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

Hikage Onsen

Akita · 日景温泉

Hikage Onsen is a hot spring town in Akita, Japan. The water leaves the ground at 41.3°C, comfortably warm. It measures pH 6.3 — close to neutral. Officially the water is classed as chloride spring, carbon dioxide spring and sulfur spring. Its sources put out around 170 litres a minute. 1 inns take visitors here.

Getting there

From Tokyoabout 4½ h

CarTaxi from the station

JR PassCovers the train

Train to Jimba Station (JR)
By car or taxi, about 5 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.

Chloride springCarbon dioxide springSulfur 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.

Carbon dioxide spring 二酸化炭素泉

Fine bubbles cling to your skin. Rare in Japan, and usually cooler than other springs.

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

Hirosaki CastleCastle · 24 km

Mount Jinkichi-moriMountain · 2.2 km

Daien-ji TempleTemple · 11.5 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