Gero Onsen — photo: 663highland · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Gero onsen: the hot alkaline water, the bath pass, and getting there from Nagoya, Kyoto or Takayama
Gero is a town of large inns along both banks of the Hida River in Gifu, on the railway that runs from Nagoya up to Takayama. It is counted with Kusatsu and Arima as one of the 日本三名泉 (Nihon san-meisen), the "three famous springs", and it is the easiest of the three to reach by train from Nagoya. Most guides cover the bath pass, the footbaths and their favourite inns. This one is about what they leave out: how unusual the water is, what it is like to bathe in, how Gero fits into a trip to Takayama, and how it differs from the Okuhida villages further up the mountains.
What the numbers say
Gero is recorded in our database as a simple spring that leaves the ground at 84 °C and measures pH 9.0.
- Of the 1,167 towns we hold a source temperature for, 59 reach 84 °C.
- Of the 596 towns with a pH on record, 134 are at pH 9.0 or above. Only two of those 134 also reach 84 °C: Gero, and Nupuntomuraushi, a remote spring in the mountains of central Hokkaido.
- Of the 272 simple springs with a temperature on record, five reach 84 °C. The other four are Unazuki and Kuronagi in Toyama and two small springs in Nagano and Izu.
- Gifu has 55 onsen towns in our records. Gero's Wikipedia article is read more often than any of the others, and it ranks 9th of 1,538 towns nationwide by that measure (2,959 in our count).
So the combination is the unusual part. Many towns are hot, and many are alkaline. Very few are both, and of those, Gero is the only one with a station and a town around it.
What "simple" and "pH 9" mean in the bath
"Simple spring" is an official category, not a judgement. It means the water carries less than a set amount of dissolved minerals, so there is no single mineral strong enough to name it after. Simple water is usually clear, with little smell, and it does not stain towels or blacken silver the way sulfur water does.
The alkalinity is what you notice. Water at pH 9 feels smooth and slightly slippery on the skin, and it makes tiled floors and stone steps slick. Walk slowly between the tubs, hold the rail on steps into outdoor baths, and keep a hand on children. For how to read the sign in the changing room, see reading the water sign.
Water that surfaces at 84 °C has to lose a lot of heat before anyone can sit in it, so the baths are cooled, not heated. Tubs are often hottest near the inlet. Get in slowly and keep the first soak short.
Gero's water is also unusually hot for its region. Of the 40 Gifu towns with a temperature on record, only 6 reach 42 °C. Within 50 km of Gero there are 10 other towns in our records; 6 have a temperature on record and the warmest of them is 37.4 °C.
Public baths, footbaths and the bath pass
You do not need to stay the night to bathe in Gero.
- Public bathhouses. The town runs a few small public baths. The best known is 白鷺の湯 (Shirasagi no Yu), an old bathhouse near the river in the middle of town. These are simple indoor baths for locals and visitors, with no towel provided. Check opening days and hours before you go.
- Footbaths. There are several free footbaths along the streets and by the river, so you can try the water without undressing. Bring a small towel to dry your feet.
- The riverbed bath. Under the bridge on the riverbank is 噴泉池 (Funsenchi), an open, free bath that guidebooks used to show people sitting in with swimsuits. In recent years it has been open only as a footbath. Check its current status before you bring a swimsuit.
- The bath pass. The 湯めぐり手形 (yumeguri tegata) is a wooden tag sold at the tourist office and at inns. It lets you use the baths of three participating inns, one visit each, and does not have to be used in a single day. Each inn sets its own hours for visitors, and many stop taking them by mid-afternoon, so pick up the list of inns and their hours with the pass. Check the current price and validity when you buy.
The rules are the same as at any onsen; see our etiquette guide.
Day trip or a night?
A day trip from Nagoya works well: the train is direct, the inns and public baths are a short walk from the station, and the town is compact. Two or three baths, lunch, a walk to the temples on the hillside and back on an evening train is a full day. See onsen without staying the night.
A night is better if you can. The big inns have large indoor and outdoor baths of their own, and you can use them late in the evening and early in the morning, when the day visitors have gone. Most inns here sell dinner and breakfast as part of the stay; see what "two meals included" means. If you would rather not bathe in front of strangers, look for an inn with a private bath.
Gero is a busy resort town, not a quiet village. Weekends, the autumn leaves and the New Year holidays book up early.
Things to see in town
- Gero Onsen Gasshō-mura, a small open-air museum of thatched farmhouses moved here from the mountain villages, on the hill above the town. If you are not going on to Shirakawa-gō, this is the easy way to see the houses.
- The temples on the hillside. Onsen-ji, up a long stair above the town, looks down over the river. Zenshō-ji, an old Zen temple, is 4.3 km away.
- Mount Nakane starts 0.8 km from the centre, with walking trails up the hill behind the town.
- Fireworks. On some winter evenings the town sets off a short fireworks show over the river. The dates change each year; check before you go.
The local dish is 鶏ちゃん (keichan), chicken grilled with cabbage in a miso or soy sauce, served at restaurants around the station.
Getting there
Gero Station is on the JR Takayama Line, and the inns start a few minutes' walk from it. No car is needed. Gero is about 78 km from Nagoya Station and about 37 km from Takayama Station in a straight line.
- From Nagoya. The JR Limited Express ひだ (Hida) runs directly from Nagoya to Gero in about an hour and 40 minutes. This is the main way in.
- From Kyoto or Osaka. Take the Shinkansen to Nagoya and change to the Hida. A small number of Hida trains also run through from Osaka by way of Kyoto and Gifu; check the timetable if you want to avoid the change. Our estimate is about two and a half hours either way.
- From Takayama. The same Hida line, southbound, in under an hour. Many people stop in Gero on the way between Nagoya and Takayama rather than making a separate trip.
- From Tokyo. Take the Shinkansen to Nagoya and the Hida from there. It is a long day trip; it makes more sense as a night, or as part of a route to Takayama and Kanazawa.
- By air. The nearest airport is Chubu Centrair, south of Nagoya.
The Japan Rail Pass covers the Hida. Seats are reserved on most of the train; book one at weekends and in autumn. Our onsen on the JR Pass page lists other towns you can reach the same way.
Gero, Okuhida or Takayama?
These three come up together, and they are different trips.
- Gero is a full onsen town on the railway, with clear, slippery alkaline water. Choose it for an easy night with a choice of inns and baths, or a day trip from Nagoya.
- Okuhida, the villages such as Hirayu (50.9 km north-east, recorded at 90 °C on chloride and bicarbonate sources) and Shinhotaka, is higher in the mountains, quieter, and reached by bus from Takayama. Choose it for outdoor baths under the peaks. Our Japanese Alps guide covers it.
- Takayama itself is an old merchant town, and most of its hotels have large baths, but it is not an onsen town in the way Gero is. If the water matters to you, sleep in Gero or Okuhida and visit Takayama by day.
A common route is Nagoya, a night in Gero, then on to Takayama and Shirakawa-gō or Kanazawa.
Nearby
The towns closest to Gero are small and mostly need a car.
- Yuya, 12.9 km north-east, has chloride and bicarbonate water recorded at only 15 °C, heated before you bathe. Its water is fizzy and known for drinking from the source.
- Nigorigo, 22.3 km north-east, high on the slopes of Mount Ontake, has sulfate and iron water and a handful of inns.
Within 50 km nothing else in our records comes close to Gero's temperature. For water like Gero's elsewhere, look at other alkaline simple springs, such as Yuda in Yamaguchi (73 °C, pH 9.14).
Things not to do
Do not run on the bath floors. The alkaline water makes them slippery.
Do not arrive late in the afternoon expecting to use the bath pass at three inns. Many stop taking visitors early.
Do not assume Funsenchi is open for bathing; check first.
Do not leave a weekend or autumn stay to the last minute.
Do not assume tattoos are fine. Policies vary by inn. See going to an onsen with tattoos, or book a private bath.
New to this? Start with how an onsen stay actually works and onsen etiquette. For more towns near Nagoya, see the 3 best onsen towns near Nagoya. For the other two of the "three famous springs", see Kusatsu and Arima.