Nyuto Spa Resort — photo: 掬茶 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Nyuto onsen: seven inns in the forest, five kinds of water, and how to bathe your way through them
Nyuto is not a town. It is seven inns scattered along a mountain road through beech forest above Lake Tazawa in Akita, each on its own source, with no shopping street, no station and almost nothing else. Most guides walk you through the seven inns one by one and describe the mood of each. This one is about the water, which is the reason the place is famous among Japanese bathers: how unusual the mix is, which inn has what, how to bathe at several in one stay, and whether Nyuto or Ginzan is the better fit for your trip.
What the numbers say
Nyuto is recorded in our database with five water types: chloride, bicarbonate, sulfate, sulfur and radioactive (radon).
- Of the 1,468 onsen places with a water type on record, 911 have just one. Once the sub-districts of Hakone, Beppu and Nasu are counted with their parents, only 11 places have five or more. Nyuto is one of them; others include Noboribetsu, Beppu, Zao, Hakone and Sukayu.
- Only 8 places in our records have both sulfur and radon water. Noboribetsu and Nyuto are the only two of those that many people have heard of.
- Akita has 47 onsen places in our records. Nyuto's Wikipedia article is read 559 times in our sample, second in the prefecture after Tamagawa (2,199), and 126th of 1,538 nationwide.
We have no source temperature, pH or flow figure for Nyuto itself, so we will not give one. Two neighbouring spots a little further down the same road do have figures: Tazawako-Kōgen, 2.8 km away, is recorded at 71 °C, and Mizusawa, 5.1 km away, at 58.6 °C with about 2,000 litres a minute. That is the same volcanic slope of Mount Akita-Komagatake.
Which inn has which water
The point of Nyuto is that the seven inns sit within about 2 km of each other and do not share a pipe. Our records hold six of them separately, and the water differs:
- Tsurunoyu: chloride, bicarbonate and sulfur. The oldest and most photographed, with thatched long buildings and a milky outdoor bath. It sits a short way off the main road, 0.6 km from the centre point of the area.
- Kuroyu, Magoroku and Ganiba: sulfur. These three are at the top of the road, 1.7 to 2.2 km from the centre, and are the ones to pick if you want the classic white water and the smell.
- Taenoyu: sulfate. Clear rather than milky, a useful contrast to the sulfur inns less than a kilometre up the road.
- Ōgama: an acidic spring. It is the one inn in the group recorded with a type the area as a whole is not, so between them the inns cover six of the ten official types.
The seventh inn, Kyūkamura, is the newest and largest building. We hold no separate record for it. The radon listed for the area is not attached to any one inn in our data, so we cannot tell you which bath it comes from. Inns also change which source feeds which bath; the sign by each bath is the reliable guide. Our water types guide explains how to read it.
What the water is like in the bath
Sulfur water is the one most people come for: cloudy white or blue-white, with a smell of boiled eggs. It tarnishes silver, so take jewellery off before you get in. Our sulfur guide covers what to expect. Acidic water can sting small cuts and is best not left on the skin of anyone sensitive; rinse with plain water at the end. Sulfate and bicarbonate water are clear and easy. If you are new to onsen, start at one of the clear baths and move to the milky ones once you know how hot the water is.
Bath-hopping: the yumeguri-chō
All seven inns open their baths to day visitors for a fee, usually from mid-morning to mid-afternoon. If you stay the night at any of the seven, you can buy the 湯めぐり帖 (yumeguri-chō), a small booklet that gets you into the baths of all seven inns once each, and lets you ride a small shuttle bus that runs between them. It is sold only to overnight guests and is valid for a year. Prices and hours change, so check with your inn.
Three or four inns in one day is plenty. The baths are hot, the walk between the upper inns is along a road with no pavement, and you will want to sit down between soaks. The upper three (Kuroyu, Magoroku, Ganiba) and Taenoyu are close enough to walk between in good weather; Tsurunoyu, down a side road, is a shuttle ride away.
If you are not staying, a day trip is possible, and you can still pay at each inn. See onsen without staying the night. It is a long way to come for one day, and the last buses back to the station leave in the late afternoon.
Mixed baths
Several of the outdoor baths at Nyuto, Tsurunoyu's best known among them, are 混浴 (kon'yoku), mixed. Each inn sets its own rules: some have separate women's baths alongside the mixed one, some set women-only hours, and some allow a bath wrap. The rules change, so ask at the desk when you arrive. If you would rather not bathe in front of strangers, or have tattoos, look for an inn with a private bath. See private baths and going to an onsen with tattoos.
Where to stay
There is no town to walk around in the evening, no shops and almost nowhere to eat outside the inns. Book an inn with dinner included; see what "two meals included" means. The choice is mostly about the kind of building you want to sleep in:
- Old and rustic. Tsurunoyu and some of the upper inns have older wings with shared toilets, thin walls and rooms heated with a stove. Charming, and booked out months ahead in autumn and winter.
- Simple and modern. Kyūkamura and the newer wings of the other inns have Western-style toilets, better heating and easier booking.
- Down the road. Tazawako-Kōgen and Mizusawa have more inns and hotels, a few kilometres closer to the station, and the same bus passes them. You lose the forest but gain choice.
Prices are covered in what an onsen trip costs.
When to go
Nyuto is at its most photographed in winter, when snow is piled high around the outdoor baths, and in autumn, when the beech forest turns yellow. Both are the busiest seasons. The road and the bus run all year, but in winter allow extra time and bring boots with grip: the paths between buildings are icy. Summer is cool and green, and the easiest time to book. Our seasons guide compares the year across Japan.
Nearby sights in our data include Mount Akita-Komagatake, 4.8 km away, and the Tazawako ski area, 4.5 km away. Lake Tazawa, Japan's deepest lake, is about 13 km downhill, and the samurai houses of Kakunodate are 29.9 km from Nyuto in a straight line, one stop down the Shinkansen from Tazawako.
Getting there
You do not need a car. Our transport data puts Nyuto about four hours from Tokyo, and the Japan Rail Pass covers the train.
- From Tokyo. The Akita Shinkansen Komachi runs from Tokyo to Tazawako Station in just under three hours; all seats are reserved. From the station, local buses run up to Nyuto in about 50 minutes. Tazawako Station is 12.1 km from Nyuto in a straight line. The bus is not covered by the JR Pass.
- From Sendai. The Komachi also stops at Sendai, so it is one train to Tazawako, running via Morioka. Morioka is 32.4 km from Nyuto; the Shinkansen crosses the mountains between them.
- By air. Akita Airport is 52.2 km away and Hanamaki Airport 51.3 km. Akita Airport has a shared taxi to Nyuto that must be booked in advance.
- From Kyoto or Osaka. Fly to Akita, or go to Tokyo and take the Shinkansen. Either way it is a full day.
Tsurunoyu is off the bus route; ask the inn how to get there from the nearest stop. Times are rough, and timetables change. Check the current route before you go.
Nyuto, Ginzan, or the strong water nearby?
Ginzan is the other famous winter onsen in Tohoku, and the two are often paired in searches. They are 138.5 km apart in a straight line, on different Shinkansen lines, with no direct link; going from one to the other takes most of a day.
- Ginzan: a single street of wooden inns along a river, lit up at night, the most looked-up onsen town in our sample (5,866). Chloride and sulfur water. Busy with day visitors.
- Nyuto: no street, seven inns in the forest, five water types recorded. Quieter, and the reason to go is the baths.
If you want the strongest water in the region instead, Tamagawa, 18.3 km north, is a single large inn on a source recorded at 98 °C and pH 1.05, with about 9,000 litres a minute; it closes for the winter. Goshogake, 19.2 km away, is recorded at 85 °C and pH 1.8. Our Tohoku guide covers both and how they fit together.
Things not to do
Do not try to bathe at all seven inns in one day.
Do not arrive without a booking in autumn or winter expecting to find a room.
Do not miss the last bus down if you are on a day trip; there is nowhere else to stay at short notice.
Do not assume a bath is women-only, mixed or tattoo-friendly because another inn's was. Each inn decides.
New to this? Start with how an onsen stay actually works and onsen etiquette. For the rest of the region, see our Tohoku onsen guide, Ginzan, Zao and the 3 best onsen towns near Sendai. For another place with many kinds of water, see Noboribetsu.