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Jigoku Onsen

Kumamoto · 地獄温泉

Jigoku Onsen is a hot spring town in Kumamoto, Japan. The water leaves the ground at 60–100°C, hot enough that it has to be cooled before anyone can get in. Officially the water is classed as sulfur spring.

Getting there

From Fukuokaabout 2 h

CarTaxi from the station

JR PassNot a JR line

1. Train to Choyo Station
2. Taxi, about 15 min

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

The water here

Sulfur spring 硫黄泉

The classic rotten-egg smell and milky white water. It can tarnish silver jewellery, so take it off.

More photographs

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

Things to see nearby

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.

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

60–100°C

Address in Japanese

熊本県阿蘇郡南阿蘇村河陽

Figures from the town's Japanese Wikipedia article.

Where it is

32.8603, 131.0361 — open the map

Read more

Japanese Wikipedia