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Ryūjin Onsen

Wakayama · 龍神温泉

Ryūjin Onsen is a hot spring town in Wakayama, Japan. The water leaves the ground at 48°C, hot. It measures pH 7.8 — mildly alkaline, the slippery kind. Officially the water is classed as chloride spring, bicarbonate spring and sulfate spring. Its sources put out around 103 litres a minute. 15 inns take visitors here.

Chloride springBicarbonate springSulfate 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.

Sulfate spring 硫酸塩泉

Clear water with a faintly bitter taste. Known for holding heat.

More photographs

From Wikimedia Commons. Tap a photo for the photographer and licence.

Things to see nearby

Mount GomadanMountain · 11.3 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 — WakayamaInns with a private bath — Wakayama

More on tattoos and onsen

Where to stay

Onsen inns — Tanabe City

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

Okukumano OnsenWakayama · 奥熊野温泉15.8 km south
Bicarbonate spring
Kamiyu OnsenNara · 上湯温泉15.8 km east
Bicarbonate springSulfur spring
Futagawa OnsenWakayama · 二川温泉22.5 km northwest
Chloride spring
Yunomine OnsenWakayama · 湯の峰温泉22.9 km southeast
Chloride spring+2
Wataze OnsenWakayama · 渡瀬温泉24.3 km southeast
Chloride springBicarbonate spring
Kawayu onsenWakayama · 川湯温泉25.3 km southeast
Chloride springBicarbonate spring

Similar water elsewhere

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

Makkari OnsenHokkaido · 真狩温泉Also sulfate and bicarbonate, similar pH
Chloride spring+2
Shimoda OnsenKumamoto · 下田温泉Also bicarbonate and chloride, similar pH
Chloride springBicarbonate spring
Odoi OnsenShizuoka · 小土肥温泉Also sulfate and chloride, similar pH
Chloride springSulfate spring
Tsukioka OnsenNiigata · 月岡温泉Also sulfate and chloride, similar pH
Chloride spring+2
Yamashiro OnsenIshikawa · 山代温泉Also sulfate and chloride, similar pH
Chloride springSulfate spring
Kiriake OnsenNagano · 切明温泉Also sulfate and chloride, similar pH
Chloride springSulfate spring

The numbers

Water temperature
48°C
pH
7.8 (mildly alkaline)
Discharge
103 litres a minute
Inns
15
Address in Japanese
和歌山県田辺市龍神村龍神

Figures from the town's Japanese Wikipedia article.

Where it is

33.9561, 135.5621 — open the map

Read more

English Wikipedia · Japanese Wikipedia

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