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Mizusawa Onsenkyō

Akita · 水沢温泉郷

Mizusawa Onsenkyō is a hot spring town in Akita, Japan. The water leaves the ground at 58.6°C, hot. Officially the water is classed as sulfur spring. Its sources put out around 2,000 litres a minute. 19 inns take visitors here.

Getting there

From Tokyoabout 4 h
CarNot needed
JR PassCovers the train
  1. Train to Tazawako Station (JR)
  2. Local bus, about 30 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.

Sulfur spring

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.

Things to see nearby

Akita-KomagatakeMountain · 4.6 km
Tazawako Ski AreaSki area · 1.4 km
Kakunodate CastleCastle · 23.7 km
Dakigaeri RavineGorge · 18 km
Gozanoishi ShrineShrine · 8.6 km
Kansa-gūShrine · 11.1 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.

Inns with a private bath — Akita

More on tattoos and onsen

Where to stay

Onsen inns — Semboku City

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

Tazawako-Kōgen OnsenkyōAkita · 田沢湖高原温泉郷2.4 km north
Bicarbonate spring+2
Nyuto Spa ResortAkita · 乳頭温泉郷5.1 km northeast
Chloride spring+4
Kunimi OnsenIwate · 国見温泉5.2 km southeast
Bicarbonate springSulfur spring
Tsurunoyu OnsenAkita · 鶴の湯温泉5.6 km northeast
Chloride spring+2
Taenoyu OnsenAkita · 妙乃湯温泉6.3 km northeast
Sulfate spring
Ōbuka OnsenAkita · 大釜温泉6.4 km northeast
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.

Nikkō Yumoto OnsenTochigi · 日光湯元温泉Also sulfur
Sulfur spring
Takamagahara OnsenToyama · 高天原温泉Also sulfur
Sulfur spring
Sumatakyō OnsenShizuoka · 寸又峡温泉Also sulfur
Sulfur spring
Takayu OnsenFukushima · 高湯温泉Also sulfur
Sulfur spring
Yachi OnsenAomori · 谷地温泉Also sulfur
Sulfur spring
Yumata OnsenNagano · 湯俣温泉Also sulfur
Sulfur spring

The numbers

Water temperature
58.6°C
Discharge
2,000 litres a minute
Inns
19
Address in Japanese
秋田県仙北市

Figures from the town's Japanese Wikipedia article.

Where it is

39.7600, 140.7500 — 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.