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Photo: らんで · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Goshougake Onsen

Akita · 後生掛温泉

Goshougake Onsen is a hot spring town in Akita, Japan. The water leaves the ground at 85°C, hot enough that it has to be cooled before anyone can get in. It measures pH 1.8 — strongly acidic, the kind that stings on a cut. Officially the water is classed as acidic spring and sulfur spring.

Getting there

From Tokyoabout 4 h

CarNot needed

JR PassCovers the train

1. Train to Hachimantai Station (JR)
2. A short walk

Access is cut off in winter. Check before planning a cold-season trip.

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

The water here

Acidic spring 酸性泉

Strongly acidic, sometimes below pH 2. It stings on cuts and is not for long soaks.

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

85°C

pH

1.8 (strongly acidic)

Address in Japanese

border|25px 鹿角市

Figures from the town's Japanese Wikipedia article.

Where it is

39.9721, 140.8002 — open the map

Read more

Japanese Wikipedia