Ikaho Onsen — photo: matsukaz · CC BY 2.1 jp · Wikimedia Commons
The 3 best onsen towns near Tokyo
If you want one night in a hot spring town and you are starting from Tokyo, go to Ikaho in Gunma, Kinugawa in Tochigi, or Bessho in Nagano. All three are about two hours from Tokyo, all three can be reached by train with at most a short bus ride at the end, and they are the three best-known towns that pass both of those tests. They are not the same kind of place, and the water is different in each. Below is why each one made it, what it is like, and the towns that only just missed.
Why these three, in one paragraph
We did not pick by taste. Our travel data lists 526 onsen towns within about three hours of Tokyo. Three hours is too far for "near", so we kept only towns estimated at about two hours or less: 127 of the 240 best-known. We then kept only those where you do not need a car: 112. Finally we ranked those by how often each town's Wikipedia article is read, as a measure of how established a town is — the more people look a place up, the more likely it is to have a real town centre, a choice of inns, and baths that take visitors. The top three are Ikaho, Kinugawa and Bessho. The full method, with numbers, is at the end.
1. Ikaho: the stone-step town on a hillside
Why it made it. Ikaho Onsen is the most looked-up town in the pool by a wide margin: 3,265 in our count, against 2,264 for the next one. It is 119 km from Tokyo Station in a straight line, and our estimate puts it at about two hours.
The town. Ikaho is built up a steep slope, and its centre is a long stone staircase lined with old inns, shops and games halls, climbing to a small shrine at the top. It is the reason to go: you walk up and down it in a yukata in the evening, and everything is within reach on foot. Ikaho Shrine sits at the top of the steps, and the Takehisa Yumeji memorial museum is under a kilometre away.
The water. Our records list Ikaho as a sulfate spring. The town is also known locally for a brownish, iron-tinted water alongside a clear one, and the two come from different sources, so the bath you get depends on the inn or public bath. Read the sign in the changing room; our guide to reading the water sign explains it. We have no source temperature on record for Ikaho, so we will not guess one.
Getting there. Take a JR train to 渋川 (Shibukawa), then a local bus of about 20 minutes up the hill. The JR Pass covers the train, not the bus. There is also a direct highway bus from Shinjuku that takes about two and a half hours with no change, which is easier with luggage.
Good for: a first onsen town, a couple who want to walk around in the evening, anyone who wants an easy one-night trip. Watch out for: the slope. Inns near the top of the steps mean a climb with your bags; check where yours is before you book.
2. Kinugawa: the big resort on a river gorge
Why it made it. Kinugawa Onsen is second in the pool at 2,264. It is 127 km from Tokyo Station, about two hours, and the station is in town.
The town. Kinugawa is a resort built along a gorge of the Kinu river, with large hotels standing over the water. It is less of a walking town than Ikaho and more of a stay-in-your-hotel town: big baths, big dinners, river views from the room. The Ryūōkyō gorge is about 4 km up the valley, and Nikkō's shrines are close enough to combine in one trip.
The water. Kinugawa is listed as a simple spring and classed as alkaline. That means mild, clear water that is easy on the skin — a safe choice for someone who has never been in an onsen and is not sure about strong smells or very hot baths.
Getting there. Kinugawa is on the Tōbu line, not JR. Tōbu limited expresses run from Asakusa, and some through trains run from JR stations such as Shinjuku. The JR Pass does not cover the whole trip, so check before you rely on it. From Kinugawa-Onsen Station the hotels are a short walk or a short taxi ride.
Good for: families, groups, and anyone who wants a big hotel with everything inside it, or a night on the way to or from Nikkō. Watch out for: Kinugawa has fewer small, old inns than the other two, and the hotels vary a lot in how recently they were renovated. Look at recent photos before you book.
3. Bessho: the old temple town with sulfur water
Why it made it. Bessho Onsen is third at 2,083 — only 75 ahead of Iizaka (see below). It is the furthest of the three in a straight line, 163 km from Tokyo Station, but it sits on the Shinkansen side, so our estimate is still about two hours.
The town. Bessho is small and quiet, in a valley south-west of Ueda, with old temples on the slopes around it. Anraku-ji, less than a kilometre from the centre, is the one people come to see. It has a handful of inns and public baths within walking distance, and the evening is calm. Matsumoto Castle is about 21 km away as the crow flies.
The water. Bessho is a sulfur spring, the kind with the smell most people think of as "onsen". It is the only one of the three with sulfur water. Take off silver jewellery before you get in; sulfur tarnishes it. Our sulfur onsen guide explains why sulfur water is not always milky.
Getting there. Take the Hokuriku Shinkansen to 上田 (Ueda), then the small Ueda Electric Railway Bessho line to the end of the line, Bessho-Onsen. The JR Pass covers the Shinkansen but not the local line. From the station, the town centre is a short walk.
Good for: people who want a quieter, older-feeling town, temples, and sulfur water. Watch out for: it is small. There is not much to do in the evening beyond bathing and walking, and there are fewer inns to choose from, so book ahead for weekends.
Nearby. Two more small sulfur towns sit just outside: Kutsukake, 4.3 km away, recorded at 39 °C with three inns, and Tazawa, 5.4 km, at 41 °C with five. Kakeyu, 6.2 km, is a simple spring at 42 °C.
Which of the three?
- First time, want to walk around in the evening: Ikaho.
- Family or group, want a big hotel and gentle water: Kinugawa.
- Want sulfur water and a quieter, older town: Bessho.
- Have a JR Pass: Ikaho and Bessho are mostly covered; Kinugawa is on a private line.
The towns that only just missed
Iizaka in Fukushima came fourth, 75 behind Bessho at 2,008. It is 247 km away but about two hours by Shinkansen and a local line, with a simple spring. If Bessho is full, it is the honest next choice. Tsuchiyu, also near Fukushima, was fifth at 1,776, with bicarbonate and sulfur water and 19 inns, but the last leg is a bus of about 45 minutes.
Hakone is the name most people expect here. It is the closest of all, 81 km out and about an hour away, but in our count it ranks sixth among the towns within two hours, at 1,275. It has five water types between its areas and deserves more than a paragraph, so it has its own Hakone guide.
Kusatsu is the most looked-up town within three hours of Tokyo, at 5,664 — more than Ikaho and Kinugawa together. It failed the time test: our estimate is about three hours, and the last leg is a bus. It is worth the extra hour if the water is the point; see our Kusatsu guide.
Atami, under an hour by Shinkansen, ranked seventh at 1,227. It is a seaside resort city more than an onsen town, but it is the easiest of all to reach.
How we picked these three
- Starting pool: 526 onsen towns within about three hours of Tokyo in our travel data. The 240 best known of them were ranked; 127 of those are estimated at about two hours or less.
- No car needed: 112 of the 127 are reached by train and a short walk or local bus.
- Known: ranked by how often each town's Wikipedia article is read. Ikaho 3,265, Kinugawa 2,264, Bessho 2,083. Only these three and Iizaka (2,008) are above 2,000.
- Not used: scenery, inn quality, price, tattoo policy or how good the food is. We have no data that ranks those fairly, so we did not pretend to.
- About the water: of the 112, 74 have a source temperature on record and 30 of them reach 42 °C or more; 21 list sulfur water; 20 are simple springs only. None of our three has a source temperature on record, so the water did not decide the ranking.
- Travel times are rough estimates from station locations, not a timetable. Check the route on Google Maps before you go.
For every town in range, see onsen near Tokyo and onsen you can reach without a car. For travel times and the water across the whole region, read onsen near Tokyo: travel times and what the water is like. 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.