Photo: Nekosuki · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
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.
Salty water. The salt leaves a thin film on the skin, so you stay warm well after leaving the bath.
Smooth, slightly slippery water. Often nicknamed bihada-no-yu, the water for beautiful skin.
From Wikimedia Commons. Tap a photo for the photographer and licence.





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





Figures from the town's Japanese Wikipedia article.
33.8129, 135.7748 — open the map
Planning a first soak? Read how an onsen stay works, and what to do if you have tattoos.