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

Yuze Onsen

Akita · 湯瀬温泉

Yuze Onsen is a hot spring town in Akita, Japan. The water leaves the ground at 58°C, hot. It measures pH 8.9 — mildly alkaline, the slippery kind. Officially the water is classed as simple spring. About 160,211 people a year come to bathe.

Getting there

From Tokyoabout 4 h
CarNot needed
JR PassCovers the train
  1. Train to Yuze-Onsen Station (JR)
  2. A short walk

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

Simple spring

The water here

Simple spring 単純温泉

Mild and low in dissolved minerals. Usually clear and gentle on the skin, which is why these baths are often recommended for first-timers.

More photographs

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

Things to see nearby

Hanawa Ski ResortSki area · 7.3 km
Mount GonomiyaMountain · 2.7 km
Appi Kogen Ski ResortSki area · 17.9 km
Ōhirumemuchi ShrineShrine · 3.5 km
Amaterasu Sumemioya ShrineShrine · 4.1 km
Kazuno City Museum of History and FolkloreMuseum · 8.5 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 — Kazuno 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

Ōkuzo OnsenAkita · 大葛温泉13.4 km west
Sulfate spring
Fukenoyu OnsenAkita · 蒸ノ湯温泉16.2 km south
Acidic spring
Ōfuka OnsenAkita · 大深温泉16.9 km south
Sulfur spring
Goshougake OnsenAkita · 後生掛温泉17 km south
Acidic springSulfur spring
Appi OnsenIwate · 安比温泉17.3 km south
Sulfur spring
Ōyu OnsenAkita · 大湯温泉19.1 km north
Chloride spring

Similar water elsewhere

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

Komaki OnsenAomori · 古牧温泉Also simple, similar pH
Simple spring
Yubara OnsenOkayama · 湯原温泉Also simple, similar pH
Simple spring
Okutsu OnsenOkayama · 奥津温泉Also simple, similar pH
Simple spring
Hakuba-Happo OnsenNagano · 白馬八方温泉Also simple, similar pH
Simple spring
Kawaura OnsenYamanashi · 川浦温泉Also simple, similar pH
Simple spring
Mimata OnsenShimane · 美又温泉Also simple, similar pH
Simple spring

The numbers

Water temperature
58°C
pH
8.9 (mildly alkaline)
Visitors a year
160,211
Address in Japanese
秋田県鹿角市八幡平字湯瀬

Figures from the town's Japanese Wikipedia article.

Where it is

40.1226, 140.8363 — 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.