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Photo: KUPS39M · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Tsuetate Onsen

Kumamoto · 杖立温泉

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

Getting there

From Fukuokaabout 2 h
CarNot needed
JR PassCovers the train
  1. Train to Hita Station (JR)
  2. Local bus, about 50 min

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

Chloride 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.

More photographs

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

Things to see nearby

Nabe FallsWaterfall · 5 km
Shimonjōno TakiWaterfall · 4 km
Sakamoto Zenzō Museum of ArtArt museum · 6.1 km
Mount HaneMountain · 10.5 km
Oguni Ryo ShrineShrine · 7.8 km
Tsunomure CastleCastle · 18 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 — KumamotoInns with a private bath — Kumamoto

More on tattoos and onsen

Where to stay

Onsen inns — Oguni Town

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

Yamakawa OnsenKumamoto · 山川温泉8.8 km southeast
Chloride spring+2
Hagenoyu OnsenKumamoto · 峐の湯温泉10.3 km east
Chloride springSulfur spring
Hōsenji OnsenOita · 宝泉寺温泉12.4 km east
Simple spring
Kurokawa OnsenKumamoto · 黒川温泉15.3 km southeast
Sulfur spring
Sujiyu OnsenOita · 筋湯温泉16.1 km southeast
Chloride spring
Kyūsuikei OnsenOita · 九酔渓温泉16.9 km east
Bicarbonate springIron spring

Similar water elsewhere

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

Kinosaki OnsenHyogo · 城崎温泉Also chloride
Chloride spring
Kaike OnsenTottori · 皆生温泉Also chloride
Chloride spring
Awara OnsenFukui · 芦原温泉Also chloride
Chloride spring
Wakura OnsenIshikawa · 和倉温泉Also chloride
Chloride spring
Katayamazu OnsenIshikawa · 片山津温泉Also chloride
Chloride spring
Atagawa OnsenShizuoka · 熱川温泉Also chloride
Chloride spring

The numbers

Water temperature
100°C
Address in Japanese
熊本県阿蘇郡小国町

Figures from the town's Japanese Wikipedia article.

Where it is

33.1826, 131.0342 — 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.