs of Japan” since the 18th century, along with Arima Onsen and Gero Onsen.

“Yubatake”, located in the center of the onsen town, is the most famous feature of Kusatsu Onsen, where the temperature of the spring is so high that it steams up all year round. The temperature of the spring is so high that a white mist is always steaming. Yubatake is ranked number one in Japan with about 230,000 barrels of hot spring water gushing out every day.

Above Yubatake is an iconic large wooden structure that settles and cools the freshly gushing water before distributing it to public baths and neighboring inns.

Location: Kusatsu-cho, Agatsuma-gun, Gunma Spring quality: Acidic spring - sulfur yellow spring

🤗 Tokyo Big Bath Inventory

The Kanto region is rich in hot springs, and in addition to the above, Nasu, Shiman and Yugawara are also on the list. If you don't have enough time to visit these real hot spring towns and still want to experience a Japanese hot spring, then we recommend going to one of the big baths in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

Inagi Natural Hot Spring Kinozai

Address: 6-13 Mukaiyodai, Inagi City, Tokyo

Entrance fee: 800 yen (weekdays) - 950 yen (both holidays) (Various in-house onsen programs and gourmet meals are available at additional cost)

A natural hot spring facility opened in Inagaki City, where water resources are abundant, has a carbonated water salt spring that utilizes a high-quality source spring that gushes out of the ground, and has been praised as a “beautiful skin no yu”. After just one minute of soaking in the carbonated hot spring, you can feel the bubbles floating all over your body. The stress accumulated in daily life is instantly dissipated~

There are not only open-air baths with water from the source, herbal baths for women, but also rock baths, foot massages, and Korean scrubs, so you can say that there is a full range of programs.

Maenohara Onsen “Sayano Yusho”

Address: 3-41-1 Maeno-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo Admission: 830 yen (weekdays) - 1,030 yen (both holidays)

Located in Maegano-machi, Itabashi, Maeganohara Onsen has a unique architectural style and garden design that gives you the illusion of being in a high-class hotel, so it's a great place to bring the family to enjoy.

There is a wide variety of hot springs, ranging from the rare yellowish-green muddy water baths in the metropolitan area that flow from the source spring, to open-air hot springs surrounded by greenery, to indoor baths with well water that makes the skin feel smooth to the touch. The most notable features of the water are that it contains no chemicals, is weakly alkaline, has a high concentration of salts, and does not cool easily.

After the hot spring, you can also enjoy a meal while looking out over the garden. There are also a variety of programs such as foot massages and body beauty treatments that you can try out.

Tokyo Sakura Onsen Sakura

Address: 4-24, Komagari 5-chome, Toshima-ku, Tokyo Admission: 1296 yen

The hot springs at “SAKURA TOKYO SAKURA” are amber-colored hot springs that are fully loaded with various natural minerals. The colorless and transparent mineral hot springs shine with an amber-colored glow when the bathtub is filled. The moisturizing effect is excellent, and the skin becomes smooth and elastic after bathing, earning it the nickname “Beauty's Hot Spring” among customers.

You can take a dip in the saline hot spring that immediately warms and relaxes your body and mind, or we recommend the indoor “Ebiru-yu” if you want to enjoy it to the fullest.

The premises are very clean, with facilities for relaxation such as open-air baths, saunas, and rock baths, and the dining environment is natural and elegant enough.

THE SPA Narajo

Address：20-2, Chitoseodai 3-chome, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo

Admission: 1,296 yen

The hot spring water at “THE SPA Narajo” is a carbonated salt water spring that gushes out from a depth of 1,200 meters underground. Kuroyu, the specialty hot spring of Tokyo Natural Spa, is rich in minerals from seaweed and plants from ancient times that have been blended into the earth's strata.

There is also a women's-only rock plate bath, after the hot springs incidental SPA, full-body beauty plus massage, simply too good for female friends~!

Akikawa Keikoku Setsu no Yu

Address: 565 Etsu, Akiruno-shi, Tokyo Entrance fee: 1000 yen (3 hours, extension fee 200 yen per hour)

“Akikawa Kei Valley Osein-no-yu” is a hot spring facility that utilizes the hot spring water that gushes out from the nature of Kei Valley. The spring water is alkaline and has a distinctive slippery feeling. The water is slightly more alkaline than normal hot springs, so you can feel your body melting as you soak in it.

It is characterized by forest baths where you can feel the nature during the day and open-air baths where you can see the sky full of stars at night, making it hard to imagine that this is a metropolitan area of Tokyo.

The open-air baths offer a beautiful view of the forests and streams throughout the seasons, but the quality of the water is better than the indoor baths.

Importantly, it also offers authentic kaiseki cuisine (reservations required) and has a lodging program, so it's perfectly possible to stay for a few days and fully enjoy the relaxing experience of nature and hot springs.