Nyuto Spa Resort — photo: 掬茶 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
The 3 best onsen in Akita
If you want one onsen in Akita, the three to look at are Tamagawa, Nyūtō and Yuze. Of the 47 onsen in Akita Prefecture in our data, they are the three best known that our travel data marks as reachable without a car. They are three very different trips: one big inn on a boiling, strongly acidic source, a group of seven old inns in the forest above Lake Tazawa, and a small riverside town with its own station on a JR local line.
Why these three, in one paragraph
We did not pick by taste. We took every onsen in our data in Akita Prefecture, kept the ones our travel data says you can reach by train and a local bus or a short walk, and ranked them by how often each place's Wikipedia article is read, as a measure of how established a place is. Tamagawa and Nyūtō are the two most read in the prefecture anyway; Yuze is third once the no-car test is applied. The full method, with numbers, is at the end.
Akita in numbers: mountain water, a long way in
Akita is on the Sea of Japan side of northern Tohoku. Of the 47 onsen in our data, 31 have a source temperature on record, and 22 of those reach 42 °C, so the water can go into the bath without heating. Only 19 have a pH on record, and three are below pH 3: Tamagawa, Goshogake and Doroyu. Most of the well-known places are in the mountains on the eastern edge of the prefecture, along the border with Iwate: the Hachimantai plateau in the north-east, Lake Tazawa and Nyūtō in the middle, and the Yuzawa area in the south. The coast and Akita city have onsen too, but they are not the ones people travel for.
The Akita Shinkansen runs from Tokyo through Morioka to Tazawako, Kakunodate and Akita. Tazawako Station is the door to both Tamagawa and Nyūtō. Yuze is on the other side, on the JR Hanawa Line from Morioka. In every case the last part is a local bus or a local train with few services a day, so the timetable decides the trip.
1. Tamagawa: the strongest water in the north
Why it made it. Tamagawa Hot Spring is the most-read onsen in Akita, at 1,856 in our count, more than three times the next place. Our travel data puts it at about 5 hours from Tokyo, with the JR Pass covering the train.
The place. Not a town but one large inn, our records say, high in the Hachimantai mountains, with a steaming valley of vents and pools next to it that you can walk through on a path. Akita-Yakeyama, the volcano above it, is 2.3 km away. Goshogake is 6.1 km to the east.
The water. Recorded at 98 °C and pH 1.05, with a flow of about 9,000 litres a minute from its main source. Only 14 of the 425 onsen in our data with a flow on record reach 9,000 litres a minute, and of those only Kusatsu is more acidic. That pH is about the same as Kusatsu (1.0). It is listed as chloride, carbon dioxide, iron and acidic. Water this acidic stings any small cut. Keep it away from your eyes, keep soaks short, and rinse with plain water afterwards. Take off silver jewellery.
Getting there. The Akita Shinkansen to Tazawako, then a local bus into the mountains. Listings give about 70 minutes; our records give about 1 hour 20 minutes. There are only a few buses a day, and the inns warn that if you miss the last one you cannot get there that day.
Good for: seeing what a really strong volcanic spring looks like, a walk through the steam field. Watch out for: it closes for the winter, roughly from late November to April, and the road beyond is closed to private cars in winter, so check the season before you plan. This is a place people come to soak quietly for days, not a town to stroll round in a yukata.
2. Nyūtō: seven inns in the beech forest
Why it made it. Nyūtō is second at 554. Our travel data puts it at about 4 hours from Tokyo, the JR Pass covering the Shinkansen to Tazawako.
The place. Not one town but seven inns scattered through the forest on the slopes of Akita-Komagatake, each with its own source. The best known is Tsurunoyu, an old inn with a row of thatched buildings, 0.6 km from the centre point in our data. Ōgama and Taenoyu are 1.5 km away, Magoroku 1.7 km, Ganiba and Kuroyu 2.2 km. Our guide to Nyūtō goes through them one by one.
The water. Between them our records list five water types: chloride, bicarbonate, sulfate, sulfur and radon. That is the point of going: walk or ride the small loop bus from one inn to the next and the water changes colour and smell. We have no temperature on record for the group as a whole.
Getting there. The Akita Shinkansen to Tazawako, then the Ugo Kōtsū bus toward Nyūtō Onsen. Our data says about 55 minutes; listings give 35 to 50 minutes depending on the stop. Tsurunoyu is a walk of about 1.5 km from its bus stop, or a pick-up for guests if you arrange it.
Good for: the milky outdoor bath in snow, trying several kinds of water in one stay. Watch out for: the famous outdoor bath at Tsurunoyu is mixed, with separate women's baths as well. Read mixed bathing in Japan first if that is new to you. The inns are small and fill early, especially in winter.
3. Yuze: the easy one by the river
Why it made it. Yuze Onsen is third at 373, just ahead of Goshogake at 357. Of the three it is the only real town, and the only one with its own station.
The place. A small onsen town along the Yoneshiro River in the north-east of the prefecture, in Kazuno. About 160,000 people a year come to bathe, in our records. Mount Gonomiya is 2.7 km away and the Ōhirumemuchi Shrine 3.5 km; the Hanawa ski area is 7.3 km.
The water. Recorded at 58 °C and pH 8.9, and listed as a simple spring. Simple means low in minerals; at that pH it is alkaline, so it feels smooth on the skin. It is the gentlest water of the three, and hot enough that it is cooled, not heated.
Getting there. The JR Hanawa Line from Morioka to 湯瀬温泉 (Yuze-Onsen Station), about 100 minutes by an inn's count, then a walk of about 5 minutes. Our travel data puts it at about 4 hours from Tokyo, the JR Pass covering the whole way. Trains on the Hanawa Line are few, so check the times.
Good for: a first onsen in Akita, arriving by train with luggage, a night between Morioka and Lake Towada. Watch out for: it is quiet: a few inns along the river, not a lane of shops and bathhouses.
Which of the three?
- The famous milky bath and the snow: Nyūtō. Book early.
- The strongest water, between late spring and autumn: Tamagawa. Plan around the bus.
- The easiest train trip, any time of year: Yuze, five minutes from its station.
- Two in one trip: Tamagawa and Nyūtō both start from Tazawako Station, on different bus routes. Spend a night at each rather than trying both in a day.
The places that only just missed
Goshogake (357) would have been fourth. It is on the Hachimantai plateau, 6.1 km from Tamagawa, recorded at 85 °C and pH 1.8, acidic and sulfur, with mud pools and steam vents of its own. The mountain road there closes in winter.
Doroyu (320) is in the south, near Yuzawa: two inns in our records, sulfur water at 60 to 80 °C and pH 1.8 to 5.6. Our records say about 60 minutes by Ugo Kōtsū bus from Yuzawa Station on the JR Ōu Line. Fukenoyu (203), a single inn with acidic water on the Hachimantai side, is about 65 minutes by bus from Hachimantai Station on the Hanawa Line.
Ōyu near Lake Towada (178) and Oga on the coast (134) appear in many English lists of Akita onsen, but neither is on our no-car list. For more on the whole region, see our guide to Tohoku.
How we picked these three
- Starting pool: all 47 onsen in our data in Akita Prefecture, out of 1,538 in Japan.
- No car needed: we kept the places our travel data marks as reached by train and a local bus or a short walk. Seven Akita places appear on our onsen without a car list: Tamagawa, Nyūtō, Yuze, Goshogake, Doroyu, Tsurunoyu and Fukenoyu.
- Known: we ranked them by how often each place's Wikipedia article is read. Tamagawa 1,856, Nyūtō 554, Yuze 373, then Goshogake 357, Doroyu 320 and Tsurunoyu 270. We counted Tsurunoyu as part of Nyūtō, not as a separate pick.
- Not used: views, inn quality, price, tattoo policy, food or private baths. We have no data that ranks those fairly, so we did not pretend to.
- About the water: 31 of the 47 have a temperature on record and 22 reach 42 °C. Tamagawa (98 °C) and Yuze (58 °C) are among them; Nyūtō has no temperature on record as a group. The water did not decide the ranking.
- Distances are in a straight line; travel times are rough estimates from our data and listings, not a timetable. Check the current route and season before you go.
For every onsen you can reach by public transport, see onsen you can reach without a car and onsen on the JR Pass. For the rest of the region, see onsen in Tohoku, Nyūtō and Ginzan. Other prefecture picks: Aomori, Fukushima, Gunma and Okayama. About the acidic water: acidic springs and onsen water types. Going in winter? See onsen by season. New to this? Start with how an onsen stay actually works and onsen etiquette. Tattooed? Read going to an onsen with tattoos before you book.