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Photo: Miyuki Meinaka · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Aso Onsen

Mie · 阿曽温泉

Aso Onsen is a hot spring town in Mie, Japan. The water leaves the ground at 27.1°C, cool enough that the baths here are usually reheated. It measures pH 6.6 — close to neutral. Officially the water is classed as chloride spring and bicarbonate spring. Its sources put out around 80 litres a minute.

Getting there

From Nagoyaabout 2½ h
From Kyoto / Osakaabout 2 h
CarNot needed
JR PassCovers the train
  1. Train to Aso Station (JR)
  2. Walk, about 15 min

Fly into Chubu Centrair. Times are rough estimates worked out from station locations, not a timetable — check the exact route on Google Maps.

Chloride springBicarbonate spring

The water here

Chloride spring 塩化物泉

Salty water. The salt leaves a thin film on the skin, so you stay warm well after leaving the bath.

Bicarbonate spring 炭酸水素塩泉

Smooth, slightly slippery water. Often nicknamed bihada-no-yu, the water for beautiful skin.

Things to see nearby

Takihara-no-miyaShrine · 3.4 km
Kiriyama CastleCastle · 23.3 km
Mount TsuboneMountain · 15.5 km

Places from Wikidata, photographs from Wikimedia Commons. Distances are in a straight line from the town.

With tattoos

Many public baths still turn away visible tattoos, and the rule is set by each bath, not by the town. The reliable way round it is to bathe privately: a room with its own open-air bath, or an inn with a private bath you can book for yourselves.

Rooms with an open-air bath — MieInns with a private bath — Mie

More on tattoos and onsen

Where to stay

Onsen inns — Mie

Opens Rakuten Travel, which lists inns in English. Onsen Guide earns a commission if you book through these links, at no extra cost to you.

Hot spring towns nearby

Okukahadakyō OnsenMie · 奥香肌峡温泉17.8 km west
Chloride springBicarbonate spring
Nanseisakurayama OnsenMie · 南勢桜山温泉30.2 km east
Simple spring
Kodokoro OnsenNara · 小処温泉38.7 km southwest
Acidic springSulfur spring
Shagūji onsenMie · 社宮司温泉38.8 km north
Bicarbonate spring
Inokura OnsenMie · 猪の倉温泉39 km north
Simple spring

Similar water elsewhere

Towns further away with the same kind of water — useful if this one is hard to reach or fully booked.

Shoya OnsenNagano · 初谷温泉Also bicarbonate and chloride, similar pH
Chloride springBicarbonate spring
Asahi OnsenHokkaido · 旭温泉Also bicarbonate and chloride, similar pH
Chloride springBicarbonate spring
Okumizuma OnsenOsaka · 奥水間温泉Also bicarbonate and chloride, similar pH
Chloride springBicarbonate spring
Rishirifureai OnsenHokkaido · 利尻ふれあい温泉Also bicarbonate and chloride, similar pH
Chloride springBicarbonate spring
Besshi OnsenEhime · 別子温泉Also bicarbonate and chloride, similar pH
Chloride springBicarbonate spring
Bunō OnsenNagano · 奉納温泉Also bicarbonate and chloride, similar pH
Chloride springBicarbonate spring

The numbers

Water temperature
27.1°C
pH
6.6 (close to neutral)
Discharge
80 litres a minute
Address in Japanese
三重県度会郡大紀町阿曽429

Figures from the town's Japanese Wikipedia article.

Where it is

34.3386, 136.4091 — open the map

Read more

Japanese Wikipedia

Planning a first soak? Read how an onsen stay works, and what to do if you have tattoos.