Nanki-Shirahama Onsen — photo: 663highland · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
Shirahama onsen: the 85 °C beach resort in Wakayama, Sakinoyu, and how to get there from Osaka
Shirahama, "white beach", is a resort town on the southwest coast of the Kii Peninsula in Wakayama, about 115 km south of Osaka in a straight line. It is one of the oldest named hot springs in Japan, and it is also a summer beach town, with big hotels along the bay. Most guides describe the beach and the famous seaside bath. This one puts the water in numbers, explains how to get there by train, bus or plane, clears up which "Shirahama onsen" you are looking at, and helps you choose between Shirahama and the Kumano mountain onsen inland.
What the numbers say
- Nanki-Shirahama is recorded at 32 to 85 °C: many sources around the town, from warm to very hot. Its water is classed as chloride, bicarbonate and carbon dioxide.
- Carbon dioxide springs are uncommon. Of 1,468 onsen places with a recorded water type, 21 include it, and only two have this particular mix of chloride, bicarbonate and carbon dioxide: Shirahama and Nashigi in Gunma, a small place with a fraction of the attention.
- In the Kansai prefectures, five onsen places in our records reach 80 °C: Yumura and Arima at 98 °C, Yunomine at 92 °C, Shirahama at 85 °C and Kinosaki at 83 °C. Shirahama is the only one of the five on the sea.
- Wakayama has 20 onsen places in our records. Shirahama's Wikipedia article is read 1,090 times in our sample, the most in the prefecture (Yunomine is next at 925), and 48th of 1,538 nationwide.
Our record has no count of inns or flow for Shirahama, so we do not give one. The town has a wide range of places to stay, from large hotels on the bay to small inns.
Sakinoyu and the public baths
The bath most visitors come for is 崎の湯 (Sakinoyu), a set of rock pools on the shore at the southern end of the town, open to the Pacific. It is one of the springs named in Japan's oldest chronicles, and with Arima and Dōgo it is counted among the "three ancient springs" of Japan. On a rough day the waves break close enough to reach you.
- It is an outdoor public bath. There are separate pools for men and women, no indoor bath and very little shelter. There is no soap or shower in the pools; rinse with the water provided before you get in.
- It closes for the sea. In storms and high waves it shuts. It also closes earlier in the day than the inns. Check the day's hours in town.
- It is not private. If you want to bathe by the sea without strangers, book an inn with a private bath instead; see private baths.
The town runs several other small public bathhouses, and there are free foot baths along the bay and at the beach. Rules on tattoos are set by each bath, not by the town; see going to an onsen with tattoos. For how a public bath works, see onsen or sentō.
The beach and the coast
Shirahama is a seaside resort first and an onsen town second, which is unusual. The white sand of 白良浜 (Shirarahama) is the centre of summer life, with hotels along the bay behind it. South of the town the shore turns to rock: the flat stone shelf of Senjōjiki, the sea cliffs of Sandanbeki, and the small island of Engetsu-tō with a hole through it, where people gather at sunset.
Other sights in our data are Tōkei Shrine, 6 km away, Tanabe City Museum of Art, 2.7 km, and Haso Falls, 9.1 km, on the Tanabe side of the bay. A large animal park, Adventure World, is on the road between the station and the town.
Getting there
Shirahama is one of the few onsen resorts this far from a big city that you can reach comfortably without a car. Our estimate is about three hours from Kyoto or Osaka.
- By train. Limited express trains on the Kisei Line (Kuroshio) run from Shin-Osaka and Tennōji to Shirahama Station in about two and a half to three hours. The Japan Rail Pass covers them. The station is outside the town: local buses take about 10 minutes to the bay.
- By bus from the city. Direct buses run from Osaka Station, Namba, Kyoto Station and Wakayama-shi Station along the expressway, and drop you in the town itself, which saves the transfer from the station.
- By air. Nanki-Shirahama Airport has flights from Tokyo Haneda and is closer to the onsen town than the train station is. From Tokyo this is by far the quickest way.
- By car. Leave the Kisei Expressway at Nanki-Shirahama IC, a short drive from the town.
Once there, local buses link the station, the beach, Sakinoyu and the coast sights, and bus passes for one or more days are sold. Times are rough estimates; check the current route before you go. For other trips from the cities, see onsen from Kyoto and Osaka and the 3 best onsen towns near Osaka and Kyoto.
Which Shirahama?
Searching for "Shirahama onsen" brings up more than one place. Check which one a hotel or route is for.
- Nanki-Shirahama, Wakayama: the resort on this page, at 32 to 85 °C. Often written "Kishū Shirahama" or just "Shirahama".
- Shirahama, Chiba: a different, much smaller onsen at the southern tip of the Bōsō Peninsula near Tokyo, recorded at only 17 to 23 °C. Its article is read 137 times in our sample. From Tokyo it is reached by bus or via Tateyama.
- Sakurajima, Kagoshima: search results also mix in a bathhouse with Shirahama in its name on the volcanic island. It is not an onsen town in our records.
Shirahama, Yunomine or Katsuura?
Wakayama's four most looked-up onsen places split into the coast and the mountains.
- Shirahama (1,090): beach, big hotels, the most transport, the sea bath. Pick it for a seaside stay with easy access.
- Yunomine (925): a small village of inns on the Kumano Kodo, 38.2 km inland, recorded at 92 °C with sulfur water. Pick it for the pilgrimage trail and the old bath Tsuboyu.
- Nanki-Katsuura (714): the other coast resort, near Nachi Falls on the southeast of the peninsula, with chloride and sulfur water.
- Ryūjin (523): a mountain valley onsen 35.1 km northeast, recorded at 48 °C with 15 inns.
A common loop is Shirahama by train, then the bus inland to the Kumano area and out by the other side. Closer to hand, Tsubaki, 8 km south, is a quiet sulfur spring with 8 inns, if you want a different kind of water without going far.
When to go
July and August are the beach season and the busiest and most expensive time, with crowds on the sand and at Sakinoyu. The climate is mild for Japan, so spring, autumn and even winter are good times for the baths themselves, with fewer people. Our seasons guide compares the year across Japan.
Things not to do
Do not plan to bathe at Sakinoyu late in the evening or on a stormy day.
Do not expect the train station to be in town; allow for the bus.
Do not climb onto wet rocks by the sea pools for a photo.
Do not confuse Nanki-Shirahama with Shirahama in Chiba when booking.
New to this? Start with how an onsen stay actually works and onsen etiquette. For the rest of the region, see onsen from Kyoto and Osaka, Yunomine, Arima and Kinosaki. For other unusual water, see onsen water types and the 3 best onsen for water in Japan.