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Photo: Nekosuki · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Kawayu onsen

Wakayama · 川湯温泉

Kawayu onsen is a hot spring town in Wakayama, Japan. The water leaves the ground at 73°C, hot. Officially the water is classed as chloride spring and bicarbonate spring. 11 inns take visitors here with room for about 862 guests.

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.

More photographs

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

Things to see nearby

Kumano Hongū TaishaShrine · 3.1 km
Tōkō-ji TempleTemple · 2.4 km
Akagi CastleCastle · 18.8 km
Hosshinmon Ōji ShrineShrine · 7.4 km
DorokyōGorge · 14.7 km
Nunobiki FallsWaterfall · 14 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

Wataze OnsenWakayama · 渡瀬温泉1 km northwest
Chloride springBicarbonate spring
Yunomine OnsenWakayama · 湯の峰温泉2.4 km northwest
Chloride spring+2
Kamiyu OnsenNara · 上湯温泉14 km north
Bicarbonate springSulfur spring
Okukumano OnsenWakayama · 奥熊野温泉15 km west
Bicarbonate spring
Yunohana OnsenWakayama · 湯の花温泉24.9 km south
Sulfur spring
Ryūjin OnsenWakayama · 龍神温泉25.3 km northwest
Chloride spring+2

Similar water elsewhere

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

Totsukawa OnsenNara · 十津川温泉Also bicarbonate and chloride
Chloride springBicarbonate spring
Hirayu OnsenGifu · 平湯温泉Also bicarbonate and chloride
Chloride springBicarbonate spring
Nukabira OnsenHokkaido · ぬかびら温泉Also bicarbonate and chloride
Chloride springBicarbonate spring
Shikabe OnsenHokkaido · 鹿部温泉Also bicarbonate and chloride
Chloride springBicarbonate spring
Chūgū OnsenIshikawa · 中宮温泉Also bicarbonate and chloride
Chloride springBicarbonate spring
Utoro OnsenHokkaido · ウトロ温泉Also bicarbonate and chloride
Chloride springBicarbonate spring

The numbers

Water temperature
73°C
Inns
11
Guest capacity
862
Address in Japanese
和歌山県田辺市本宮町

Figures from the town's Japanese Wikipedia article.

Where it is

33.8129, 135.7748 — 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.