Photo: hiroooooki from Tokyo, Japan · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Kurokawa Onsen
Kurokawa Onsen is a hot spring town in Kumamoto, Japan. The water leaves the ground at 80–98°C, hot enough that it has to be cooled before anyone can get in. Officially the water is classed as sulfur spring.
The water here
Sulfur spring
The classic rotten-egg smell and milky white water. It can tarnish silver jewellery, so take it off.
More photographs
.jpg "veroyama from Meguro, Japan · CC BY-SA 2.0")
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.
Where to stay
Hot spring towns nearby
Similar water elsewhere
The numbers
- Water temperature
- 80–98°C
- Address in Japanese
- 熊本県阿蘇郡南小国町
Figures from the town's Japanese Wikipedia article.
Where it is
33.0781, 131.1417 — open the map
Read more
Planning a first soak? Read how an onsen stay works, and what to do if you have tattoos.