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Kamikitayama Onsen

Nara · 上北山温泉

Kamikitayama Onsen is a hot spring town in Nara, Japan. The water leaves the ground at 35°C, comfortably warm. It measures pH 8.3 — mildly alkaline, the slippery kind. Officially the water is classed as bicarbonate spring.

Getting there

From Kyoto / Osakaabout 1 h

JR PassNot a JR line

1. Train to Yamato-Kamiichi Station

Fly into Kansai (KIX) or Itami. Times are rough estimates worked out from station locations, not a timetable — check the exact route on Google Maps.

The water here

Bicarbonate spring 炭酸水素塩泉

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

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.

More on tattoos and onsen

Where to stay

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

Similar water elsewhere

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

The numbers

Water temperature

35°C

pH

8.3 (mildly alkaline)

Address in Japanese

奈良県吉野郡上北山村大字河合

Figures from the town's Japanese Wikipedia article.

Read more

Japanese Wikipedia