繁體中文

Photo: Soica2001 (talk) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Sounkyo Onsen

Hokkaido · 層雲峡温泉

Sounkyo Onsen is a hot spring town in Hokkaido, Japan. Officially the water is classed as sulfur spring. 17 inns take visitors here.

Getting there

From Sapporoabout 3½ h
CarNot needed
JR PassCovers the train
  1. Train to Kamikawa Station (JR)
  2. Local bus, about 30 min

Fly into New Chitose. 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.

More photographs

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

Things to see nearby

SounkyoGorge · 0.3 km
Mount KuroMountain · 4 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 — HokkaidoInns with a private bath — Kamikawa Town

More on tattoos and onsen

Where to stay

Onsen inns — Kamikawa 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

Yūdoku OnsenHokkaido · 有毒温泉7.3 km southwest
Sulfur spring
Nakadake OnsenHokkaido · 中岳温泉8.6 km southwest
Sulfur spring
Aizankei OnsenHokkaido · 愛山渓温泉10.5 km west
Bicarbonate springSulfate spring
Daisetsu Kōgen OnsenHokkaido · 大雪高原温泉11.4 km south
Acidic spring
Asahidake OnsenHokkaido · 旭岳温泉15.3 km southwest
Sulfate spring
Tenninkyō OnsenHokkaido · 天人峡温泉17.8 km southwest
Chloride spring+2

Similar water elsewhere

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

Takayu OnsenFukushima · 高湯温泉Also sulfur
Sulfur spring
Nikkō Yumoto OnsenTochigi · 日光湯元温泉Also sulfur
Sulfur spring
Iwate Morioka Tsunagi Hot SpringIwate · 盛岡つなぎ温泉Also sulfur
Sulfur spring
Tokusa OnsenFukushima · 木賊温泉Also sulfur
Sulfur spring
Umegashima OnsenShizuoka · 梅ヶ島温泉Also sulfur
Sulfur spring
Harazuru OnsenFukuoka · 原鶴温泉Also sulfur
Sulfur spring

The numbers

Inns
17
Address in Japanese
北海道上川郡上川町層雲峡

Figures from the town's Japanese Wikipedia article.

Where it is

43.7286, 142.9458 — 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.