Kusatsu Onsen — photo: おにく · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
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The 3 best onsen towns in Japan for a first trip
"The best onsen town in Japan" has no honest single answer. It depends on the water you like, the scenery you want and how far you will travel, and anyone who gives you one name is giving you their taste. So we asked a narrower question: if this is your first onsen trip and you are staying in Tokyo, Kyoto or Osaka like most visitors, which towns should you start with? Our answer is Kusatsu in Gunma, Arima near Kobe, and Kinosaki in northern Hyōgo. Below is why each one made it, what it is like, and the famous names that did not.
Why these three, in one paragraph
We did not pick by taste. Our travel data covers 1,483 onsen towns. We kept the ones estimated at about three hours or less from Tokyo or from Kyoto/Osaka, the two places a first trip usually runs through: 717. We kept those you can reach without a car: 545. We kept those with a water type on record, so we can tell you what you are getting into: 527. Then we ranked them 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, plenty of inns and public baths that take visitors. The top three are Kusatsu, Arima and Kinosaki. The full method, with numbers, is at the end.
1. Kusatsu: the strong water, near Tokyo
Why it made it. Kusatsu Onsen is the most looked-up town in the pool: 5,664 in our count, against 4,489 for Arima. It is 148 km from Tokyo Station in a straight line, and our estimate puts it at about three hours, right on the limit. It is also the biggest of the three by far: our records list 171 lodgings with room for 12,531 guests, and about 3.27 million visitors a year.
The town. Kusatsu sits about 1,200 metres up in the mountains of Gunma. The centre is the yubatake, an open field of wooden channels where the spring water runs and steams in the open air before it goes to the baths. Everything is within walking distance of it: public baths, inns, shops, and Kōsen-ji temple, 0.2 km away. In winter a ski area opens 1.2 km from the centre.
The water. This is the reason to go, and the reason to be careful. Kusatsu is an acidic spring, recorded at pH 1.0 to 2.2, with sources from 44.9 up to 94.5 °C and a flow of about 32,300 litres a minute. Our records also list sulfur, chloride and sulfate water. It is strong water: it stings on any small cut, and it is not for long soaks. Our Kusatsu guide explains what the acid does in practice and where to bathe.
Getting there. Take the JR limited express from Ueno to 長野原草津口 (Naganohara-Kusatsuguchi), then a bus up to the Kusatsu bus terminal. The JR Pass covers the train. The other way in is the Shinkansen to Karuizawa and a bus from there. Direct highway buses also run from Tokyo.
Good for: anyone who wants the full, strong onsen experience, and anyone basing a trip in Tokyo. Watch out for: the altitude and the snow in winter, and the water itself. Wash it off if your skin is sensitive, and keep your first soak short.
2. Arima: the old town an hour from Osaka
Why it made it. Arima Onsen is second at 4,489, and it is by far the closest of the three: 25 km from Osaka Station and about an hour away in our estimate, or a little over an hour from Kyoto.
The town. Arima is a small, old town in a narrow valley on the far side of Mount Rokkō from Kobe. The streets are steep and tight, lined with inns, shops and a couple of public bathhouses. Mount Rokkō is 2.7 km away, and the ropeway over it is one of the ways in. It is the rare case where the famous town is also the near one; our onsen near Kyoto and Osaka guide explains why that is unusual.
The water. Arima has more water types than the other two: our records list chloride, bicarbonate, iron and radioactive water, with sources from 40 up to 98 °C. The iron-rich water is the one people come for: it turns a heavy rust-brown as it meets the air. It can stain a white towel, so use the one the bath gives you.
Getting there. From Osaka, a direct express bus runs from the Hankyū Sanbangai bus terminal via Shin-Osaka to Arima. By rail, take the subway or a JR train towards Kobe and change for the Kobe Electric Railway to 有馬温泉 (Arima-Onsen), which is a short walk from the town. The JR Pass does not cover the last leg.
Good for: a trip based in Osaka or Kyoto, a day trip, or a first night in an onsen town without losing a whole day to travel. Watch out for: weekend crowds. Because it is so close, Arima fills up with day visitors, and the small streets get busy. Stay overnight and bathe early or late.
3. Kinosaki: the town of seven public baths
Why it made it. Kinosaki Onsen is third at 3,955. It is 113 km from Kyoto Station in a straight line, on the Sea of Japan side, and our estimate is about two hours from Kyoto and two and a half from Osaka.
The town. Kinosaki is the town where the bathing happens outside your inn. There are seven public bathhouses along a willow-lined canal, and guests walk between them in a yukata in the evening. Everything is a short walk from the station: the Kinosaki Art Museum is 0.3 km away and Onsen-ji temple 0.4 km. Genbudō, a park of basalt columns, is 4.4 km out.
The water. Kinosaki lists one water type, chloride, the salty kind, with sources from 37 up to 83 °C. Salty water leaves a thin film on the skin, so you stay warm for a while after getting out — which helps when you are walking between baths on a cold evening. Our Kinosaki guide explains how the bath rounds work.
Getting there. A JR limited express runs from Kyoto to 城崎温泉 (Kinosaki Onsen Station), and the town starts a few minutes' walk from the station. The JR Pass covers it. Highway buses also run from Osaka and Kobe.
Good for: a first onsen town where you want to walk around, couples, and anyone who wants to try several baths in one night. Watch out for: the distance from Tokyo, about five hours in our estimate. It works best as part of a Kyoto or Osaka stay, not as a trip from Tokyo.
Which of the three?
- Staying in Tokyo: Kusatsu. It is the only one of the three within three hours of Tokyo. If three hours is too far, see the 3 best onsen towns near Tokyo, all about two hours out.
- Staying in Osaka or Kyoto with one free day: Arima.
- Staying in Kyoto with one free night: Kinosaki.
- Want the strongest water: Kusatsu. Want to walk between baths: Kinosaki. Want the most water types in one place: Arima.
- Have a JR Pass: Kusatsu and Kinosaki are covered by rail; Arima's last leg is a private line or bus.
The towns that only just missed
Ogoto, on Lake Biwa, came fourth at 3,400. It is under an hour from Kyoto, but it is a small place, with nine lodgings in our records, and its water is a mild simple spring recorded at 30 °C. Ikaho was fifth at 3,265 and is the top pick in our near-Tokyo list. Akiu, near Sendai, was sixth at 3,151, and Gero in Gifu was seventh at 2,959, with a simple spring recorded at 84 °C and pH 9.0. Gero is about an hour and three quarters from Nagoya in our estimate.
Ginzan in Yamagata is the most looked-up onsen town in our whole database, at 6,048. It failed the time test: our estimate is about four hours from Tokyo. If you want the snowy wooden-inn picture, it is worth the extra hour; see our Ginzan guide.
Dōgo in Ehime (3,102) is just over three hours from Osaka in our estimate. Beppu and Yufuin in Ōita are about two and a quarter hours from Fukuoka but four and a half hours or more from Osaka. They are the right choice if your trip includes Kyushu; see onsen in Kyushu.
Hakone, about an hour and a quarter from Tokyo, is the name many people expect here. Our data could not confirm that you can reach it without a car, and at 1,275 it would not have reached the top three anyway. It has its own Hakone guide.
How we picked these three
- Starting pool: 1,483 onsen towns in our travel data.
- Within reach of a first trip: 717 are estimated at about three hours or less from Tokyo or from Kyoto/Osaka — 526 from Tokyo, 363 from Kyoto/Osaka, and 172 from both.
- No car needed: 545 of the 717 are reached by train and a short walk or local bus.
- Water on record: 527 of the 545 have at least one water type in our records.
- Known: ranked by how often each town's Wikipedia article is read. Kusatsu 5,664, Arima 4,489, Kinosaki 3,955, then Ogoto 3,400 and Ikaho 3,265. Twelve of the 527 are at 2,000 or more.
- 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.
- 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, onsen near Kyoto and Osaka and onsen you can reach without a car. Fitting a night into a trip you have already planned? Read planning a first onsen trip. 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.