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Kunimi Onsen

Iwate · 国見温泉

Kunimi Onsen is a hot spring town in Iwate, Japan. Officially the water is classed as bicarbonate spring and sulfur spring.

Getting there

From Tokyoabout 3 h
CarTaxi from the station
JR PassCovers the train
  1. Train to Shizukuishi Station (Shinkansen)
  2. Taxi, about 20 min

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

Bicarbonate springSulfur spring

The water here

Bicarbonate spring 炭酸水素塩泉

Smooth, slightly slippery water. Often nicknamed bihada-no-yu, the water for beautiful skin.

Sulfur spring 硫黄泉

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

Things to see nearby

Akita-KomagatakeMountain · 3.8 km
Tazawako Ski AreaSki area · 4.4 km
Dakigaeri RavineGorge · 16.9 km
Kakunodate CastleCastle · 24.1 km
Shizukuishi Ski ResortSki area · 11.8 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 — Iwate

More on tattoos and onsen

Where to stay

Onsen inns — Shizukuishi 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

Mizusawa OnsenkyōAkita · 水沢温泉郷5.2 km northwest
Sulfur spring
Tazawako-Kōgen OnsenkyōAkita · 田沢湖高原温泉郷6.5 km northwest
Bicarbonate spring+2
Nyuto Spa ResortAkita · 乳頭温泉郷8.2 km north
Chloride spring+4
Kuroyu OnsenAkita · 黒湯温泉8.4 km north
Sulfur spring
Taenoyu OnsenAkita · 妙乃湯温泉8.5 km north
Sulfate spring
Ōbuka OnsenAkita · 大釜温泉8.6 km north
Acidic spring

Similar water elsewhere

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

Shirahone OnsenNagano · 白骨温泉Also sulfur and bicarbonate
Bicarbonate springSulfur spring
Tsuchiyu OnsenFukushima · 土湯温泉Also sulfur and bicarbonate
Bicarbonate springSulfur spring
Hakuba Yari OnsenNagano · 白馬鑓温泉Also sulfur and bicarbonate
Bicarbonate springSulfur spring
Kamiyu OnsenNara · 上湯温泉Also sulfur and bicarbonate
Bicarbonate springSulfur spring
Kawatabi OnsenMiyagi · 川渡温泉Also sulfur and bicarbonate
Bicarbonate springSulfur spring
Umegashima Onsen VillagesShizuoka · 梅ヶ島温泉郷Also sulfur and bicarbonate
Bicarbonate springSulfur spring

The numbers

Address in Japanese
岩手県岩手郡雫石町

Figures from the town's Japanese Wikipedia article.

Where it is

39.7273, 140.7934 — 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.